In the photo you can see Catherine smiling at you, a 25 year old history student who is also a trainee at our sewing school in Gourcy.

Catherine’s story is long, multinational and full of determination. The girl comes from a very poor family in the north east of Burkina Faso. Her father died when Catherine was just four years old. Raising the children and supporting the family from that point was the mother’s responsibility. Taking care of the children and working as the sole provider for the household was an effort beyond her means. She could not support all her children and, in order to give them a secure future without hunger, she asked her own siblings to help her raise the children. What a difficult decision this must have been for the mother!

Catherine found a second home with her mother’s younger sister, in Togo – there she managed to get her high school diploma: All this under the watchful eye of Gosia Tomaszewska, our Angel of Development. After graduation, she returned to her native Burkina Faso, where she began her very demanding degree in history.

Catherine remembers all too well the days when there wasn’t enough fufu to feed the family – she knows what it’s like to go to bed hungry. That is why, although she would like to become a historian after graduating, she also dreams of having a trade in hand that will provide her with security and allow her to think about starting a family.

Being a determined and resourceful girl, she found Gosia’s phone number, called her up, told her about her dream and in this way found herself on the list of students at our sewing school in Gourcy!

She is ahead of her classmates with her skills, sewing more and more difficult patterns every day. She is very happy that she can juggle her university studies with learning a trade. She says that even if a degree in history does not guarantee her a job, her tailoring skills will always be valued on the market. And we have no doubt, looking at the professional patterns of her creations, that she will be an outstanding dressmaker!

Catherine doesn’t lack determination or ability – but you know what would help her get off to the perfect start? Her very own sewing machine, which will allow her to be independent as soon as she leaves the school. Such a machine is an unattainable expense for any of the students of our sewing school in Gourcy. Let us create the most beautiful creation, this time for the Gourcy students, on a Good Machine! Let Gourcy ring out with the joyful sound of machines that, with every creation, bring young women closer to independence and a secure future. Let our girls sew until we burst with pride!