We seek to meet the vulnerable woman of Zambia in her oppression, to educate and empower her through sewing and business training and to provide financial opportunity for lasting benefit and sustainable community change. It’s not about us. It’s about her. It’s about a community-owned initiative. Education is at the core of what we do. When you teach a woman how to run a business, she creates a sustainable small business for the betterment of her family. When you teach a woman how to sew, she creates beautiful handmade bracelets for income to help start up her small businesses. When you teach a woman that she’s important, treasured and loved, she is unstoppable. In a culture that tells her “no,” she is empowered to stand up and say, “yes.”

In order for our organization to truly be community-owned, our women must be involved in every decision-making process here in Zambia. And they are. From sewing machine brands to facility options to the design of bracelets, Clothed in Hope women have had a say in every part of what we do. That involvement is what sustains community development regardless of American involvement. It’s their organization, and we are overjoyed to be a part of it all.