Bertha & Winnie – tailoring and Design teachers
Bertha Banda Mtonga and Winnie Siamichelo are two of the teachers who took part in intensive sewing machine repair and maintenance training funded by Workaid in Kabwe, Zambia in 2024. We have provided equipment to the secondary schools where they both teach tailoring and design.
Bertha was particularly keen to take part in the training as there wasn’t anyone close to her school who could maintain and repair sewing machines. She always found it difficult to get machines repaired, and even when she did, the quality of the repairs was usually poor.
She found the sewing machine repair and maintenance course of huge value and believes that with the skills she learnt, not only will she be able to keep all her sewing machines working, she will also be able to pass on her knowledge to her students.
Winnie has found the practical training she received very valuable. Her initial experience was somewhat challenging, but she now feels extremely confident, especially working with manual machines. She feels the students enjoy a great deal of companionship, as well as healthy competition, when they are required to disassemble and reassemble sewing machines.
Her request is for instruction manuals for the machines she has at her school, which we will be able to provide through our partner, the Vwila Foundation in Lusaka.
Like Bertha, Winnie’s skills gained through the sewing machine maintenance and repair course will assist her in keeping her school’s sewing machines in proper working condition and further help her students in their academic pursuits.
Since the course finished, they have set up a Whatsapp group where they frequently post video clips to show how they put their skills to good use.