Tsunami survivors in Aceh, Indonesia, are learning new skills that will provide their families with additional income, through a World Vision sewing program.

Aceh province was one of the areas worst hit by the December 2004 tsunami. In Lamno district alone, 25 per cent of the population died. Women who lost their husbands to the natural disaster have been left to financially support their children and families.

World Vision is There
World Vision started a three-month sewing training course for women in seven villages in Lamno. Sri Rahayu, a World Vision staffer, says the training motivates women to generate income and improve the quality of life for their families.

Three times a week, World Vision staff members teach 175 women how to:

World Vision supplied each woman with books, sewing needles, scissors, pencils, and rulers. World Vision also gave each village five sewing machines and one hemming machine.

A Better Future
Siti Rohana, 28, considers the sewing training course integral to her future and that of her two-and-a-half-year-old son. "Through this training, I will have the skills to produce ready-made wear, so I can earn money and add to my family income," she says. Siti plans to save the money she earns from sewing to send her son to school when he is old enough to attend.

Click here to learn more about how World Vision is helping tsunami survivors.