The sewing school was able to graduate 26 newly trained seamstresses/tailors on August 15. The students had completed 8 months of study, learning to make patterns, practicing on a treadle sewing machine. While this happens 3 times a year, it is a huge celebration and a joyous occasion for the graduates. Each class is composed of people who are trying to learn a new skill so that they will be able to create income to support their families. When they are able to contribute toward the purchase of a sewing machine, Sowing Hope picks up the remaining cost, so that upon graduation they can immediately start to create a cash flow. This harvest is figurative but real! It is a joy to see what has been sown (or sewn) reach fruition.

The harvest of the farming project is both physically touchable and hope producing. After being stopped last year because no land was available to rent, the project took off in May when Pastor Boniface, the director of the work in Burundi, found land that they were able to rent. In June they planted soybeans and corn intermingled and in early August they were able to harvest both crops.

The soybeans had a significant yield of about 700 pounds which was enough for each of the 14 women in the project to get some soybeans and, in selling the rest, for enough funds for starting a crop of rice this month. The corn harvest, on the other hand, was miserable as it was badly affected by insects. This project is very close to being self-sustaining, which was one of our goals when we started. We rejoice in God for the good harvest and the extra nutrition families are getting.

We wanted to share this news so that you can join in our joy! We also wanted to let you know that we are starting to plan a trip to Burundi in the New Year. We are feeling the need to assess in person how things are progressing as well as decide on starting new projects. For this we need a lot of wisdom so Leslie and I are delighted that we will be joined by new board members.

Warmly in Christ
Tim & Leslie Boettcher

On April 26 the sewing school held a graduation of the 28 students who had studied for 8 months to be able to know how to make basic women’s dresses. This is a huge event with snacks and sodas, singing and dancing and a visit from local authorities.

Sowing Hope, through your gifts, provides part of the cost and the graduates pay part to receive a new treadle sewing machine. This represents a positive opportunity for these precious people to begin to start making money with a skill that corresponds to the needs of the community. Hopefully, they will be able to provide for their families in ways that were not possible before. In this way, together with the team in Burundi, we are sowing hope.

Another graduation for 26 is planned for the 15th of August. Here are ways you can help out:
•$100 will purchase a new sewing machine for a graduate.
•$25 will help pay the educational costs for a new student for 4 months.
•$10 will pay for scissors, measuring tape & grad expenses for a graduate.

Gifts can be sent to Sowing Hope via our website or checks to our address below.

Another way we are sowing hope is in the relaunching of the farming project. This was held up because it was impossible to find land to rent last year for the rice growing season, but after searching a bit further out from the city (Bujumbura), they have been able to find rentable land. The women have planted soy and corn and hope to harvest in late July or early August. They have found another plot to rent where they hope to plant rice in September. Sowing hope in this way has a very tangible result in women being able to feed their families and have a little cash as well.

The situation in Burundi is very critical at the moment with inflation running at about 20% and the Burundi Franc has lost 1/5 of its value because of devaluation. Gas is almost impossible to obtain and when found it is very expensive. Together this is a huge problem for a people who are already living one of the poorest countries on earth. Please join us in praying for financial relief and spiritual hope for Burundi!

Warmly,
Tim & Leslie Boettcher

Part of the motivation of Sowing Hope has been a desire to respond in a way that allows folks in Burundi to get skills and tools that allow them to provide for themselves. Our support of local leadership to create earning opportunities is just a small way to respond to this gigantic need. Small but impactful. The sewing school in particular has brought hope to many of the poorest of the poor as well as women who are struggling to support their family.

Sewing School

• Three classes have graduated in January, May and September. About 75 received subsidized sewing machines.
• In May we had to move the school from the classroom that we had been using to another location. Fortunately, Pastor Boniface, our leader in Burundi had a room next to his church that he could put at our disposal. It is smaller than the old one but it has better light and ventilation.
• All classes start with a Bible lesson and prayer.

What students are saying

“This is a gift that keeps on giving!”—from a graduate of the sewing school.
“Learning to sew is my last hope to provide for my family”—from a college graduate who could not find work after looking for 4 years.
“Being disabled, sewing is something I can do to earn money”—from a woman with mobility limitations

Farming Project

After a very successful rice harvest by two different groups of women, we were surprised in that the owners of both plots of land that they were working have decided not to rent the land to us this year. There is a possibility of other crops if land can be rented but for the moment this project is at a standstill.

How you can help

Please pray

• For financial relief for the people of Burundi.
• For available land for the farming project.

Please consider giving for the upcoming graduation of students in the middle of January.

• A gift of $100 subsidizes the purchase of a sewing machine for a graduate.
• A gift of $50 allows us to pay for the set up the formal graduation exercise.
• A gift of $25 helps us pay year-end bonus to the four staff of the school.

Gifts to Sowing Hope can be sent through our website or mailed to us at the address below.
Thank you for your participation in this work through your gifts and prayers. Thank you so very
much for making this possible!

With much gratitude,
Leslie & Tim Boettcher

Sewing School

We have had two classes graduate, one with 30 in January and another with 20 on May 15! You can see the joy on the graduate’s face!
Some challenges:
• The school was robbed of 10 sewing machines in January but we have been able to replace them.
• The owner of the room we have been using has not renewed the lease so the school has had to move to a new location.

Rice Project

• It is another joy to see that both groups of women who have been working two different fields have harvested their crop of rice.
• You can see the enormous sacks of rice that are the result of the project and the joy it brings.
• The women all got a portion the rice they grew. The rest was sold and they each received a small sum of money with some funds set aside for next year’s farming project.

So Much to Be Thankful For

God has been working through the ministry of Sowing Hope to help folks in Burundi. Not only are we helping alleviate significant poverty we are sharing the hope and salvation that comes in Christ Jesus. This fills us with inexpressible joy!

In entering the holiday season as believers, we think of the abundance of God’s blessings and then about the incredible gift of salvation that comes to us through Jesus Christ. This incredible richness which has been poured out over us motivates us to share that love with others.

The first part of our purpose statement (above) is the most important—sharing God’s love! This is the anchor and the reason for helping people in Burundi. We would not exist as an organization if we hadn’t first receive God’s love for us. It is why all sewing classes start with a devotional thought and prayer. It is why we are purposefully connecting our work with a local church which can further demonstrate that love to those who hear God’s loving call and respond.

Sewing School News

One of the big upsides of our trip to Burundi this past August was that we could see and hear what we need to do to support the school more efficiently. We have been able to repair several of the sewing machines which were broken and purchased one new one so that the students now have 12 functioning machines to learn on, all of them treadle machines. We also were able to purchase an electric machine with the capacity to do specialty stitches including buttonholes.

Another upside from our trip is that we are now able to make our dollars go farther for both salaries and for graduation expenses. The major grad expense is for subsidizing about half of the cost of a machine so that graduates can immediately start using their skills to earn money. Our cost for graduation is $115 per student.

Huge need: We still need funds to pay the graduation expenses in January for 25 students. That comes to $2,875. Would you consider contributing?

If you would like to contribute you may do so by going to our Contribute page. Checks made out to Sowing Hope can also be sent to our address listed at the bottom of this page. Gifts of any amount are hugely appreciated!

Rice Project News

The 24 women who are driving this project have divided into 2 groups working 2 different fields about 100 square yards. They work in teams of 3 and walk an hour to get to their field where they do all their work using hand tools—nothing mechanized) with babies strapped to their backs. Because most have several children (one woman has 13!) they rely on those who are not working that day to care for their children while they are working in the field.

Group 1 has been able to prepare the field and plant rice. They have had adequate water and are now in the process of weeding and fertilizing by hand. The crop is growing, and they are very optimistic of a good return.

Group 2 has not had as much success. First, they had trouble finding a field and then, because they were delayed, the rains were insufficient for planting. The rains have just started up they now are beginning the process of planting the rice.

Would you join us in prayer for the following subjects:
-For provision of the $2,875 needed for the next graduating class.
-For continued rain for the area around Bujumbura and successful cultivation of the rice.
-Strength and health for the women in the project.

Thank you for your interest in Sowing Hope and the different projects that God has allowed us to be involved in! Thank you for your prayers and gifts! We are deeply grateful and we always hear back from Burundi—MANY THANKS!—for what this ministry is doing for some of the poorest people on the planet.

Warmly in Christ,

Tim & Leslie Boettcher

We have seen God move marvelously in opening the doors for us (Leslie & Tim) to travel to Burundi this summer! We have purchased tickets, gotten our shots and prepared for a 9-day visit in Bujumbura, the capital city.

Our goals for the trip are:

• See the sewing school in action
• Meet with students and hear their stories
• Talk to missionaries and others doing development work
• Look at new opportunities such as a rice farming project

We are especially looking forward to meeting with Pastor Boniface and his wife as he has been doing all the heavy lifting for the school.

Our needs:

• Safety in travel
• Health protection from Covid and from tropical disease in Burundi
• Insight into the situation in the sewing school and in Burundi as well
• Cultural sensitivity in navigating the Burundian culture
• Wisdom to know how to respond appropriately to needs we encounter
• Provision of outstanding finances to cover hotel and ground transportation costs

For all these things we ask for your prayers and intercession. We are entirely dependent on the Lord to help make this trip a success. In addition, we are fully grateful for your support in prayer and in giving. Thank you for your partnership!

In Christ,

Tim & Leslie Boettcher

In 2018 when Leslie Boettcher went to Bujumbura, the capital city, it was to give spiritual support to a group of women. What she got, however, was a shock that tore at her heart. As she gave out to those women, God was giving something back: a burden for Burundians, particularly women, who live in very precarious financial situations.

At the seminar where Leslie was teaching, women shared their stories of abandonment and abuse by their husbands. She noticed that Ruth, one of the participants, had brought one of her sons to the meeting. When Leslie remarked that he seemed to be small for his age, Ruth said that when she couldn’t sell items at the market that her children wouldn’t eat—and it happened often. She saw hundreds of people milling around one of the central town squares, hoping to find work.

Struck by the incredible physical poverty of the country she began a conversation with Pastor Boniface who had organized the seminar. Together they began to ask what, if anything, could be done to alleviate some of the sufferings due to the economic situation in the country. Together they came up with the idea of helping women procure chicks, a hen house, and chicken feed that would allow women to have a source of food as well as a means to start a business of raising and selling chickens.

When she returned to the U.S. she started to raise funds for the project and Pastor Boniface was able to help a man and two women, one of them being Ruth, a start-up with chickens. While this was a life-changer for Ruth, the other two did not fare so well partly because they were not trained to know how to care for the animals.

Again, collaborating with Pastor Boniface, they worked together to see what could be done to give people, primarily women, a means to create income. When they hit on the idea of a sewing school, Pastor Boniface was adamant that this was an idea that could begin to lift people out of poverty.

Since readymade clothes are not readily available in Burundi, being able to design and make clothing is a skill that is in high demand. Folks will purchase material and take it to a seamstress or tailor who will make the clothing they want. Children in school need uniforms. Office workers need nice-looking shirts, skirts, and slacks. Everyone needs clothes for special occasions. So, the possibility of starting a grassroots business that could provide for a family while working from home was a huge draw.

The project, titled the Dorcas Association, started slowly with finding a space to rent, obtaining sewing machines, and hiring an instructor. It quickly took off and the demand was high. While the students pay a portion of the costs, the largest contribution comes from funds that are received here in the U.S. and transmitted to Burundi.

Starting in 2018, the school has graduated over 400 students. In 2019 we began to see that graduates were completing the 6-month course but were unable to start a business because they could not afford a sewing machine. Considering this difficulty Sowing Hope decided to take the step of the funding part of the cost of sewing machines so that graduates have the possibility of working toward regular and sustainable income. Currently, with the generous support of friends and a few churches, we subsidize 2/3 of the sewing machine costs.

Students complete three months of training which includes learning how to use a treadle machine, how to make patterns, how to cut cloth as well as the basics of sewing. Then they take another three months to perfect those skills before graduation. Included in every lesson is a devotional, pointing out the hope that comes from faith in Jesus. Not all who participate are Christians and some come from other faiths, but they all receive the same message of God’s redeeming work in Jesus. 

Graduation is a big deal. It has typically been a formal occasion as a local official will come to the ceremony and assist with the distribution of certificates. Graduates receive a certificate of completion, a pair of scissors, a measuring tape and if they have been able to come up with the 1/3 needed for it, a sewing machine. Some are not able to find the funds for individual purchases so they will team up with another graduate or two to buy one together.

The impact has been considerable for graduates. One has said that being able to start her own business and employ two other women has changed her life. The biggest attitude which we pick up from participants in the school is hope! They see possibilities for themselves and a future with less poverty and more opportunities.