By Fatoumata Kone, Operations Coordinator

Clothing has always had an important place in our society and in our African communities. Through textiles, we tell a story and we highlight the culture of a country. For the young women we work with in Mali, creating clothing can also be a path to an independent future!

How is that possible you ask ? For young women (and men too !) become a tailor is a respectable job in Mali and it allows you to be your own boss. This makes it an attractive dream for many of our students.

Bana is one such student. She graduated from Mali Rising’s Christiana Norris Middle School two years ago. After her graduation, we provided a scholarship to allow Bana to continue her education at a tailoring school in a three-year program.

I recently spoke with Bana about her path and her is what she told me :

My name is Bana Chatou Kanté, I come from  the small village ofBanko. I graduated the ninth grade at Christianna Norris Middle School.

It is up to the seamstress to give life to textiles and make them in to  garment to wear, which is why since I was a little girl my dream was to become a seamstress. So I was lucky enough to benefit from the Mali Rising Foundation scholarship to help me achieve my dream.

When I was in my first year at the Zeina Training Center in Sokorodji I started sewing with my hands. I bought paper and cut with scissors and made patterns, then I sewed by hand. This method allows us to learn basic stitches of sewing.

Now I'm in second year. We do theory and practice at the same time. In theory classes our teacher explains to us how to sew a garment in a specific way. She makes drawings on the board to show us the different stitches of the seam and their uses. We also learn how to take measurements: waist circumference, chest circumference, pelvic circumference, and so on. Indeed, it is through theory that we will apply to do the practice.

In the practice sessions, I sit at the sewing machine and pass the fabric to sew. Practicing with the sewing machine is a constant exercise for the fingers. It also allows me to master, step by step, all the techniques of sewing. So I know how to measure, cut, and assemble the fabric to sew. I make my own clothes and those of my brother and sister.

In the future I would like to be a great stylist, to have my own sewing workshop to become an autonomous and independent woman. In addition, I would like to create a sewing training center in my village to help young girls learn sewing just as Mali Rising helped me.