By Fatoumata Kone, Operations Coordinator

Creating and wearing beautiful clothes is a passion that crosses the boundaries of every country. No matter where you go, you’ll find people who turn clothing into an art form with their sewing skill. Mali Rising Foundation alum Djeneba Samake is one such young woman with a passion for sewing that, with the help of Mali Rising’s donors, she is now turning into a career.

I spoke with Djeneba recently in her sewing workshop. She told me she attended Mali Rising’s Learn for Life Academy in Fadioubougou. After graduation, her uncle encouraged her to apply for a Mali Rising Inspiration Scholarship. Djeneba said, “He wanted me to take the cutting and sewing course, because it's very important to learn a trade. At first I was a bit worried I wouldn’t receive the scholarship, but in the end I was lucky enough to get this 3-year scholarship!”

With the support of our donors, Djeneba studied for three years at the dressmaker training school. She learned the theory and practice of cutting and sewing. T

“Now I've finished and I know how to use the sewing machine, and I make pretty clothes’ for women and small children,” said Djeneba. “During the Tabaski holiday, I sewed pretty clothes for all my family and friends, and I was very happy that day.”

Djeneba is now employed at a sewing workshop where she can be creative, learn more, and earn a living. “I'm currently in Bamako, and I'm in a workshop to further my knowledge. Every day I get up early in the morning to go to the sewing workshop, arriving there I clean the workshop and arrange the sewing materials before my boss arrives. I'm persevering and I listen carefully to everything my boss shows me. So today I can make three or four garments a day.”

“Sewing helps us to relax, because creating patterns with our hands allows us to learn the true value of things,” Djeneba observed. “I like to take my time, understand a pattern, learn new things and progress as I go along.”

But Djeneba isn’t resting on her laurels. Djeneba told me she is always trying new things, “ I've taken another training course that differs from sewing women's clothes, and that's making the hygiene kits that women and girls really need. Last week I found a market to sew several hygiene kits. In the future I'd like to have my own machine to be independent and set up my own business, so I'm going to work for myself. Becoming a freelance dressmaker gives you the freedom to choose projects that inspire you. Now all the clothes I wear are made by myself.”

Djeneba told me, “It's so beautiful to wear what you've sewn, I think that's my favorite feeling, and it's what drives me to continue to be a professional sewer and become a great designer.” We think Djeneba is well on track for that dream!