parting is such sweet sorrow

In the fading light a group of women gathered around a wax covered in a half-finished room.  We held hands and prayed to the God that has united women from across nations, tribes, and languages to form Premec Creations.  Huddled together in the growing darkness a sense of awe consumed me.  What an incredible moment to share with 17 Ghanaian women.  We prayed a prayer of blessing over the instructors Martha & Christiana, the women participating in the program, and the very table around which we were gathered.  The significance of the moment did not escape any one of us.  Amy and I said reluctant goodbyes as darkness fell and the women slowly began their walk home. 

An empty room and a bare table bear witness to the opportunity for change.  15 women appear each morning in anticipation of the skills provided at Premec.  But more than that, they now join a community of women, sharing more than just learning, but in their lives as well.  A transformation has occurred amongst the group of former strangers.  They greet each other with joy and part with hope of future meetings.  They share in each other’s burdens, caring for each other’s children while they take turns creating.  It’s a beautiful thing to behold.  

the ceremonial ribbon cutting

I finally made it!!!! My flight was delayed about 17 hours overnight so unfortunately I arrived a day later then originally expected, but better late then never! After a quick stop at the market to purchase fresh mangos and pineapples, Chelsea and I were blessed to attend and be treated as special guests for the grand opening ceremony of Premec Creations in Fettah.  

Since I arrived so late, today was the first time I got to meet Martha face to face. What an amazing woman with a huge heart to help women as she was once helped.  The ceremony was mostly in Fanti, because most of the 11 initial trainees do not speak English, but I followed Chelsea’s lead and did a lot of smiling and nodding.  J  It was a great event! Martha spoke about the goals and missions of the center, we prayed that the center would provide a means to strengthen their community, and all the materials that had been purchased for the first 3-month session were blessed and dedicated to God.  Chelsea even gave an impromptu speech expressing our gratitude and wishes for the center.  All the supplies were spread out on tables, including all the fabric that had been bought, the dyes, beads, baskets, soaps, and numerous other things that will be used in the center. 

Afterwards, we all shared a meal of meat pies and gathered to take A LOT of pictures (which we’ll share more of when we get back to the States and more favorable internet speeds).   Martha, Chelsea, another teacher, and I then finally had some time to sit down and really talk about what we aim to do.  Martha shared her story of being abandoned by her husband with four daughters to care for.  In her hour of need, a woman named Patience offered her the funds to attend a training center in Accra to learn to sew and make fabric.  Since that time Martha has yearned to repay the favor and help others in a similar way.  Monday afternoon, we will start classes.  Maybe I will even manage to pick up some domestic skills this week.  Miracles do happen you know.

Okay, got to run.  Chelsea is in the kitchen whipping up some eggs for our breakfast and then it will be time for church with all the sweet children at the Village of Hope.

 shop till you drop

You have never been shopping like this before.  Black Friday has nothing on Ghanaian shopping trips.  Martha and I set out before dawn this morning to reach Accra (the capital city) before the worst of the traffic hit.  It still took us about 2.5 hours to reach the Makola market.  This market can be summarized in one word: insanity.  The streets are FULL of cars, people, carts, and goods, and the shops are more crammed in than sardines.  I must say that I demonstrated my best parking skills in maneuvering through the only parking lot in the market where you have only inches to pass between cars.

Martha and I set out with all the money that we have raised so far in order to purchase all the supplies needed for the first three month session.  We spent hours checking prices and navigating the crammed sidewalks, dodging the loads all the sellers carried on their heads.  We were able to find all of the materials needed to make soap, pomade, and the batik fabrics.  We bought dyes, caustic salt, liquid paraffin, cloth, oil, water buckets, perfume, petroleum jelly, bottles, stamps, a white board, notebooks, etc.  By the time we finished shopping we had not stopped to eat or drink for more than 8 hours (we were ready to drop)!  The car was full to the brim with all the supplies.  After a 4 hour trip back to Martha's place, we inventoried and stored all the items just before dark.  A crowd of children gathered around the table in awe of all the new materials.  It was thrilling to see the fabric dying table overflowing with the materials that will change 10 women's lives over the course of the next three months.  Tomorrow I get to meet those women!

-Chelsea

surprise!

I reached Ghana late Monday night and contact Martha first thing Tuesday morning.  She informed me she had already started training 10 women in her home!  She wanted to make sure that she could do at least a week or two of full day sessions before school reopens and she will resume her teaching responsibilities.  She will then move to afternoon sessions with the women.  I was amazed at her incredible passion for this ministry and anxiousness to do things properly.  She took me through the projects they had already been working on, showing me the batik fabrics, soap, and beads they had been working on.
She was using her own bedroom space to teach these women!  I keep thinking what an incredible blessing it is that I get to be a part of Martha's ministry to the women of Fetteh.  The joy in her eyes at her dream coming true is brilliant.  Its the kind of light that will inspire many women.

-Chelsea

When Dreams Come True

We would like to share with you the story of Premec Creations.  The story of this project is really the story of three people- Martha Bulley, Amy Hubble, and Chelsea Jones and how God has worked in our lives and brought us together.

The story starts with Martha Bulley, a skilled seamstress and artisan fabric maker who works as a teacher at Hope Christian Academy in Ghana.  She is a women of incredible talent and compassion and dedication to providing women with opportunities for a way out of poverty.  She has dreamed of creating a place for women to learn how to create and sew their own fabrics in order to bring positive change into their lives.  Chelsea Jones spent the last two years living and teaching at the Village of Hope orphanage in Ghana, West Africa where she met Martha.  In May, weeks before Chelsea's departure from Ghana, Martha shared with her a dream for a vocational training center.  It is Martha's dream to open a vocational training center in Gomoa-Fetteh (a nearby village) in order to empower women to support themselves and their families.  Chelsea found a place in this story.  Headed back to the states to enter graduate school, she had been seeking an opportunity to stay involved in Ghanaian work. Amy Hubble, a faithful believer and supporter of the ministry in Ghana, also found herself called to partner in this work.  Amy visited Ghana while Chelsea lived there and desired to be involved in development work in Ghana in a meaningful way.  Her experience and knowledge of business management and finances are crucial to the success of this endeavor.  We believe that traditional methods of giving do not provide the kind of resources necessary to truly empower impoverished women to overcome poverty.  Through the development of tangible skill and micro-financing these women will be given the opportunity to change their own lives, and the future of their children.   

Now, 7 months later, Amy and Chelsea are flying to Ghana to make this dream a tangible reality.  Over the past few months God has blatantly poured out his blessings on our vision.  Thanks to the support of many wonderful people the center will open on January 9th to about 15 women from the Fetteh community.  We will be there to help establish the center and will come back with a better idea of what it will take to operate this ministry.  We will have lots of pictures and stories to share when we return!

Every time we have shared this story we have found people ready to share in it with us.  It is incredible how the passion, love, finances, prayers, and talents of so many have already become a part of the center with us. It is because of people like Megan Jeffries and Kristen Caldwell & the Portland Christian Middle School student council, as well as Metro Church of Christ that this center is possible. We are thankful for each of you and your interest and support of this ministry to women across the world.  This story is bigger than us.  We would love for you to be a part of this story.

Project Overview

A community-based poverty reduction and women’s organization is to be established in Gomoa-Fetteh in the Central Region of Ghana. The project will focus on providing training in various vocational training skills such as batik, tie and dye, beading, and sewing to women from extremely low-income areas.  It is expected that through the skills obtained they will be empowered to reduce their level of poverty, thus helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of Women’s Empowerment and Poverty Reduction. 

The project will operate in a series of three-month intensive training sessions in which groups of 15-30 women per session will be trained in the above-mentioned vocational training skills.  During each session, a team of three workers (one full-time and two part-time) will be responsible for providing the trainees with the skills required to make their own products and market them as well.

Over time, it is expected that this project will ultimately improve the financial situation of the women in Gomoa-Fetteh and its surrounding communities, the majority of whom are currently unemployed single mothers. 

Goals & Objectives

The primary goal of the project is to reduce the degree of poverty amongst women in Gomoa-Fetteh and its surrounding villages.  The objectives of the project are as follows:

1.     To provide groups of women with vocational training

2.     To teach these women entrepreneurship skills to enable the turn their acquired vocational skills into income-generating projects

3.     To provide microfinance loans to women who graduate from the program    

Clientele

There are two different target groups for this project.  The primary group consists of single mothers and housewives who are unemployed; the second group is made of Senior High School students and workers who will also train others in the future.  These two groups were identified based on interactions with various members of the community in order to gain an understanding of their economic problems and the interest skills they already have.

Cost to run the center:

How you can support this work:

Checks can be sent through the following church.  Each month checks are sent to the center for monthly needs.  Donations are tax-deductible.  Please make checks out to:

Metro Church of Christ

1525 NW Division St.

Gresham, OR 97030

MEMO LINE: Ghana Premec VTC

Contact Info:

Martha Bulley: premeccreation@gmail.com          Chelsea Jones: chelsea@premeccreations.org
Amy Hubble: amy@premeccreations.org