In April 2005, our pastor, the Rev. Richard Denison, from Paxton United Methodist Church in Harrisburg, PA was stationed in Iraq with the Air National Guard as a chaplain.  While he was assisting in distributing sweatsuits to the boys, he was asked by a little girl if he had any dresses.  He said that he did not but would ask his church women if they would make some.  He emailed Ellen Shatto, Paxton lay leader, with this request.  Cecilia Sevon from the Outreach Committee volunteered to work with the women and made over 1500 dresses.  Thus Sew for Peace was born with the goal of making clothing for children that had been in disasters.

In the last five years we have sent our clothing to Mexico, Africa, Kansas, Iowa, the Rosebud Mission in South Dakota and many places in Harrisburg, PA such as Bethesda Mission and Neighborhood Center.  We meet every Thursday when we cut out patterns.  The fabric pieces are then placed in a bag with the directions, elastic, buttons, and anything else that is needed to make that outfit.  These kits are then given to our sewing group to be sewn at home.

 
In July 2009, I spoke to Eric DeWalt, the Executive Director at Mission Central about sewing skirts for Mi Refugio, a mission school in the mountains of Guatemala near San Pedro.  These Mayan children receive a proper education plus the boys are taught carpentry and the girls are taught sewing.  They live in extremely poor conditions.  Two meals are served at the school.  For supper they go to the trash dump and grab food from the unloading trucks.  Each child has one uniform which is washed once a week in a stream or a community washing area.

 

Patricia Adams, a volunteer at Mission Central assisted by transporting the skirts from my home in Harrisburg.  We made a total of 130 skirts and were grateful that we had the opportunity to help God's children.                      

Cecilia Sevon

We need Health Kits and Health Kit materials for Haiti.  Here is specifically what we need:

The UM Committee on Relief (UMCOR) opened a field office in Port-au-Prince and is hiring full-time staff as part of a five-year plan to help rebuild Haiti after the Jan. 12 earthquake. Anthony Jones, who has 20 years of experience with humanitarian relief agencies, has been hired as an emergency response consultant. He will be in Haiti for the next two months, said Melissa Crutchfield, international disaster response executive with UMCOR. The relief agency will be hiring five staff members to work in the Port-au-Prince office, said Sharad Aggarwal, an UMCOR executive. Since the disaster, UMCOR has coordinated food distribution projects in Mellier and Petit-Goave, Aggarwal said. The UMCOR plan includes emergency, recovery and rehabilitation work. The emergency phase stretches from the time of the earthquake through April. It addresses the immediate needs of access to food, clean water and sanitation, temporary shelter, and emotional and spiritual support. During the recovery phase, which is expected to run through the first-year anniversary of the disaster, UMCOR will respond to needs for increasingly permanent homes, schools, clinics and churches, along with jobs and other concerns. The third phase, rehabilitation, will likely stretch through Jan. 2015 and will offer assistance for physical reconstruction and economic development as well as rebuilding health, education and other systems. “The response of the church has been remarkable and generous,” said Bishop Joel Martinez, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries interim top executive. “Even the smallest gift has the power to bless.” In the days leading up to the one-month anniversary of the quake, the seven wealthiest nations of the world, known as the G-7, agreed to forgive Haiti its outstanding debts. “The debt cancellation will give Haiti some economic breathing room,” Martinez said, “but it will not solve all of the problems there.” Steps are being taken to prepare for UM Volunteers in Mission teams to respond in Haiti. In collaboration with the Methodist Church in Haiti, volunteer projects and programs are being developed to align with UMCOR’s work plan, Crutchfield said. Volunteer teams may begin mobilizing by filling out a registration form.