- Education & Enterprise ·
Fund Sewing Skills for Women in South Africa
Help us fund young women to get out of the home and into employment to support their families and fight poverty.
- South Africa
- hello@actionchange.org
Project Summary
Project Challenge
Project Solution
Impact
Reports
Project Summary
Support our Stitch & Learn program in South Africa, which teaches unemployed women sewing and business skills. Your donation helps us provide sewing machines, materials, and qualified instructors. Together, we can empower women with the tools to build small businesses, earn an income, and transform their lives through sustainable skill-based education. We also help fund our non-profit business that employs graduates to help them utilise their skills after graduation – key element to our project.
Project Challenge
Imagine being born in a community where you are expected as a woman to drop out of education at a young age, look to start a family and learn to run a house. South Africa faces high unemployment among women, especially in underserved communities like ours. Without access to skills training or mentorship, many are unable to find jobs or support their families. The cycle of poverty and inequality continues without long-term solutions rooted in empowerment. They need a helping hand to step up
Project Solution
Your gift funds our sewing training centre for women. We offer classes in sewing, pattern making, and basic business management. With access to equipment and mentorship, women learn to create and sell garments, becoming entrepreneurs or securing work. Donations support rent, materials, and instructors to keep the program running. By donating to this program we can keep the lights on, machine sewing and women learning month to month and change lives. This centre is a safe and critical resource
Impact
Providing a mass skillshare program and startup loans and support to women this project is tackling the poverty cycle as well as gender inequality in the community as more women become successful in business. Job creation also has a huge long-term impact, as these businesses grow there are more opportunities to employ other women in the community, together we can develop communities and empower women
Reports
Project Report | Mar 9, 2026
We’re Going Sustainable Funded by 2027
By Dorcas |Â Sewing Teacher
Our Sewing School in Action
Hello to our wonderful community of supporters,
I’m reaching out with an update that I am incredibly excited to share. As we hit our 20-year milestone at Action Change in 2026, we’ve been looking at how to make our impact even more permanent. While the local landscape for donated materials has shifted recently, it has actually given us the perfect nudge to launch a massive, game-changing plan we’ve been dreaming about for a while.
We are officially moving toward a fully sustainable, circular business model!
Instead of just running a training school, we are working with our talented graduate alumni to set up our very own Non-Profit business. The goal is simple but powerful: our graduates get to work for a living wage, and 100% of the profits will go directly back into funding the training for the next group of women. By 2027, we want this program to be completely self-sufficient. It’s about moving from “training” to “thriving.”
To get this engine started, we have some big goals for this year. We are looking to purchase an industrial embroidery machine and a printing machine so our women can start producing at scale. We’ve already identified a huge need in the community for:
300-400 handmade school uniforms for local students.
Sports kits, church group uniforms, and corporate wear for local businesses.
Tourist-ready items for markets and potentially our own stall at the famous V&A Waterfront in Cape Town!
We’re even planning “Sip n Sew” parties and children’s craft sessions to bring the community into the heart of what we do. Every single cent raised helps us buy the equipment and fabric needed to kick-start this business initiative.
If you’ve been with us for a while, you know we love finding solutions that last. This isn’t just a donation; it’s an investment in a business that will eventually fund its own mission.
Together, we can help these women build a future where they aren’t just graduates, but the owners of their own success.
Thank you for being part of this 20-year journey!
________________________________________________________________
Nov 4, 2025
Building Strength, Stitch by Stitch
By Tyrone Bennett |Â CEO
Graduates with Teacher James
What a year it’s been for our Women Empowerment Program in South Africa! Thanks to you and a £3,000 grant we’ve taken women who were unemployed and unsure of their future and turned them into confident sewing professionals. It’s honestly been amazing to see the transformation.
Some of our graduates are now sewing school uniforms, others are fulfilling corporate orders, and a few have even started their own little side hustles in the community. Seeing them walk out the door with pride (and a few big smiles) reminds us exactly why this program matters so much.
But it’s not all easy going. While donations have been incredible, they come in waves, and that makes things tricky. It costs around £1,400 a month to keep our safe sewing space open, pay our two incredible teachers, keep the machines running, and buy fabric. We’ve been super careful this year, spreading every donation to make sure we lasted as long as possible. And we did… right up until October 28th when the last bit of funding ran out.
So we’ve had to hit pause on our training for now while we regroup and raise more support. The dream? To have a community of amazing monthly donors who give a little each month so we can keep the doors open all year round, keep the sewing machines buzzing, and continue changing lives one stitch at a time.
We’ve come so far, and we’re not stopping here. Thank you for being part of this journey and believing in these women. With your help, 2026 is going to be the year we make this program unstoppable.
With love and endless gratitude
Support our Stitch & Learn program in South Africa, which teaches unemployed women sewing and business skills. Your donation helps us provide sewing machines, materials, and qualified instructors. Together, we can empower women with the tools to build small businesses, earn an income, and transform their lives through sustainable skill-based education. We also help fund our non-profit business that employs graduates to help them utilise their skills after graduation – key element to our project.
Imagine being born in a community where you are expected as a woman to drop out of education at a young age, look to start a family and learn to run a house. South Africa faces high unemployment among women, especially in underserved communities like ours. Without access to skills training or mentorship, many are unable to find jobs or support their families. The cycle of poverty and inequality continues without long-term solutions rooted in empowerment. They need a helping hand to step up
Your gift funds our sewing training centre for women. We offer classes in sewing, pattern making, and basic business management. With access to equipment and mentorship, women learn to create and sell garments, becoming entrepreneurs or securing work. Donations support rent, materials, and instructors to keep the program running. By donating to this program we can keep the lights on, machine sewing and women learning month to month and change lives. This centre is a safe and critical resource
Providing a mass skillshare program and startup loans and support to women this project is tackling the poverty cycle as well as gender inequality in the community as more women become successful in business. Job creation also has a huge long-term impact, as these businesses grow there are more opportunities to employ other women in the community, together we can develop communities and empower women
Project Report | Mar 9, 2026
We’re Going Sustainable Funded by 2027
By Dorcas |Â Sewing Teacher
Our Sewing School in Action
Hello to our wonderful community of supporters,
I’m reaching out with an update that I am incredibly excited to share. As we hit our 20-year milestone at Action Change in 2026, we’ve been looking at how to make our impact even more permanent. While the local landscape for donated materials has shifted recently, it has actually given us the perfect nudge to launch a massive, game-changing plan we’ve been dreaming about for a while.
We are officially moving toward a fully sustainable, circular business model!
Instead of just running a training school, we are working with our talented graduate alumni to set up our very own Non-Profit business. The goal is simple but powerful: our graduates get to work for a living wage, and 100% of the profits will go directly back into funding the training for the next group of women. By 2027, we want this program to be completely self-sufficient. It’s about moving from “training” to “thriving.”
To get this engine started, we have some big goals for this year. We are looking to purchase an industrial embroidery machine and a printing machine so our women can start producing at scale. We’ve already identified a huge need in the community for:
300-400 handmade school uniforms for local students.
Sports kits, church group uniforms, and corporate wear for local businesses.
Tourist-ready items for markets and potentially our own stall at the famous V&A Waterfront in Cape Town!
We’re even planning “Sip n Sew” parties and children’s craft sessions to bring the community into the heart of what we do. Every single cent raised helps us buy the equipment and fabric needed to kick-start this business initiative.
If you’ve been with us for a while, you know we love finding solutions that last. This isn’t just a donation; it’s an investment in a business that will eventually fund its own mission.
Together, we can help these women build a future where they aren’t just graduates, but the owners of their own success.
Thank you for being part of this 20-year journey!
________________________________________________________________
Nov 4, 2025
Building Strength, Stitch by Stitch
By Tyrone Bennett |Â CEO
Graduates with Teacher James
What a year it’s been for our Women Empowerment Program in South Africa! Thanks to you and a £3,000 grant we’ve taken women who were unemployed and unsure of their future and turned them into confident sewing professionals. It’s honestly been amazing to see the transformation.
Some of our graduates are now sewing school uniforms, others are fulfilling corporate orders, and a few have even started their own little side hustles in the community. Seeing them walk out the door with pride (and a few big smiles) reminds us exactly why this program matters so much.
But it’s not all easy going. While donations have been incredible, they come in waves, and that makes things tricky. It costs around £1,400 a month to keep our safe sewing space open, pay our two incredible teachers, keep the machines running, and buy fabric. We’ve been super careful this year, spreading every donation to make sure we lasted as long as possible. And we did… right up until October 28th when the last bit of funding ran out.
So we’ve had to hit pause on our training for now while we regroup and raise more support. The dream? To have a community of amazing monthly donors who give a little each month so we can keep the doors open all year round, keep the sewing machines buzzing, and continue changing lives one stitch at a time.
We’ve come so far, and we’re not stopping here. Thank you for being part of this journey and believing in these women. With your help, 2026 is going to be the year we make this program unstoppable.
With love and endless gratitude
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