My name is Ana Beatriz Amarante Passos Barbirato, I work as a lawyer, I live in Rio de Janeiro and  I've been spending my time working on this  beautiful project sewing dresses to poor girls. I joined this project because even though Rio de Janeiro and Brazil  are very rich in real beautiful nature, there are a lot of social problems that have to be solved. The first step can be given by anyone of us who want to change the future of many children, with dignity and responsibility.

Way back, when I was around 10, and my mom was getting a "baby bonus" cheque every month from the federal government, she came up with this idea: she would hand over that money (a whooping $10 a month) to me and I could make that my "clothing allowance". She would pay for expensive things like coats and boots. So, it seemed to me that sewing my own clothes made economic sense. By the time I was in high school, I was making about 80% of my clothes! And I did it so quickly. I made my two graduation gowns--for Grade 12 and Grade 13; I made my own wedding dress; I made my husband a two-layered parka with a lot of hand embroidery. After my son was born, I made him all kinds of clothes and he just loved them.I tried quilting but found it was too back breaking and meticulous for me. (One lady mentioned to me that it seemed sort of ridiculous to cut up strips of material and sew them back together!) While not sewing, I went to Waterloo and got an M.A. in Regional Planning and Resource Development. As a planner, I worked for such entities as the Cities of Ottawa and Edmonton and Alberta Municipal Affairs. I had a degree in piano playing at the age of sixteen. My background in classical music means more to me the older I get; I belong to a piano club in Edmonton and have taught for about 35 years. I have traveled extensively--until COVID. I met Nada when I had taken my training to become an English teacher--my goal at that time being to travel and teach English along the way in retirement. I never even though of teaching in Calgary, but the economic downturn in 2008 changed that. Nada hired me shortly after I took the training--10 years ago. I am grateful for the personal relationships I made with my students. Teaching ESL has made me even more grateful for having been born in Canada and for having English as my native tongue.

Currently living in rural Prince George on beautiful Ness Lake and formerly having lived many years in the Fort St. John (Prespatou, Alaska Highway) area.  British Columbia has had no representation with this well-known worldwide organization. So I’m changing that!

I have many connections with women who love to sew.  My mother sewed out of necessity and I learned from her.  I continue to enjoy sewing and quilting, especially during the long winter months although I do love being outdoors! I'm a retired teacher and taught some Clothing & Textiles courses. I love children! I'm teaching my grandchildren to sew and have multiple machines to work with several of them at once. They are getting an early start.  I sewed clothes for my children and now sew with and for my grandchildren.  Little girl's dresses are just (sew) much fun! When I heard about the Dress A Girl Around the World organization I felt it was a ministry and a cause that suited me well. Sharing the love of Christ in tangible ways resonates well with me. And getting together with three or four women in my sewing room to sew dresses is a wonderful way to spend a chilly day. I look forward to connecting with past friends and acquaintances and making new connections through a shared love for sewing and meeting needs around the world, one girl at a time. 

Susie

I live in rural Nova Scotia Canada and I love to sew. There is something special about sewing dresses for
little girls – it’s the smiles that get you. I was introduced to #ProjectDressaGirl three years ago
@marisews on YouTube and it really touched my heart. I learned to sew when I was close to six years
old and have always loved everything about sewing. When I was a teen, I used to make some wild
looking outfits, and to be fair, it was in the 80’s! LOL. Maybe that’s why I love working with cloth as it
brings back so many fun filled and creative memories. Sewing is something many people take for
granted and it’s a bit of a lost art that I love to share with others on my YouTube channel @Practical
Stitches. I also enjoy running a small on-line business called Menzfabrics.ca. Sewing is good for the soul
and it intrigues me how there is always something new to learn. The sewing community is incredible,
filled with talent, inspiration, enthusiasm and heartwarming acts of kindness.

Both my mom and my mom's mom were wonderful seamstresses, making clothes for their families, doing upholstery and sewing quilts. By Junior High I was getting into sewing clothes, and buying a Singer sewing machine was one of my first big investments after I left home. Like Lynne, I too made my own wedding dress, and when my children were young I made some of their clothes. Once they were older I started quilting until work and their activities took up most of my time. My other hobbies were swimming, hiking, traveling and gardening.I thought once I retired from teaching English that I would find the time to get back to quilting, but it took the recent pandemic to actually make that a reality. But one can only make so many quilts, so when Lynne approached me about Dress a Girl Around the World, it sounded like a great fit to use sewing as a means to help out girls in need. Have done several short-term mission trips to Japan, Kenya, and Peru, it is the children who steal my heart. If this is a small way to make a difference in the life of the girl, I am in.

Greetings, My name is Lyn Day and I presently am an owner of a very successful day care where children between the ages of 11 mo – 5 yoa learn: to socialize, life skills, the fundamental structure of education and play…we learn lots of play. 30 years ago I cared for trauma children that had been subjected to horrific actions at the hands of adults. Fostering was imperative to the healing and growth.  Today working with kiddies is my main passion; seeing them flourish within arms of loving kindness and concern. I learned to sew at the age of 3, in which my mother and aunt were adamant that I was successful at this skill. Throughout the years sewing was a way of life especially raising children on my own where the means to purchase just was not available. Life has taught me very valuable lessons and a few are: 1. Standing firm for what is right in the face of adversity and calamity.  2. Firm but kind always breeds success. 3. Stay true to oneself, direction and desires. Upon discovering Dress A Girl Around The World, it hit me that I found something which resonated with my own person, past experiences, present lifestyle and goals. Sincerely, I am looking forward to be an Ambassador for this organization and putting smiles on girls faces…there is nothing brighter than a full smile on small child’s face.

My name is Barbara and I live in a village near the mountains , 50 kilometres from Turin. I started sewing and crafting when I was little, worked as a tour leader while I was at Uni, qualified as an orthoptist , had three lovely sons, and very little time to follow my passion.

When my boys spread their wings I volunteered teaching Italian to foreigners and as a guide in a Felt Museum. I then became the workshop Coordinator, organising felting, weaving and paper making workshops for school children, families and people with physical and mental disabilities. My most heart felt project was making the Museum blind/visually impaired friendly. Now I pursue my old passion, sewing children and baby clothes and accessories and this is how I started reading about various charities sewing for children.

I started talking about this beautiful project to friends and local groups and we aim to combine teaching sewing with making lots of pretty dresses with all the care and love we will be able.

“Growing up in a small village in Uganda, my father passed away when I was two years old, my widowed mother had 9 children and I was the eighth born.  She had little to take care of all of us as our needs were many. Even though she grew crops for our food and sold some for our education, we hardly had enough clothes and underwear. We had one dress each for daily use and one dress for the six of us daughters for Sunday. We would go to church in turns because we had one dress, which was too big for my size as my mom had bought it for my elder sisters' size, but I was always happy to put it on whenever it was my turn to go to church

I promised myself that when I grow up, I would make sure every little girl I know gets a little dress for Sunday and especially Christmas and underwear, and sanitary pads when I became a teenager! That's my brief background of why I founded Ushindi Girls Hope. I came to know about Dress a Girl through a friend on Facebook who told me there was a group on Facebook that does what I love to do so much. I started following Dress a Girl on Facebook and always checked on their page to copy ideas so that I would bless girls in my community, and whatever I would see on the page really touched my heart and I saw my vision live through Dress a Girl. I saw Rachel Eggum Cinader share a post on Facebook, I liked everything she shared and contacted her as my passion of what she does couldn't keep calm in me.

I am so glad to be the ambassador of Dress a Girl in Uganda, I am looking forward to using this platform to reach out to millions of Ugandan little girls, blessing them with little dresses. This is a dream come true for me🙏”

I’m a 62 year old retired grandmother. I have worked 30 years at the local hospital, most of the time as a children's nurse. I also have a horticultural education and I love garden design. I’m born in Copenhagen and when I was seven we moved to Halmstad, Sweden. 

I have sewed clothes all my life and now I have a grandchild in UK who is 3.5 years old who love when "farmor" sew here a pink and purple dress. So I know how important it is for a girl to have a dress with pockets. My grandchild and I we each have a cozy cat called Charlie and every week they talk to each other over Skype. I have studied child psychology in my education to a children's nurse and I know how important it is to have a doll or some other precious thing that is only yours. I will speak warmly to all how important it is to send away a doll in every pocket because it can give the child a little comfort and someone to talk to.

ENGLISH VERSION:
My name is Danielle Giovi Abrahamsson, and I move to Sweden in 2017, living in Gothemburg. Since I arrive here I wanted to get involved in a project, but could not find one that really moved me, until a friend sent me the link of “Dress a Girl around the World”. Most of my life I worked in the art market, but as I was in a new country I decided to pursue an old dream that is to become a seamstress. As soon as I saw the project I knew it was what I was looking for. I want to help these girls in need to be secure but also to bring joy and happiness to their lives. Let´s make a difference in little girl’s lives. If you want to help, even if you can’t sew, contact me!

SWEDISH VERSION:
Jag heter Danielle Giovi Abrahamsson, och jag flyttar till Sverige år 2017, bosatt i Gothemburg. Sedan jag kom hit ville jag bli involverad i ett projekt, men kunde inte hitta någon som verkligen rörde mig, tills en vän skickade mig länken "Klä en tjej runt om i världen". Största delen av mitt liv arbetade jag på konstmarknaden, men när jag var i ett nytt land bestämde jag mig för att driva en gammal dröm som ska bli en sömnstress. Så fort jag såg projektet visste jag att det var det jag letade efter. Jag vill hjälpa dessa tjejer att vara säkra, men också att ge glädje och lycka till sina liv. Låt oss göra skillnad i små tjejs liv. Om du vill hjälpa, även om du inte kan sy, kontakta mig!

My name is Vanessa Campos. I am Brazilian and I live in Cascais, in Portugal. I was introduced to Dress a Girl Around the World via Facebook and at the moment I saw a picture of Rachel delivering dresses in Africa I knew that this was something I would really like to become involved in. Sewing each dress imagining the girls' faces is priceless! I hope to help girls to build confidence and improve their self esteem, but above all I am happy making the dresses to cover and protect their little bodies. Making some difference in their lives somehow even being a little is absolutely gratifying.
As an international partner I want to spread the idea of the Project and keep making dresses to send to the girls in need.