Self Sustaining Programs

Hands of Grace: Hands of Grace is the backbone of the self-supporting structure of the Grace Center.  In 2009, two sewing machines were purchased and four women trained by one of our interns.  

As their training project the women are sewing shorts, skirts and uniforms for the children in the programs. The women are then able to hand out the clothing they make to the children. They are always so excited to be able to give the kids their handiwork!

As the women progress in their abilities, we will create products for sale at local markets, and eventually expand to international markets.  Proceeds from clothing sales will create a sustainable source of income for the children’s programs.  The textile project will also create jobs for local women.

Construction began in May on the textile center. Already, $10,000 has been given to fund the building itself!  Another $7,000 is still needed for furnishings, $2,000 for wiring, and $500 for landscaping.  Please click here to contribute to the Textile Center.  Or, if you have an electric sewing machine you would like to donate (along with several packages of needles), you would help to greatly reduce our cost for furnishings. Please email laura@cohcommunity.org to inquire about sewing machine donations.

The Mill

In Malawi it’s common to see a Malawian woman walking several miles with 50 pounds of corn balanced on her head. After growing the crop, each family’s corn must be carried by foot to a mill for processing and then back home for cooking. With electricity coming to the Grace Center campus, we are beginning plans to build a corn mill. Currently, the nearest mill is approximately two miles away.

 Running our own mill would provide both a sustainable source of funding for our existing programs and a benefit to the community. The Grace Center is positioned half way between the two existing mills, so the construction of a mill at that site will greatly reduce the distance local farmers have to carry their crops for processing. The small fee these farmers pay to use the mill would be funneled into our children’s nutritional program.

 The estimated cost for the mill is $30,000 of which $9,000 has already been raised. We would like to find 200 people who would be willing to contribute $100 toward the completion of this project.  Would you consider a donation of $100 for the mill project?  I want to help build the mill.

We believe that working together we can easily raise the funding necessary to move the Grace Center one important step closer to financial independence and sustainability.