Mission supplies fabric to DR sewing guild

Creemore photographer Bryan Davies is taking as much fabric as he can when he joins a mission trip to Dominican Republic this month.

The fabric, donated by House of Stitches quilting shop owner Cheryl Robertson, is being delivered to a women’s centre in the Batey of Cangrejo, which was outfitted with sewing machines as part of a previous mission. The centre provides a space for women in the male-dominated culture to gather.

HHART organizer Steve Wallace explained, “Last year the Rotary Club of Sosúa received a call from a ladies sewing guild explaining that due to a massive electrical surge incident, their sewing machines were unusable. That club reached out to HHART for assistance and we managed to deliver over 10 machines to them. The guild creates clothing for orphanages and the poor. The bulk of this year’s material donation will go to the guild.”

Davies is a member of the Rotary Club of Wasaga Beach, which organizes the Haitian Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Team (HHART) missions. The 10th and 11th trips are happening between Jan. 28 and Feb. 11. Davies is staying for the full two weeks, having really enjoyed his experience last year.

“It’s so gratifying,” he said. “The people are so grateful.”

The missions are designed to assist the many people, mostly Haitians, living in poverty in the Dominican Republic by providing medical and dental treatment, eyeglasses, improvements to housing, food programs, school supplies, water system upgrades, road work, and employment mentoring.

Davies will also be doing portraits for people and will be documenting the trip.