Sew it goes: The Sewing Machine Project stitches lives back together
She’d learned to sew as a little girl, but it was a 2004 tsunami that helped Margaret Jankowski understand the real value of a sewing machine.
Images of destruction riveted viewers around the world, but what touched Ms. Jankowski most deeply was the story of a woman returning to her ruined village in Sri Lanka to find that her sewing machine – her only source of income – was gone.
Earning a living does more than put food on the table and money in the bank. It builds pride and hope. The Sewing Machine Project helps people do both.
“I could easily make a living without my sewing machine,” Ms. Jankowski recalls thinking. “That wasn’t true of this woman.” She resolved to send sewing machines to Sri Lanka, thinking that she might be able to round up machines that people were trying to get rid of.
In the 16 years since, The Sewing Machine Project, as Ms. Jankowski has dubbed her organization, has shipped 3,350 machines around the world – and across town.
