TUNAJITAMBUA

Tailoring at the Umoja Training Centre

By Standing Voice

January 9^th, 2020

The Tunajitambua Tailors were founded by Standing Voice in 2017. Based at our Umoja Training Centre, they are a group of people with and without albinism developing the skills and confidence to tailor professionally. The group meets year-round, but recently embarked on an intensive three-week workshop as part of our Summer Skills programme. Under the guidance of local tailor Lillian Mosha and international visiting specialist Kate Uzzell -- returning to Tanzania for her second consecutive summer -- the group built on prior learning to produce their most prolific range of products yet. For our many participants with albinism, this training continues to provide the route toward a brighter future: a pathway to greater economic security, and a platform to escape outdoor occupations hazardous to their skin.

Greeting beginners as well as more competent returning faces, Kate and Lillian delivered a stimulating programme culminating in the batch production of hats—a pertinent project for those requiring sun protection. The workshop began with a focus on design—conceptualising, illustrating and planning one’s product—before moving into production and brand development.

The tailors’ strong sewing skills -- honed in last year’s Summer Skills Workshop, and their weekly meetings since -- meant that more time could be invested this year in developing their entrepreneurial acumen. The tailors were also able to produce on a greater scale than ever before, with each taking responsibility for a particular aspect of the process: together, they functioned as a smooth production line. The tailors also collaborated with other workshop groups, as the Umoja Photographers captured their work through a lens and conducted a photoshoot to showcase the tailors’ new range.

The coming months will see the tailors diversify their skill sets further, as they take on new designs and shapes. Once they have mastered a range of designs, wider distribution of their products will begin en masse.

“It’s been incredible to see the growth in the tailors since last year. There is a real sense that the group feel supported; that any challenges they articulate are heard and addressed by Standing Voice. I think that’s a big part of why they’re progressing so quickly.”

-- Kate Uzzell (Workshop Leader)

“The improvement in the tailors’ ability has been wonderful to see in the last couple of weeks alone.”

-- Lillian Mosha (Workshop Leader)

“I want to be a role model for my community. When people see what I have achieved they will see that a woman with albinism can do anything, that she too is capable of defying expectations and realising her dreams.”

-- Florentina Ngoroma (Participant)

"The Summer Skills Workshop has taught me to make hats, pillowcases and bed sheets that I can sell. Perhaps, together, the other tailors and I can build an enterprise that will create many more possibilities for all of us. I’m so grateful for the support of Standing Voice and their belief in my ability to succeed."