Seattle-Limbe Sewing Circle
Launched in 2015, the Seattle-Limbe Sewing Circle is a project of the Seattle-Limbe Sister City Association. Volunteers meet in four locations—First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME), Beth Shalom Synagogue, First Assumption Catholic Church, and Baitul Ehsaan Mosque. Our volunteers produce feminine care kits for schoolgirls in Cameroon.
Work sessions provide a unique opportunity: to participate as a member of a truly diverse community, where everyone has something valuable to contribute. (Men and children participate too!) Volunteers of all ages, faiths, ethnicities, and genders, and from all parts of the Seattle area, form relationships while working side by side, cutting, stitching, ironing, and assembling colorful hand-sewn feminine care kits.
Join us! No sewing skills are necessary—there are tasks for everyone, and new friends await you.
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2023 Sewing Circle Schedule
At one location in 2023...
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First African Methodist Episcopal Church
1522 14th Ave. (Capitol Hill), Seattle
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Saturdays 8:30 am to 2:00 pm
Feb 25 • March 25 • April 22
May 27 • June 24 • July 22 • Aug 26 •
Sept 23 • Oct 28
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Sewing circles qualify for
high school
service hours
Why feminine care kits?
A 2014 UNESCO report estimates that one in ten girls in Sub-Saharan Africa misses school during her menstrual cycle. This may equal as much as twenty percent of a given school year; in some cases girls drop out of school altogether due to lack of sanitary products and facilities.
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Consider these facts:
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Most girls in developing countries lack access to feminine care supplies.
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Girls are often isolated from their families or communities during their menses, and use leaves, mattress stuffing, newspaper, corn husks...anything as a substitute. These alternatives often lead to embarrassment and painful infections.
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In some cases, men exploit girls in exchange for money for products.
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Menstruating girls who are not in school are often considered "eligible" for marriage regardless of age, which forces early marriages and pregnancies, thereby eliminating chances for education.
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Addressing this issue is one of the keys to social change in developing countries. Together WE can
do something!
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SLSCA Sewing Circle
is a chapter of
Days for Girls
The more education a girl achieves, the greater the chances that she'll...
be healthier,
earn more income,
have fewer children, and
provide better health care and education to her own children
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...all of which can lift households out of poverty.
In sum, the more education a girl receives, the greater the benefits
for all.