Last week the Stitch team went up to Sainte Luce to conduct the monitoring of the first year of Phase III of the project. The team consisted of the two Stitch interns and two translators, Aureline and Azafady’s Sainte Luce Community Agent Sylvie.
Monitoring and evaluation is an essential part of a project as it reveals how the participants feel about the progress of the project. In the road towards independence and sustainability, understanding the feelings of the embroiderers is crucial. It provides an opportunity to reflect on what could be improved and to see that the project is on the path to fulfilling its goals.
Embroidering for Stitch Sainte Luce has had a tremendously positive impact on the women’s lives. We were delighted to hear how many of them believe that Stitch is helping them to achieve their aspirations. Some women had been able to save up to buy a zebu, and others had been able to repair their houses. Those with children are all able to send their children to school.
The embroiderers were very positive about the changes taking place within Stitch. In August the Project Coordinator, and their teacher, returned to the UK in order to do a Master’s. As a result they have taken on many more responsibilities in running the business. People responded very positively about how the Association was running without Sarah and about trust in their new responsibilities. This was a huge step for the Association and we are thrilled that everything is still running smoothly. This is due to the hard work and dedication of all of the embroiderers and of course to the fantastic Project Assistant Paula!
Having mastered how to run the internal elements of the business, the women are eager to move on to the external elements. They are already holding a monthly stall in Fort Dauphin. This is an exciting year for Stitch Sainte Luce and we look forward to being able to report more positive changes.
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