Mending lives with secondhand sewing machines
For 16 years, Margaret Jankowski has been lifting people out of poverty, repairing the lives of abused women, and offering hope through The Sewing Machine Project. Episode 1 of the 鈥淧eople Making a Difference鈥� podcast.听
鈥淲e passionately believe in the possibility a sewing machine embodies.鈥� That鈥檚 the mission statement of The Sewing Machine Project in Madison, Wisconsin.听
It鈥檚 a statement of hope. It also conveys the transformative power the project鈥檚 founder, Margaret Jankowski, has witnessed over the past 16 years. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen this tool lift people out of poverty, and I鈥檝e seen this tool lift people out of depression. I鈥檝e seen people become more confident when they鈥檙e sewing,鈥� she says.
She tells about what happened after a shipment of sewing machines was delivered to Tanzania in 2018. One woman, according to the local nongovernmental organization in Tanzania, didn鈥檛 have enough money for food, let alone to send her three children to school. But the donation of a secondhand machine made all the difference. 鈥淢ama Patrick,鈥� the NGO reported, started sewing, and teaching sewing, and selling her own handmade clothes in her village. 鈥淲ith that extra income, they now can send all three kids to school. They have food in the fridge,鈥澨齭ays Mrs. Jankowski, adding, 鈥淚 believe that that is a whole set of lives mended.鈥�
You might have seen the听Monitor story we wrote about Margaret Jankowski鈥檚 work听on June 3, 2021. We wanted to check in with her again, and take you a little deeper with an audio interview.
Episode transcript
Clay Collins: Welcome to Rethinking the News, from 海角大神. I鈥檓 Clay Collins, one of its editors. Today we offer the first episode of People Making a Difference, an audio extension of the Monitor鈥檚 long-running听franchise about individuals and organizations working to advance progress. You鈥檒l hear the backstories of some of the PMADs, as we call them, who you may have read about in the Monitor. And you鈥檒l meet some new difference-makers. These episodes are hosted by Dave Scott, the Monitor鈥檚 audience engagement editor.听
[Music]
Dave Scott:听That鈥檚 Margaret Jankowski, founder of The Sewing Machine Project in Madison, Wisconsin. She鈥檚 given out more than 3,300 secondhand sewing machines. But her project is really about teaching empathy, generosity, and how to repair lives. And as you listen to excerpts from our conversation, you鈥檒l see that Margaret seldom has all the answers, but she has learned to trust that a good idea has power and is often supported and shaped in ways she could never have imagined.
Welcome to 鈥淧eople Making a Difference,鈥� a podcast about people who are, step-by-step, making a better world.
I鈥檓 Dave Scott.
Welcome, Margaret.听
Dave Scott:听Let鈥檚 begin at the beginning. It鈥檚 2004, the day after Christmas, a huge tsunami devastates coastal communities in 14 countries across Asia. It鈥檚 one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history in the days and weeks afterwards, many of us look for ways to help. Tell us, Margaret, what you did.
Dave Scott:听Margaret was working at a sewing machine shop in Madison at the time, teaching sewing, selling machines, and taking customers through the features on new machines.
Dave Scott:听Margaret decided to try and do something about this imbalance between haves and have nots. She went to her boss but he wasn鈥檛 interested in her scheme. He and many others also kept pointing out the obstacles. How would you pay for shipping? Where would you actually send the secondhand sewing machines? And she didn鈥檛 have a lot of the answers.
Dave Scott:听At one point, Margaret went to a local TV station and held up a sketch of a big wave, a tsunami, on an 8.5 by 11 piece of paper and asked for people to donate their old sewing machines.
Dave Scott:听Over the next few months, Margaret raised the money to ship the sewing machines by reaching out to the local Kiwanis Club and Rotary Club and Girl Scouts and the school district. She ended up sending five shipments of sewing machines to orphanages in India. And she really thought that would be the end of the project, but then hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans in August of 2005.
Dave Scott:听So she redirected her efforts, asked her donors if they鈥檇 be OK if the remaining sewing machines and money could be used to help folks in New Orleans.
Dave Scott:听Margaret began making regular trips to New Orleans, collecting contact information when she didn鈥檛 have enough machines. It was there that she hit upon the 鈥減ay it forward鈥� concept, which then became a cornerstone of The Sewing Machine Project 鈥� something that would amplify her work and empower others.
Dave Scott:听Your mission statement: 鈥淲e passionately believe in the possibility a sewing machine embodies鈥� is a statement that conveys a sense of hope.鈥� Where did that come from?
Dave Scott:听I asked Margaret to share an example or two of how this tool has given hope and lifted people out of poverty.
Dave Scott:听Mending lives. That鈥檚 a powerful way of thinking about your work.
Dave Scott:听I鈥檝e never considered that the act of sewing could help teach people how to think and plan more effectively. So Margaret, you鈥檝e been doing this for 16 years now and touched many lives. How has this project transformed you?
Dave Scott:听Can you share an example of that big, old light showing you the way?
Dave Scott:听With results like that. I can see why you said this project has changed the way I walk in the world. Would you tell us about some of the other lessons you鈥檝e learned over the past 16 years? What would you pass along to somebody who鈥檚 doing work as a social entrepreneur?
[Music]
Dave Scott:听I hear a lot of openness to listening and continuous learning in Margaret鈥檚 approach to mending lives. And of course, [she has learned to] trust that a good idea comes with its inherent power and momentum. It doesn鈥檛 require that you know all the answers.
I鈥檝e been talking to Margaret Jankowski, founder of The Sewing Machine Project. We barely scratched the surface of what her organization does. So if you鈥檙e interested in learning more, go to her website,听听
Here鈥檚 this week鈥檚 challenge:听If you have a secondhand sewing machine, well, you know what to do. But if you don鈥檛, then, volunteer. Give some time to one of the social causes your company, your family or house of worship is supporting. Or, go to this website:听and the site may give you some ways to help out in your city or town. Then, call me and tell me how it went. Call me at 617-450-2410 and leave me a voice message about it. That鈥檚 617-450-2410.听
Thanks for listening to People Making a Difference, a podcast about people who are, step-by-step, making a better world.
End
