In November 2022, when Transformational Community Development (TCD) was introduced to Sawaya Village, it suffered from multi-dimensional poverty and could be best described as a village with “the poorest of the poor.” The majority of women did not have any skills and had no source of income. One TCD worker, Thereza, came up with possible interventions to solve the problem, among which was starting a cooperative skills class. Through TCD partnerships, the community was gifted two sewing machines in order to facilitate women’s empowerment training.

It took a long time to get a trainer, but as soon as one was found, 34 women started to attend sewing classes 3–4 days per week. Even though one trainer and two sewing machines are insufficient to train 34 women at the same time (with more women showing interest regularly), it is the path forward for the women of Shawaya who are ready to change the narrative of poverty and underdevelopment.