“I remember constantly moving around during my childhood,” explains Lucie. She rearranges the colourful batiks and lays them evenly on a shelf in the tailoring workshop at the vocational school for girls in Dakar. She loves being here, sewing, embroidering and arranging everything when she finishes her work. A difficult situation forced her parents to emigrate. They moved to Dakar from Guinea in search of work.

“There were thirteen of us. Food was scarce in the house. I remember the room I shared with all the other twelve. Eventually, things didn’t work out well here either and some of the family returned to Guinea. Unfortunately, I had to move,” Lucie recalls.

“When things weren’t going well at home, I liked to go to tailors’ shops and see how clothes were made. I dreamt of being able to sew myself a dress, but never had the money,” says Lucie.

The lack of any prospects was the catalyst to take the fight for her future into her own hands. She convinced her father. He agreed to let her return to Dakar, and she found her way to Foyer Maria Goretti. She was scared, but she firmly believed that her plan would succeed.

She caught Sister Ewa’s attention from the very beginning of her education, displaying courage and curiosity about the world. She quickly mastered the use of sewing machines and more advanced overlocks and electronic embroidery machines.

After graduating from our school, although she could have found employment anywhere, she stayed with the sewing cooperative being set up at the school. Thanks to her work, she can support herself and her family. She also convinced her younger sister that it is worth fighting for yourself, and helped her prepare for her entry exams to the Dakar school.

Today, Lucie talks about her dreams quite differently. Thanks to her training, business studies and practical tailoring classes, she has a plan to open her own showroom, where she will bring her childhood designs to life and produce stunning creations.

Women all over the world carry similar desires in their hearts: they dream of security, health, a peaceful life and happiness for their children and loved ones. However, not everyone has the opportunity to make these dreams a reality. Fund a day of education and help a woman from an impoverished area of Senegal to make her dreams come true.