Greetings!

The Lydia Smith Ward Women’s Missionary Society continues to show love to our neighbors who are often in plain sight and those far far away. In keeping with this focus, we launched our Little Dresses for Africa project in March, 2019. In so doing we joined forces with an ongoing project often referred to as Pillowcase Dresses for Africa. Our deadline for completion of all dresses is Sunday, July 21st with shipment to take place during the last week of July.

Our goal was set at 100 dresses before the end of the 2019 conference year and Praise the Lord we currently have 70 with more in development! Above is a collage of many of the beautiful dresses in our collection! As noted on the collage, we are not just sending dresses, we’re sending hope. One way this is done is via those who actually visit and deliver the dresses who can then meet and encourage recipients to share their needs and then follow up with ways to help them accomplish their dreams (e.g., educational resources, clean water, community places, etc.). Our dresses can be viewed in the Walker room here at St. Andrews AME until mid-July when they will be prepared for shipment to our neighbors in Africa!

We wish to thank all who have participated thus far, those considering participation, and those who are praying for the success of our project. A special thank you to our Young People’s Division (YPD) who shared their creative talents and unique design techniques in creating dresses.

If you are wondering how you might participate, here are a few suggestions: 1)make a dress using our standard pattern, 2)donate fabric or pillowcases, or 3)donate funds for shipping costs to send the dresses to a USA location where the ongoing project leaders will send them to their final destinations in various parts of Africa. Please contact the Lydia Smith Ward Women’s Missionary Society for additional information on how you can contribute. Again, our deadline for completion of all dresses is Sunday, July 21st with shipment to take place during the last week of July.