Giving dresses of love

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, July 18, 2006

When school begins in Mexico, 90 adopted sisters will sport Shelby County handiwork to school.

For two months now, the Seniors, Singles and Friends of Wilton Baptist Church have been busy sewing dresses to send to Matamorous Children&8217;s Home in Mexico. The children&8217;s home began when one couple adopted 150 children in Mexico.

Ninety of the adopted children are girls who need pretty dresses to wear to the village public school, especially on the first day of classes.

Joyce Sears, from Brierfield, heard about the children’s home from her daughter, Leslie Gallina.

Sears said, &8220;My daughter and her husband have been going to the village for three or four years now, and they are there this week. The home relies on people like us to help them.&8221;

So far, the Seniors, Singles and Friends have made over 58 dresses, with one woman, Juanita Black, making 25 dresses.

&8220;That&8217;s outstanding,&8221; Loretta Nelson, a non-sewer who has donated purchased dresses, commented.

Nelson said, &8220;Can you imagine what it would be like to go to school and not have new clothes like other kids have?

And I can&8217;t imagine us being as well off as we no doing something for kids like that. How can anybody not want to help children?&8221;

The brightly colored dresses range come in all sizes and styles. Myra Stewart even made a reversible dress.

&8220;The reason I did it was because one fabric was so thin I didn&8217;t want it to make a dress from it. I put it over another fabric and thought, &8216;Well I like it like that!&8217;&8221;

The first load of 65 dresses will be sent to Brownsville, Texas where they will be picked up and taken to Mexico.

Two churches in Maryland are providing jeans and T-shirts for the boys. Joyce said, &8220;When they get the clothes they are going to dress the kids and send back pictures.&8221;