Dresses for Timor-Leste

Stitch 4 Kids NZ’s main project is sewing clothes for girls aged 5-14 in Timor-Leste.

We also have local discrete projects such as book bags for new entrants at South Featherston School, pinafores for Little Bundles Wairarapa and a ‘yo-yo’ quilt made from scraps from our larger projects.

Why Timor-Leste?

Annie’s daughter-in-law, Jane, had visited Timor-Leste in 2019 supporting the New Zealand Defence Force contingent to mark the 20th anniversary of INTERFET. Jane was deeply moved by the history and people of Timor-Leste and contributed to a small fund to support young Timor-Leste women through the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.

Woman and child in Dili, Timor-Leste, 2019. Image courtesy of PO Chris Weissenborn, NZDF.
Boys with their chicken, Dili, Timor-Leste, 2019. Image courtesy of Chris Weissenborn, NZDF.

When Annie asked Jane about potential beneficiaries of Stitch 4 Kids NZ, Jane suggested Timor-Leste. A meeting with Her Excellency Felicidade Guterres, the Timor-Leste Ambassador to New Zealand, in Wellington was arranged for early December 2022 and our first project was confirmed.

HE Felicidade Guterres (right) and Annie Woodhams with a sample dress in Wellington, December 2022.

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