Volunteers have been a key part of the success of ChildVoice’s programs over the years. Our volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Sometimes, they possess a skill set they never would have thought to be of use to war-affected youth living in a far-off country. One such volunteer is Carolyn Baldwin, whose considerable sewing skills have made her an integral part of our THRIVE reusable menstrual pad programs. Carolyn is not only a volunteer; she and her husband, Mark, are committed Amplified donors and give monthly to ChildVoice.
ChildVoice recently sat down with Carolyn to discuss her background, her interest in humanitarian aid, and how her sewing skills have proved far more valuable to ChildVoice’s THRIVE Project than she could ever have imagined.
Carolyn Baldwin (center) and ChildVoice Donor Relations Coordinator Krista Brown (second from left) training volunteers to make THRIVE menstrual pad kits.
ChildVoice: To get started, tell us a little bit about yourself and what you've done over the years.
Carolyn: I have a master's degree in library science, which I never saw fit to use very much. I worked until I had my kids. Then when I wanted to go back to work, the local Christian school that my kids went to was looking for a Spanish teacher, and I had minored in Spanish. So I taught middle school for a while. And while I was there, they needed somebody to do tech work on Macs, so I took a couple of courses and learned how to do that.
ChildVoice: You spent time doing mission work in Honduras. Tell us about that.
Carolyn: After Hurricane Mitch, a local church was doing a mission trip to go [to Honduras], so I asked if I could go. So I went and we built a house using rocks. They used oxen to go get them – the rocks. And it was all done by hand, mixing cement on the ground and all that. I thought it would be nice to be able to go back, but it didn't happen for a while. But then my boss at the Christian school was going down to interview a guy for a job. This guy was afraid to fly, so he didn't want to come up for the interview. So we went down. [My boss] didn't speak Spanish; I did. So, I got to go back [to Honduras] and I even found the house we built. So we did our first mission trip, actually. And then, because we developed a relationship, we just kept going back. And I loved it! I would live there if I could.
ChildVoice: So was that in the city? Was it in Tegucigalpa or – .
Carolyn: No, in the mountains. These are very remote villages. There's no asphalt between there and anywhere. So it's tough when it rains. There's no electricity. So to me, it's kind of like a big camping trip. But I got to do it because I had the language.
And I always tried to cook with the women because I could sort of talk to the women. We would make tortillas and mine would come out triangular! That was very funny. I ended up going down Honduras 14 times all together.
ChildVoice: One of the things that we've talked about is you being able to take something that you love – sewing – and use it for a really great purpose. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Carolyn: We moved to New Hampshire. We ended up in Nottingham and went to Raymond Baptist Church. And we did Bible study together with Krista [Brown, ChildVoice Donor Relations and Outreach Coordinator].
Krista knew I sewed, and she came and asked me if I would be interested in doing this THRIVE project. I didn't really have the proper qualifications for teaching. I don't have any tech education except a couple of fly-by-night courses. But sewing, I do know how to do. My mom taught me, and it just fits the qualities that I have. I started thinking: Well, God made me to sew, but I don't know why. I don't see what good it does Him! And so now, I feel like I see what good it does, because I get to do it and share it with people. And it just seems like such a good fit. I didn't expect that.
ChildVoice: Tell us about your role in THRIVE.
Carolyn: It's sort of like being a teacher, at least when people want to know about the project and we have them come and do it together. So, you know, figuring out how to best explain it and communicate really clearly.
ChildVoice: You’ve been involved in THRIVE from the beginning of when we started this project and streamlined several aspects of it to make it go smoother, and make it the best product that we can. You prep templates in advance so people can get right to sewing. You know how to sew the different components. You give tips as far as how to make it easier. Is it fair to say you're the “Master Kit Maker” of all of the THRIVE kit components?
Carolyn: Yeah. And it's interesting when we do get a group together because sometimes you'll get people who really know how to sew and it's a breeze. You’re just showing them the steps and helping them to meet the standards. I feel like Henry Ford sort of doing the assembly line. You know, it's much faster if we do six of these at once instead of in each one. And that's just the way my brain works.
And then there's sewing machine troubleshooting, because sewing machines know when you really want them to work and they refuse to go!
ChildVoice: Let’s take a step back. What was your initial reaction when Krista first approached you about volunteering for ChildVoice?
My first thought was Uganda's a horrible place and horrible things have happened there. Who would want to go there? But it was almost like, I don't know, a redemption kind of thing. It's beautiful, the people I keep thinking about. You know, sometimes somebody hurts your feelings or does something you don't like, and you find it kind of hard to forgive? I guess I can carry a grudge. But to think that all those people at the Lukome Center forgave the ones who came and killed their relatives. It's really kind of overwhelming.
ChildVoice: How did it feel to meet the students in Uganda and see our programs in action?I was a little disappointed in myself. I let the language barrier stop me from really getting close to any one person there. And it didn't, you know, feel like something I thought of as a mission trip. So it's a different experience. But, the worship at night was just amazing compared to here.
This was a funny thing, too. You know, my grandmother sewed, my mother sewed, my other grandmother sewed. And then my mom just died two or three years ago. And so all these people have passed away, and I had their stuff. I had 30 pairs of scissors! So I had them all sharpened, and then I went to Uganda, I took my extra scissors. And I had more needles than you would ever use. My great aunt was a seamstress for money, and I had some of her stuff. And my parents were in business selling sheepskin and sheepskin products – my dad had learned to sew mittens and little puppies and stuff. So I had all their leftover stuff from their business too.
So I packed up all this stuff that I was never going to use. When I got there, I gave it to these two guys and they started going through it and they're saying, “Oh yeah, this is on the list. Oh, yeah, that's on the list.” Well, I've never seen this list! I didn't know what the list was.
ChildVoice: One more question: over the time that you've been volunteering, what have you learned about ChildVoice that you didn't know when you started?
Carolyn: I want to say this. It's an organization that really does what they say they do. You can talk about ChildVoice to people because of what they’re actually doing. Their feet are really on the ground. They're really doing the work. It isn't just relief; it seems very well thought out. Also, there’s the desire to turn it over to Ugandans. One of the things about missions, if you're in a church and you're on a missions committee and they're talking about sending a small, short term group, sometimes it's “well, we don't just want the same people to keep on going, we like other people to have the chance.” It occurred to me that that's almost treating the people you're going to visit like they're some kind of zoo animal.
ChildVoice: You mean it can seem like the beneficiaries are serving the missionaries, rather than the missionaries serving the people they’re going to visit?
Carolyn: Yeah. But I'm not the point, right? And the organization isn't the point. The girls are the point. And in my reading of scripture, that's what we're supposed to be doing: you know, caring for the poor and widows and orphans.
ChildVoice: Carolyn, thank you so much for talking with us. We need more perspectives like this.