Meet Neelab.

 

Neelab fled Kabul last year with her family, first moving to Pakistan and then to the UK army base in Shrivenham, where she lives with her parents-in-law and her two young children. 

 

Following the change of regime in Afghanistan, women were prohibited from working, driving, or sending their daughters to school. Due to a lack of adequate clothing, Neelab reached out to a mutual friend who worked for the Red Cross to request a sewing machine. With this, she honed her skills as a seamstress. Initially, she had limited experience with a Western-style sewing machine, but she has since become proficient at making beautiful aprons.

 

It took me two months and a road trip to a fabric warehouse in London to realize that Neelab speaks more English than she initially let on! She is actively learning English in her spare time, and we enjoy discussing fabric and trim combinations at length.