Documentary about a tailoring school in Malawi wins honor at IndieFEST Film Festival ![]() For Immediate Release (Tucson, AZ) — The documentary entitled “Reap What You Sew” was given the Award of Recognition at the 2019 IndieFEST Film Festival last week. In the past year, IndieFEST award winners have included Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges, “Little House on the Prairie” star Melissa Gilbert, movie and TV star Danny Glover, and Emmy winner Jeff Daniels, among others. Filmed exclusively on location in Malawi and Mozambique last year, “Reap What You Sew” chronicles the lives of several former graduates of a tailoring school founded by author and speaker, Dr. Deb Waterbury. In the two years since the school began, over 90% of the graduates have started their own businesses, some opening bank accounts for the first time in their lives. Dr. Waterbury says the documentary is an accurate portrayal of the impoverishment in these countries. ![]() “Malawi is one of the poorest nations in the world, and the women there are often destitute,” says Waterbury. “These women receive no education and are often widowed due to AIDS. There are no department stores in the country so you have to buy clothes from tailors, making this the perfect skill for women to learn and pass on to their children. Elizabeth, one of our students from last semester opened up her own storefront in her village and called it ‘Thank You Jesus Tailoring Shop’. The transformation in her life has been remarkable and is one of the highlights of the film.” The students at the Reap What You Sew school attend a six-month program and receive a sewing machine and supplies free of charge, as well as accounting and bookkeeping training. Students are required to pay 500 kwacha (about .70 cents per month) so they are personally invested, and they must maintain an 85% attendance record to stay in the program. Most of the school’s expenses— tuition, teacher salaries, sewing machines, fabric, and other necessities— are covered by tax-deductible donations from individuals and companies. Dr. Waterbury says that they have a long waiting list of women. “We try to choose women who are economically in dire straits, and a large percentage of women in Malawi fall into that category. Our plan is to open branches of this school in other needy countries in Africa, and my ultimate goal is to offer additional training for culinary arts, aesthetics, and other necessary skills in addition to tailoring.” Dr. Waterbury hopes the documentary will shed light on the plight of these women, and will encourage enough donations to fund several schools in the neediest parts of Africa. “The people of Africa have such a precious love for God,” says Waterbury. “A revival has been going on throughout the continent for some time now. I want these schools to be a beacon of hope for these women who are praying for a better life for themselves and their children. The people and companies who support our efforts are being the hands and feet of Jesus in a real way. My prayer is that this film will help more people catch the vision we have of offering these women a hand-up, not a hand-out.” View the movie trailer “Reap What You Sew” was directed by Tyler Adams and produced by Love Everlasting Ministries and Sora Entertainment. Screenings of "Reap What You Sew" are currently scheduled in several individual markets including Tucson, AZ, Atlanta, GA, Nashville, TN, among others. The documentary has also been featured on NRB TV Network and is scheduled to air on GEB America in the coming weeks. ![]() The “Reap What You Sew” school is the subject of an award-winning documentary that has been broadcast on the NRB TV and GEB America networks. The film was given the Award of Recognition at the 2019 IndieFEST Film Festival, and honored at the 2019 Best Shorts Competition, both of which are mainstream film festivals whose honorees in the past twelve months have included Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges, movie and TV star Danny Glover, and Oscar nominee Larry Hankin. The documentary has been selected as a finalist for several additional domestic and international film festivals in the coming months. For more information visit www.RWYS.org. ![]() About Dr. Deb Waterbury: Dr. Deborah Waterbury is the founder of the non-profit organization Love Everlasting Ministries. She hosts the podcasts “Real Life with Deb Waterbury” and “Get Real with Deb Waterbury” as well as the one-minute radio feature, "Daily Dose with Dr. Deb". She has authored nine books, including her latest, “The Lies that Bind: And the Truth that Sets You Free.” Dr. Waterbury holds a Masters in the Art of Teaching from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, and acquired her Doctorate of Ministry in Biblical Expository Studies from Pillsbury Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. She currently resides in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband, Jeff. For more information, visit http://www.DebWaterbury.com. "Daily Dose with Dr. Deb" one-minute radio features are available to radio stations free of charge. Click here to listen to sample shows. Presented by the Adams Group
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