A group of Westbury craftswomen are providing a lifeline for women in Uganda, by sending them refurbished sewing machines.

Members of Westbury Quilters have been sending the revamped machines to the war-torn East African country for the past two years, giving women there the means to provide a living for themselves and their families.

Since their first coffee morning in 2012, the 30-strong membership has sent 17 refurbished sewing machines – their two most recent just before Christmas.

Jacky Williams, a member of Westbury Quilters for 15 years who is on the committee, said: “It started when we saw in the magazine Patchwork & Quilting an article called Threads of Hope.

“It was about the terrible situation in Uganda with the Lord’s Resistance Army destroying villages and separating families.”

The article explained that, among the death and devastation, local churches were offering girls tailoring lessons to give them a brighter future.

With no work available, after leaving the school many girls were turning to prostitution to survive.

“As women, and sewing women, our hearts went out to these girls in Uganda and we felt we had to do something to help,” Mrs Williams said.

“We felt the tailoring school was a fantastic idea but that it doesn’t achieve its goal if these girls can’t make a living so that is why we pledge the refurbished sewing machines and other stuff like fabric and threads.”

The machines are sent through the charity Edukid, who provide education for children affected by war and poverty.

Westbury Quilters, who meet on the last Tuesday of every month at Leigh Park Community Centre, could not have expected they would have received so much support when they initially started.

“It costs £40 to send a sewing machine so we decided to hold a coffee morning in 2012 to try and raise the money to send one,” added Mrs Williams.

“We received so much support and actually raised £215 and people came with sewing machines, so in the end we were able to send 10.

“They are quite hard to get hold of and many people throw them out not knowing how they could help, so we would be really grateful if people could send them to us instead.”

To help or to join the Westbury Quilters, call Mrs Williams on 01373 826222 or Susanne Pickup on 01380 830037 or email susannepickup@btinternet.com