44-year-old Mexican Sonia Castrejón, owner of the sewing workshop, La Michoacana in Bushwick, Brooklyn, uses her skills in this art to help other women who, like her, have come to this country with a purpose.
“Here, well, this country is full of opportunities and I came and many doors have been opened for me in the sense of work and well, the little that I like to teach. So I said well, if one day I am going to start cooking and have a machine, I am going to teach the little that I know”, says Castrejón.
She says that she arrived in New York with one hand in front and the other behind two decades ago and, since then, like all immigrants, she has had to do endless jobs, although the one she really wanted was not easy for her:
“Well, in that sense I did not have support, I did have many jobs where to work, but none were free, everything was paid, if I wanted to learn to sew, pay, if I wanted to learn something else, pay, then I said no, no, no, the day I have, I’m going to do it for free”, she adds.
Her small workshop is located inside a community library, for which she thanks her neighbors for their support and in return, she says that her first class was given to mothers with children with health problems so that in some way or another they could get an income.
“Well, the satisfaction for me has been very great, because as I told you I wanted to get here and have my hands and doors open and well, in some it was difficult for me and that’s why I do it,” says Sonia Castrejón.
Two of the students currently work with her and her friends and colleagues who admire her for her work, say that none like her. As Victory Shots:
“I told him, but I want to sew, I want to do, ok do you have experience? Do it. She lent me her machines, so from there I realized that she was not an envious person, because another person does not lend you their things, but she does not, she told me come and then from there we continue the friendship, “he said.
The newspaper receives calls from children, men and women from different parts of the city, interested in the next course that will take place in April.
“So here we are going to help you get one… The only requirement for me is that you have the desire to get ahead,” he told someone who called by phone.
La Michoacana says that the materials come out of her pocket, and she even looks for them in second-hand stores, but the machines are donated by groups in the community, and in the end they are a gift for her students.
If you want more information about the workshops or want to donate a sewing machine for the next class, you can do so by texting 347-962-4261 or 929-530-7038.
