There are roughly 153 million orphans and 40.3 million victims of human trafficking around the world.
One Utah woman is helping these children by sewing over five thousand dresses.
A sign hanging in Arda’s small sewing room describes her perfectly: “She works with her hands in delight.”
Following a four-car collision on the freeway that left Arda Molen with a difficulty to walk, Arda became depressed with her inability to do what she normally would.
“I needed to do something sitting down, and sewing is what I do sitting down,” Arda said.
Arda’s do-er personality knew the best way to keep busy was by doing something greater than herself.
“I just decided that instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I would do something for somebody that was a lot worse off than me,” she said.
For the past four years, Arda has spent six to eight hours a day sewing thousands of dresses. These dresses are then taken to children all over the world.
“We send them to Guatemala, Mexico and South America. The majority of them have recently gone to Malawi,” she said.
Arda makes these girls dreams come true by creating dresses of various designs, including Disney, Christmas, and African-styled dresses.
A thousand of Arda’s dresses have been delivered in Africa by the non-profit organization World of Difference.
“Nothing would compare with the excitement and joy and happiness you see in the eyes and the faces and the hearts of the little girls that receive the dresses,” said Dr. Richard Nielsen, President of World of Difference.
The immense sewing Arda has done for the past four years has left Arda’s right hand severely damaged and in pain. But the difficulty she experiences with her hand is well worth the joy she sees in the photos of the children receiving the dresses.
“That’s what keeps me going is looking at the photos,” Arda said.
