Rebecca's Story

Theraupetic Stitches
Rebecca is one of the women supported by Carakana Program and here shares her story: I am proud of the work of my hands. I learnt how to cross stitch while at Lang’ata Women’s Prison. I had a problem with diabetes and my pressure used to go up very high. But once I was introduced to cross stitching, my sugars and blood pressure dropped. This has been my therapy, both physically and emotionally; I don’t sit and worry anymore.
Carakana supports marginalized women using the art of cross stitching. Women in prisons, people living with disabilities and those recovering from substance abuse generate an income by converting needle and a thread into a beautiful pattern. Cross-stitch is a form of sewing and a popular form of counted-thread embroidery in which a stitch is made by crossing two threads in the form of an X. The stitches are of uniform size and appearance.Traditionally, cross-stitch was used to embellish items like household linens, tablecloths and dishcloths. In modern days, the patterns are stitched on pieces of fabric and hanged on walls for decoration framed or unframed.