On August 3, 2026, Marcia Veltman arrived at Kingsway with five knitting machines that she had carefully packed for the journey, cushioned in yarn and other supplies. She had devoted weeks to refurbishing these machines before bringing them to Uganda.
These machines knit much more quickly than your grandma did by hand, but require no electricity. That’s why they are extra useful in Uganda, where electricity is unreliable.
For two weeks, Kingsway’s students as well as staff took machine knitting lessons from her, and when their sessions were done, no one wanted to leave!
Milly commented, “Marcia is really doing very well with the training! I know some students are having difficulties with the American English accent, but the majority do understand her teaching!
We divided the entire school into eight groups:
Group 1: The staff and administrators.
Groups 2-8 students from S.1- S.6.
Right now she is now taking Group 8 through the first lesson of the training. She will continue with lesson two until she finishes all 8 groups. Each group has 15 members. Kingsway has five knitting machines. That means about 3 people will use a machine at a time for each lesson. Thankfully we are all interested and we are all learning. Praise the Lord!”
Below you can watch the students demonstrate this new technology by doing some team knitting. Moving the shuttle isn’t very difficult so only one person is actually required, but students at Kingsway enjoy working in groups. 🙂
Marcia had three sessions with each group. The first was to teach the basics about the machines and how to cast on yarn, setting up a row of stitches to knit on. The second lesson taught more skills like increasing and decreasing stitches, and how the pattern cards could be used. In the final lesson they were able knit wash clothes for themselves, some of them quite elaborate!
This class will continue in mid-September when another volunteer, Bridgette Kiley will come to build upon these skills. So this adventure is to be continued…
One great part of having a knitting machine program is that Kingsway can have their students knit the socks and sweaters that students wear for their uniforms, rather than buy them from China. That way the supplies they’ll buy for their classes will benefit the school a second time.
If the students can come up with other innovative knitting projects, they can sell their work locally or even worldwide. The training they get will open doors for future jobs and home businesses.
We are also hoping that having a unique program like machine knitting will help Kingsway attract paying students interested in these opportunities. Many schools compete for students in Uganda, so providing innovative ways for students to gain skills will be a very good thing.
They will need ongoing support to keep them in yarn and other supplies, which 100 students can go through quickly. Your help would be much appreciated.
