THE WOMAN WHO SEWED HER OWN DESTINY

In a corner of Oaxaca, Mexico, where the streets are made of dirt and the roofs are made of tin, lives Maribel Cruz, a woman who, with thread, needle and an ancient machine, managed to change not only her life… except that of all his people.

Maribel learned to sew watching her grandma. He didn’t go to school past the third grade. At 15 I was already embroidering huipils to sell on the market. At 18, he got married. And at 25, he already had three kids and a routine that left him no room to dream.

But when her husband died suddenly in a motorcycle accident, everything changed. I was 28 years old. No savings. Without studies. And with three mouths to feed.

—And now what am I going to do? — he wondered through tears, every night in front of the fireplace.

One day, his eldest son brought home a broken shirt. I needed this for an activity at school. Maribel had no money for another one. So he sewed it, he fixed it…. and he embroidered a little butterfly on his chest.

The next day, a school mother saw her and asked if she could do the same with her daughter’s clothes.

—I’ll pay you. It’s very beautiful what he does.

It was the first time someone offered him money for something other than food or cleaning.

That same month, he mended five trousers, sewn three shirts, embroidered two dresses.

With the little he earned, he bought colored threads.

—I’m going to embroider hope — he said—. Even with crooked stitches.

Started sewing at night, while the kids were sleeping. Used cuts, old clothes, gift fabrics. Each piece of clothing had its own touch: a flower, a word, a symbol.

Soon, more women from the village began to bring him clothes. But also something else: their stories. Maribel listened while she sewed. Some had been abandoned, others suffered violence, many had never had an income of their own.

And then it happened to her.

—What if we all learn? —said one night, while sewing with a lit candle.

This is how Women with Thread was born, a small impromptu workshop in the yard of their house. No tables, no electricity, no publicity. Just will.

They started five. And then there were ten. Today there are more than thirty women embroideries who generate their own income, design their garments and sell via WhatsApp nationwide.

—Let’s not just sew clothes. We sew self-esteem — says Maribel.

In 2022, a local foundation discovered them. They donated new machines, materials, courses. But Maribel didn’t accept everything.

– We want help, not charity. We want to learn, not depend — he firmly said.

Recently, one of the women in the group — who had never left her community — traveled to Mexico City to an entrepreneurship fair. She wore dresses, shirts, skirts. He sold everything.

And when he returned, he hugged Maribel crying.

—Thank you. For reminding me that I could still start.

Maribel is still at home, embroidery with her mother, who is already older. Their children have grown. One studies fashion design. Another wants to be a teacher.

—And you, Maribel? —he was asked in a recent interview—. Do you feel proud ?

She smiled, as she threaded a needle.

—I didn’t have school. I didn’t have books. But I had threads. And with them, I wrote my story.

Because sometimes it’s not about changing the whole world.

You just need to sew, stitch by stitch, the bit that you got to live.