Page 8 - 2020junejuly

THIS ENTREPRENEUR HAS A HEART FOR HELPING OTHERS

by Mary Frances Hansen
consider it such an honor to interview a special woman who
has such an abounding love for helping others. Janet Eng in great love.” Life is a gift from God, and it is about extending
I Rock is an awesome woman of many talents. She has been your hand to help another person.
sewing since she was a little girl, and at the age of seven started
making clothes for her Troll Dolls and Barbie Dolls. Janet's
entrepreneurial skills started early. When Janet was seventeen,
needing money to attend college, she started a business of making
silk flowers and sold them to pay for her education. Today, she
and her husband are owners of three businesses.
One day Janet was talking to her friend in San Antonio, who told
her two of their friends were working in the emergency room
seeing patients with the COVID-19 and did not have face masks.
Janet was immediately inspired to start making masks for the
health care workers. She knew in her heart God had given her
this assignment. She put her sewing skills to work and over-
nighted her first set of masks to the hospital. At the same time,
she realized this project was much more then she could do
alone. Being an organizer and a leader, Janet started organizing
an army of volunteers to get this job done. She called upon all
seamstresses she knew and challenged people on Nextdoor to
help with the project. She said, “If Rosie the Riveter could do
it in World War 11, Sally Seamstresses can get us through this
Pandemic.”
Before long she divided all volunteers into specialty assignments.
Some were making just the straps for the masks while others
were cutting fabric. Another group was sewing it all together.
She checked with different hospitals to obtain specifications for
the best masks. This led to harvesting the filament out of A/C
filters and sewing it into the pockets of the masks. To make it
all happen, huge amounts of fabric would be needed. Janet put
bins on her front porch to collect cotton shirts, sheets, and any
other fabric that would fit the bill. When she awoke every day at
7:00AM, the bins were filled, and the work went on. Janet did not
leave her house for an entire month. She had her prescriptions
delivered and people left groceries on her front porch. When
the dust finally settled, Janet and her army of helpers could be
proud of what they accomplished. She said, “We have made and
donated 2,959 face masks for health care workers.”
Janet has always had a helping heart, and as the saying goes...”
This was not her first rodeo!” She has gone on several mission
trips to third world countries including Africa and India. On a
trip to Rwanda, she taught a tribe of Pygmies how to sew. It
wasn't an easy task in the middle of the jungle with no electricity.
They did it old school with “Treadle” machines. You probably
remember seeing the old Singer Sewing Machines you had
to pump with your feet to make them work. Preachers send
Janet feedback everyone six months, and the Pygmy women
have literally clothed their entire tribes and made a business of
sewing to support their families. It is amazing what Janet has
accomplished!
I applaud this unique woman as she so graciously shares her
talents with others. There are not enough words to express the
joys and blessings one gets from helping others. Remember
Mother Teresa's beautiful quote, “A life not lived for others is not
a life, not all of us can do great things, but we can do all things

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