This exciting new project is hoped to open this July 2011 after we convert a room on the clinic site with a shop front opening onto the main road. Bethan Manga will volunteer there for the start.

The vision for this project came initially in the hope of generating an income to support the work of ARM-S and to enable l’Eglise Vivante to have the means for sending and supporting new missionaries in the future from their church.

The cost of wedding dresses in Senegal is similar to the UK. Hiring a dress costs £200-£250 per day. In Ziguinchor where ARM-S works, the options are even more unrealistic due to lack of availability. However, there remains a high pressure on the couple to spend above their means and provide a huge party that shows wealth. Couples and families often take out debts. We see the boutique as a way of blessing people with beautiful quality dresses at affordable prices. The market is huge and barely touched.

The Vision for the Wedding Boutique:

• Tap into a large niche in the market by providing quality wedding clothes available for rent at affordable prices (currently prices are similar or more expensive than the UK)
• Enable locals to have a special wedding without spending above their means and falling into large debt
• A means of generating an income that will go into running other ARM-S projects and enable the church to send missionaries

The services the boutique will offer

Initially we will be a centre where people can rent wedding dresses/ suits for the groom/ bridesmaids’ dresses. We will also have a selection of quality second-hand clothes to sell. All these profits will be used for the work of ARM-Senegal.

We will explore the possibility of selling a small range of products made by locals in need of income, with profits split between them and ARM. As the boutique expands we hope to add in other aspects of the wedding service such as cakes and venue decorating.