A Visit to KODO
Salima, Malawi … It is late morning when we arrive at the Kuthandiza Osayenda Disability Outreach office in a dilapidated, old, rundown building on the east side of the Salima Trading Center. Outside, because there is not enough room inside, is a row of half a dozen women and men learning to sew and knit. Not only is there not space on the inside of the building to train these people to be self-supporting, there is not enough space to walk along the narrow veranda on the outside, and the machines extend all the way across the front of his portion of the building. It is quite apparent that George Chimpilo Banda, the Director of the center, has done his job too well, and there are far more people coming to get help with their disabilities than there is space for them.
As we get out of the car a smiling George comes out of the office doorway and, in spite of his severe.jpg)
walking disability, walks to the car to greet us.
Sewing Machines for Training
As we walk into the building we observe a row of new treadle sewing machines donated to the center by a group in Scotland. George explains how the handicapped will be trained on these machines. After their training each will receive a machine to take back to his or her home village. They will open a small tailoring business. The center will supply them with the cloth materials and yarn and they will make and sell clothing. The only cost to them will be to pay the center what it pays for the materials after they sell the things they have made. George adds that there will be no interest charged to the people for this service.
Next we look into the storeroom where the supplies from the two forty-foot trailers sent to him were stored. Clean down to the concrete floor. George starts relating story after story of people that were helped by the supplies. Along the wall hang large sheets covered with pictures of the people who have come to the center to receive materials. At the back of the building George shows us a tiny room where some of the women sleep when they come for training from distant villages and cannot return home each night.
Proud of the New Location
Next he excitedly gets us into the car to drive about 10-kilometers east of Salima to proudly show us a sizeable plot of land given to KODO by the tribal chief on which they plan to build a large facility where the handicapped can live and work to develop self reliance skills. Near one side is a man made reservoir where water is being stored and used during the dry season for growing the agricultural products for those who come to KODO.
As our time with George nears an end he encourages us to “watch out for the scoundrels”. It is wise council but this is a story for another time and entry to the web site. We wave goodbye to George and to a large number of children who have run out to the field to see the car and what the azungu are doing. We are off to the next distribution site and to see the results of the work being done by the Project’s contributors.
Pictures is Suzi Stephens, the Medical Director for the Malawi Project and a group of handicapped workers who have just made a black seater for her.