Zikomo Bags

This week, a WUSC staffer from Canada arrived to complete interviews for the Student Refugee Program in Dzaleka.  One of the WUSC volunteers living in Blantyre right now, Sasha, has been involved in the Student Refugee Program in British Columbia, and was invited to assist this week.  So, the girls and I had some visitors to hang out with, and on Friday afternoon when we were all done with work, we piled into my car and went on an adventure.

We headed out of the centre of Lilongwe to an area called Chinsapo, and spent nearly an hour meandering our way through the rutted back roads of the neighbourhood, trying to find our way to a specific church where the Zikomo Bags project is hosted.  We eventually made it, with the help of a kind Rastafarian man who ran next to the car for a few blocks, making sure we took the correct turns!

Zikomo Bags (Zikomo primarily means thank you in Chichewa) is a project that was started by some WUSC volunteers, one of whom is an INDEVOUR, as a way for some local women living with HIV/AIDS to make a living.  They make over the shoulder bags out of traditional chitenje material.

We were able to meet some of the women who make the bags, speak with the project manager, Rocky, about the work that the Rainbow Centre does, take photos, and then purchase some of the bags.  Visit the website here to see some more of the work they do.

A super cool happening is that at a recent event that Zikomo Bags had a table at, the President of Malawi, Joyce Banda, walked past their table.  The women presented her with a custom made bag that they had used her political party chitenje for, and she was so impressed that she immediately placed an order for 500 bags to give to her supporters as she heads into the electoral campaign!