Q&A Interview with Jacky Kwamy SEW project manager

 

Jacky Kwamy , SEW project manager

     1. How did you come up with the idea of using recycled materials to make these unique products?

We are self-funding, everything we use is recycled. We don’t have a lot of capital to buy all the raw materials. The pieces of khanga are free; we get them from local tailors. We buy the sack grains for 100 tshs *approx 5kshs. The aim was to get raw materials that are really cheap and not worry about the capital used to buy raw materials.

2.      What impact do you think SEW has had on local women apart from the Sewing Mamas?

They learn that women can do something even without proper training. The women we get don’t have any prior training on sewing or designing; so they learn from scratch. They have learnt that they don’t have to have a certain education to be able to do something; you just have to be willing to learn and be taught. This way they can learn the skills and start their own business.

3.      Do you ever use the Internet for inspiration?

No. Not really.

What we do is get interns and designers who come and teach about designing. All the products we have were items that were taught to the Mamas. We are working on getting interns who can come in with new designs to teach the women how to do it.

4.      What makes SEW different from other non-profit organizations in Tanzania or Africa?

We work with women who are HIV positive and make sure that everything they make goes back to them. We care more about the Sewing Mamas than profit –making. We employ women full-time and pay them double the minimum wage and provide health care for them. They are allowed sick days depending on their condition.

5.      What challenges do you face on a daily basis and how do you respond to them?

Stigmatization is a big challenge and people’s perception on HIV/AIDS. People from their local community separate themselves from the women and don’t look at them as normal. They get very little co-operation from people.

Selling the products locally is a challenge because they are made by people who are HIV positive. They don’t want to associate with them.

Withdrawing materials is also a challenge. The local tailors want payment for their leftover fabric because the women are being helped by the organization. When the Sewing Mamas go to the tailor on Wednesday, the tailors withdraw the quantities of fabric because they work in a NGO. There is a mentality that if you work with NGO you have money.

The level of knowledge, fighting ignorance and accepting the women for who they are is a challenge. If they use basic utensils like cups or spoons they assume that they will get the HIV virus.

6.      When you associate HIV transmission with the use of utensils i.e. using the same cups that illustrates that there is little knowledge in HIV transmission. Are you working on teaching tolerance?

As SEW we don’t, but other organizations like the Peace Corps, Imara Ministry, churches and local communities are working on it.

7.      Stigmatization is still a challenge; can you say that it has improved over the years?

It has improved a lot, compared to 10 years ago.  We also faced this issue with the Sidai Mamas, because they didn’t want to share plates, cups or spoons with the Sewing Mamas. But they now understand how HIV is transmitted.

The problem is that the organizations dedicated to educating the people about HIV/AIDS work with other large organizations they don’t go to schools, villages or churches. Some pastors don’t feel comfortable to preach about this issue.

They rarely go to Masai communities or villages sitting there and talking to them about this issue.

8.       Some communities are quite patriarchal; do you think social norms and culture hinder women, such as their husbands hindering them from working?

Most of the women are single mothers and their husbands are not involved with them. Some Maasai women work from home due to their numerous responsibilities they have like looking after their children, the cattle, home and husbands and also their husbands prefer it that way.

The ones working here live in town and their husbands understand. We have tried to pull them in to see what they do, so they see the value and agree to it.

One thing we are doing now is having a workshop once a week hosted by Inherit your Rights, where we learn about their rights, their roles and place in their communities. of women They use radio shows in Maasai to educate them because when you speak Kiswahili to them they feel like you are intruding on their culture. 

9.      There’s a lot of international support for SEW, do you experience the same support here locally?

We are trying to have more local customers and target local tourists. The government is also pleased with what we are doing and has given us tax free registry.

10.  Are the Sewing Mamas involved in the creative process?

Yes. We give them the platform to incorporate their own ideas. One of the things they have done independently is making blankets and pillows. We also get local customers suggesting that we make something as per their specifications and we do it. We don’t limit ourselves to the products we already have. The new folders we have, was an idea from a customer who came up with the design. We took it and we used it, we did them for a UN conference.