Women’s group defies disability and establishes own enterprise

In a small building at Ziwa la Ng’ombe, Mombasa County, 17 women and three men living with disability are busy working to earn a living. The group is known as Tunaweza Women with Disability (TWD).

Tunaweza, which means “Yes we can” is a community-based organisation (CBO) formed in 2000. Most of its members are drawn from Kisauni and Nyali areas.

The CBO’s two major objectives are running a business to generate sustainable income and advocating for the rights of women with disabilities.

Some of the group members are busy making all-natural peanut butter products, while others are weaving baskets using recycled plastic bags.

They also make clothes and bags and a variety of jewelleries using recycled posters, newspapers and the Maasai beads.

Speaking to Enterprise, project co-ordinator Charity Chahasi said the CBO comprises members with disabilities and mothers of handicapped children.

Ms Chahasi, who is physically handicapped and has been in the group since it began, says the organisation was formed to help women living with disabilities to be able to provide for their families and lead normal lives.

“Most of the members in the group are single mothers. We formed the group to create jobs for ourselves because employment opportunities are scarce and many people living with disability are forced to beg in the street as the only other alternative to earning a living,” Ms Chahasi says.

Despite all their limitations and being a small group, the organisation has impacted the society in a big way.

Ms Chahasi says the group has been also spearheading the rights of women living with disabilities. In 2016, they got women with disabilities to be elected to Mombasa County government for the first time.

“We have held many meetings even with policy makers and agreed that people living with disabilities are represented in leadership positions,” Ms Chahasi says.

In addition, they handle gender-based violence and help report injustices against the disabled when they happen.

“We have encountered situations where many girls who are mentally-challenged are taken advantage of and even being raped. In such cases we report to the authorities and follow up to make sure justice is granted,” she adds.

They also teach the disabled about financial prudence and their constitutional rights.

The group of women also make reusable sanitary towels. Ms Chahasi is calling upon well-wishers and donors to support the project to enable every girl get sanitary towels.

“We started this project because we thought about girls in the marginalised areas and slum schools in Kenya. Our members use the product too,” Ms Chahasi says.

“So far we have distributed them to 1,000 girls in Mombasa County and another 500 in Samburu County and we have received good feedback from them.”

Although they have made a good progress in their work, the group faces a number of challenges, the main one being theft. Ms Chahasi says their tailoring machines, computers and printing machines were stolen in 2007 and 2015. Despite such setbacks, they are not looking back but a forging ahead with determination.

“We chose not to give up at all. We continued doing our projects at one of our colleagues’ home until we got the premise where we are now,” she says, adding that their earnings have been steadily rising.

“During the low season, we can make about Sh60,000 and up to Sh150,000 during the high season,” she reveals. The peanut butter machine donated to them by the County Government of Mombasa is helping them to produce large quantities and now they are able to supply the products — which goes by the brand name “Onja Utamu” - to supermarkets in the county such as Jambo Matt and Beach Matt.

“We want to start supplying to other supermarkets in the county. We are requesting well-wishers to support us buy a bigger machine because the demand for the product has increased,” she adds.