Expanding Horizons

KATW's growing pains

"If you've come to help me, you're wasting your time. But if you've come because you believe your liberation is somehow bound up in mine, then stay and let us work together." ~ Lila Watson

  Hello again KATW friends! Its time for another post from KATW volunteer Ashley Sullivan. Last I left off I had just experienced Malawi for the first time and boy did I learn a lot. Since then I've been introduced to more of Malawian culture and the culture surrounding HIV/AIDS charities. On Monday as Kelly informed you, we met with the Lighthouse organization, one of Malawi's first HIV/AIDS clinics and Daneck, their head of home based care. He was very excited to have KATW be interested in starting a partnership, which will hopefully start this year, and invited us to visit with some already established knitting groups! While touring their facility, we saw how thorough Lighthouse was when it came to tracking the statistics of HIV/AIDS patients. It was quite obvious that they had their system down pat. Every patient had a file that kept track of who they were, how they were doing, how often they came in etc. While all of this was impressive, this still left me with questions on how they address the support groups. I have no doubt in my mind that when we meet with our first Lighthouse group tomorrow, Thursday the 14th, that they will answer them all without me having to ask. Kelly left that meeting incredibly delighted with her new connection and their eagerness to work with her. 

  Once we left she took me on a tour of the town market place by the river as well as the market by the mosque. I found that Lilongwe shared many traits with NYC, it was loud, crowded and everyone wanted to sell you something. Of course we stuck out like a sore thumb and we became the jewel of every sellers eye. All assumed we had money and would easily part with it, but unfortunately for them we had been practicing our "no" face and "I'm just looking" line. Malawi is still a place where bartering and bargaining is a common activity. They see foreigners and try to sell them anything and usually at a high price. One can't blame them for trying, but it can get very tiring and aggravating when you know everyone sees you as a walking bag of money. It got me wondering how KATW would transcend the very controversial topic of "white savior complex". 

  KATW's goal is to empower the people that often get left behind or ostracized from their community. KATW wants to encourage community awareness that HIV/AIDS is not a death sentence and through education, support groups and leading a positive life one cannot only survive the disease, but thrive. KATW believes that knitting is a conduit for giving power back to the survivors and I wanted to witness how this was done.

  Yesterday, Tuesday, we met with the head of home based care for NAPHAM another group working with HIV/AIDS survivors and it was a meeting that Kelly was quite worried about. She hadn't heard much from this group for a while and wanted to make sure that there was progress being made. Using the positive energy that she had gotten from the previous days' meeting, she went into this one with high hopes. We both came to learn that yes there were some communication problems, but none that were worrisome, rather they were growing pains every large group has to deal with at some point. With so many things to do, little money, and few staff members there will be balls dropped and at that point there need to be some readjustments. NAPHAM reassured us that they knew reports from the groups that KATW was working with were not stellar, items weren't being sold as often and no one could pinpoint the exact reason why. Perhaps, due to the harvest, too many were not able to work for the fields needed tending, or they thought KATW would buy all of the knitted items to sell in the USA, or maybe there was a marketing problem that had not been foreseen. All agreed that there needed to be some field work done, an assessment of where the problems were so that KATW and more importantly, the survivors/thrivers, could be successful. KATW would meet with the Mtsiliza group on Wednesday and the Chisomo on Friday, then we would meet with the NAPHAM again on the 21st to discuss how the next year would go. With another success under KATW's belt we headed off. 

  Today was the day when we would finally meet with the first support group. I was excited to see another town outside of Lilongwe. I believed that Lilongwe's metropolis act, belied how many Malawians truly lived. Lilongwe being the capital was home to many politicians, heads of organizations, innovation and money. With my experience as a DC area native, I knew that one cannot use the capital of a country as a representation for how the majority of its citizens live. The ride was pleasant and crowded as always. I saw strip malls, lodges, churches, seminary schools and another mosque on the way out to Mtsiliza. 

  The landscape quickly changed from suburbia to farm land and it felt like we were hours away from the buzzing city. The sky was enormous,with big puffy clouds and a bright blue sky to match. This sky was much like the sky out in the prairies of the American Midwest, which reminded me that though the two places in my head were different, the differences were merely skin deep. The road into town was busy with the comings and goings of workers, farmers and children out for a walk. The children always look at us with wide eyes, either filled with curious fear or excitement to see the very obvious foreigners and we did our best to warmly greet any who wanted a high five or handshake. 

  

 We made our way through the village to where the support group met, next to a church, as they often are, and a Sunday school. The group started out small, but with a rousing singing circle, very excited to see Kelly and share with her all that they had done. 

As the meeting started, it became apparent to me (but not a surprise) that most didn't speak english and the leader, though had a very good grasp on it, had trouble understanding our questions. They shared with us that they struggled to find a market where their goods could be sold, that they got many orders, but it took a long time to make the goods, that they wanted to expand their business by getting a knitting machine and perhaps start a relationship with the local school. It was very hard to tease out if they were going to the market everyday, if that was even something that could be expected, and how they went about selling their goods. In America it is taught that one must sacrifice a lot to get a head in life. To sell one must push and constantly market their goods. It was second nature for Kelly to always bring some of her knitted items wherever she went so that she could sell them. Where we live there are tons of opportunities to sell handmade goods and cheap(ish) ways of marketing, like social media, flyers etc. that make it easier for us to become successful business wo/men. How would a group from a rural town, who may not be as fluent in the sellers market, make out in a cutthroat world? For the first time this trip, frustration took hold and KATW was having a hard time figuring out what the next move would be. I suggested if they really wanted and needed a knitting machine perhaps they could split the cost? Maybe the other groups that were successful in the market place could partner or mentor the Mtsiliza group. It was even possible that we were missing some very important information due to the language barrier. Tasha, who is KATW's liaison for the group was out of town, which made this barrier very difficult to overcome. 

  We left with the promise that we would be back the next week same time with Tasha, more questions and marketing suggestions with the expectation that they would come up with questions for us, information on purchasing a knitting machine and more knitted items. There was a lot of mental work cut out for KATW and perhaps some work redefining the goals for the group. 

  Kelly never wanted the selling of knitted items to take precedence over the therapeutic qualities of the act of knitting. In her mind groups would get together knit and talk and knit and talk, then sell all of their goods all the while spreading the word of how living positively is possible, that the spread of HIV/AIDS in their community can slow down, it was imperative to get tested, the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS needed to stop and that one can not only survive HIV/AIDS, but thrive. It seems as though this group had some different ideas. To me, it sounded like they were using knitting as a means to work their way out of poverty, to provide income and who can blame them. It's hard to believe that a group would have a hard time selling when, in Lilongwe, I saw most everybody trying to sell somebody something. Had the market been overwhelmed with knitted items? Was this group just too far away from the market, too poor to go to other markets or was the fact that it was and HIV/AIDS group deterring their sales? When I toured the markets I saw very few knitted items, those that were were hats that Bob Marley would wear. What I did see beside food and goods for tourists were a lot of western shoes, clothes, electronics, parts for electronics, hardware tools/parts. Is it possible that in Malawi's push for a strong and stable economy that they pushed away or belittled anything that resembled handmade goods? I think back to how America developed when it was modernizing and that factory goods were touted as bigger, better, stronger than anything that was made by hand, is it possible that Malawi is/will suffer the same fate?

  Going back to the "white savior complex" idea, it is hard to not want to help or to say well this is how its done where I come from, when it's blatantly obvious that it's done differently here. At what point do we accept that what we want may not be what they want? How does one tell another, gently, that they could to better if…? How will KATW not fall into the trap of telling others to do it this way, but allow a group to grow on their own? I have a feeling that in order for these groups to be successful, KATW needs to submit to the wants/needs of each group according their individual standards, in essence allowing the individual support groups to take ownership of what they want to do with knitting, how they want to do it and how to judge a "good job", which is never easy. KATW, like knitting, is the connection between people, it is up to the people to make that connection work for them. Relying on KATW completely serves no one's best interest. Tomorrow will serve as another lesson to be learned, a lesson that hopefully will give KATW the push it needs to go in the right direction.