What's not different?
Going to work, doing the job, going home, hanging out with friends and family, and starting over the next day. What is different? All of the above and adding passion, zest, a unique love for the work that others don't display, serving in organisations such as Lions, Rotary, Toastmasters, in a way that helps others, and continuous personal development - people who do these things often dare to be different.
Are women daring to be different? Yes! As individuals and groups, women in Malawi often take a stance that involves compassion and helping each other as much as it does a practical, business point of view.
This daring and difference is apparent starting with The Women's Club - a not-for-profit association founded in 2005 to promote networking and marketing opportunities for women. There are plenty of women's NGOs with a gender focus, which are working towards legislative, policy, and behaviour change. TWC focuses on the immediate and the practical: how can women earn more money? Based on the theory that the Lord helps those who help themselves, TWC doesn't raise money for charity, it doesn't seek donor funding for workshops that pay allowances, it doesn't write lofty action plans that will never be implemented. Instead TWC is a collection of businesswomen who share information, who help each other with advice and contacts, and it provides a forum for women to promote their businesses and thus earn more money.
A weekly e-mail newsletter, compiled and edited by founder Jeri Gomonda, goes out to over 600 women every Tuesday. The newsletter contains quotations, vocabulary words, event announcements, and tips on business, entrepreneurship, computers, health, and public speaking. It also contains free promotional slots for women owned businesses. Businesses that are not women-owned but of special interest to women can pay a small fee for an advert.
This has had a big impact on the women of TWC because most of them run businesses that cannot afford newspaper, magazine, radio and tv adverts. This forum brings them new customers that they wouldn't reach otherwise. It also reduces competitiveness and shows the rewards of sharing information.
Who are some of the amazing women of TWC?
Rosebill Satha Sambo, who works at Wilderness Safaris in Lilongwe, helps really poor young people get into school by sweet-talking school owners into giving a few free places each year. Blantyre Business College gives four free places, and Malawi College of Finance gives two. In the three years she has been doing this, seven young people have graduated and are now working. Once she places young person in a school she then finds out what the exam fees are and raises donations for that, and also helps them find on-the-job vocation placements. She does this free of charge and keeps none of the money she raises. One success story: Anderson, while working as a houseboy and studying in the evenings, passed his MSCE with 29 points. After getting a place at Blantyre Business College, he studied banking and then got a placement with NBM. As a result of his hard work, he has been accepted at Domasi College of Education to study mathematics and
biology. Without Rosebill's intervention, he'd still be a houseboy!
Atupele Chilambe, who is the marketing manager of a family owned business, still finds time to fundraise and speak on behalf of her alma mater, Providence Girls Secondary School.
Rose Biziwick, well known owner of Options shops in Lilongwe and Blantyre, is the first (as far as we know) to introduce a customer loyalty scheme to reward customers in her sector. She has recently opened Options for Men.
Daisy Kambalame is so passionate about her work in field of corporate social responsibility that she is invited to speak at conferences all over the world, and volunteers much of her time to speak to interested groups in Malawi to boost fair trade and better lives for all.
Chrissie Makhambera works full time at the American Embassy but still finds time to serve as president of Lilongwe Toastmasters (TM), the fastest growing TM club in southern Africa. She helps other members develop confidence and skill as public speakers.
Glenda Schutgens, a truly amazing woman, runs her own business as a caterer, décor specialist and motivational speaker par excellence. Glenda takes any assignment and puts a unique spin on it. When asked to sort out conference bags last year for the TWC women managers conference, she exceeded expectations by designing a tote bag with a hand painted logo and clever use of TWC colours. That understanding of the customer's needs allows her to create something unique, long lasting and affordable. Glenda is also the reigning world champion of the International Training in Communication Speech Contest.
Steveria Kadangwe, who works in sales at Unilever, takes an active interest in writing fiction and poetry and serves as MC at arty events and sings in the church choir. Steveria also devotes time as a trustee of TWC and is single-handedly developing women;s squash in Malawi.
Towela Nyirenda Jere has a PhD in Electrical Engineering and works at ICT Networks LTD as a Technical Director but indulges her passion for candlemaking as a profitable side business called Unique Creations. Her hand-made, often individually designed candles come in all shapes, sizes, colours, and scents to add beauty and fragrance to other people's lives.
Crystal Hawken of Crystal Florist turned an interest in gardening into a full-time job and lifelong passion. Her shop opposite Ryalls Hotel goes beyond cut flowers and gardening supplies to include other things that make living nice (gifts, cards and games). The care she takes to choose stock and advise customers, and even the low prices, all combine to show here is a woman not just in business for the money but for the love of the
work.
Prudence Leboa Chanthunya, only in Malawi for a few years, has already become a household name among the marketing community. An events manager who has organised an Oprah Night for Celtel during the TWC conference, an HIV-AIDS awareness dinner, Pru injects everything she touches with passion and enthusiasm.
Jeri Gomonda, owner of PR consultancy Access Professionals, is passionate about the events planning and written communications work her company does. She has a superior understanding of not just what her client wants to accomplish, but also what the client's client wants (which often are not the same thing, on the surface). This is what gives her events and writing such effectiveness. As a trained librarian, Jeri's inclination is always to share information rather than hoard it for some perceived advantage. That's why she started The Women's Club and is also an experienced Toastmaster. She is the only person in Malawi to have achieved the Advanced Leader-Silver qualification from Toastmasters and the only person outside of South Africa to have served as both Area Governor and Division Governor.
Eliza Kanyoza was accepted at nursing school but followed her passion instead for music. She is the only woman recording studio technician in Malawi and specializes in choirs. She also performs as a backing artist for some clients at Gomonda Music Enterprises.
Jennifer Khamfula turned a passion for writing and for women's issues into Sistah's magazine.
What do all these women have in common? Firstly, they all have a passion for what they do. And secondly, they all have full-time jobs and families, just like everybody else, but they also find time to do something extra, something that helps other people and helps themselves to improve. Almost all do some sort of public speaking, which boosts confidence and raises their personal profile, both of which help them be more successful professionally.
