Chigodi

VILLAGE MZATI: Enita Banda

“People are interested in educating a child because if someone is educated, he’s able to participate in any development activity of the community. School is the first step.”

Enita Banda is a familiar figure to most of her neighbors in Chigodi village. The outgoing 49-year-old has been secretary of the School Management Committee (SMC) for two years. “I was selected to be on the SMC because people saw that I take part in all development activities,” says Enita. When asked about Chigodi’s development challenges, Enita’s answer is as simple as it is profound: poverty. That’s why CARE’s plan for village savings and loan associations (VSLA) is so appealing to her. “If someone can save and acquire a loan, she can do a small business. Maybe then poverty can be addressed,” Enita says.

Enita’s 14-year-old daughter Ruth is also on her mind when she thinks about joining a VSLA. Ruth is just finishing eighth grade, the final year of free primary school. If she passes her exams, Enita will have to pay to send her to secondary school. As a member of the SMC, Enita is well aware that this is a critical time, as many girls Ruth’s age drop out of school. “Because of poverty, parents can’t manage to pay school fees,” she says. “As soon as a girl hits puberty, parents just encourage them to get married.”

The CARE project may hold the solution for this single mother. “VSLA and education are linked because if I can save and acquire a loan to do business, the profits will enable me to buy soap, school supplies and anything Ruth needs to go to secondary school,” Enita says.

“With the coming in of democracy, you don't have to push someone to do something. People are free to do the dance or not. In the past they were forced whether they wanted to or not.” - Labison Banda, group village headman, Chigodi

During years of dictatorship the village of Chigodi was best known as the home to some of the most terrifying Nyawu dancers in the district of Kasungu. In full body paint, brandishing forked staffs, their faces disfigured and hidden by ropes across their lips and noses, the village dancers were the dictator's preferred means of coercing reluctant villagers to attend his rallies.

“It was a well established thing that, by all means, in the month of July there had to be this kind of dance,” said Labison Banda, Chigodi's group village headman. “Young men were pulled from their homes and if there was any development work that was taking place the Nyawu guys were also used as strong men to mobilize people to participate.”

With the end of one-party rule in 1994, the town's athletic youth turned to happier pursuits. Today Chigodi is known across Kasungu not for its traditional ruling party bullies, but for its skilled soccer team.

And, after years of stifling their views, the people of Chigodi, and the women most of all, have found their voices. Among the surrounding villages, the women of Chigodi are famous for their strong leadership of community projects and their business acumen. When men and women at a recent meeting were asked whether they would allow village headmen into their savings and loan groups, the women quickly dismissed the idea, pointing out that they would have no authority to punish traditional leaders if they defaulted on their loans.