‘Gifted Hands’

Her script is short yet powerful. She never spent years studying engineering but she is an ‘engineer.’ She never went into an Art College but she has mastery in needlecraft. Gertrude Damiano, 33, is a rare gem in her Dzandi Village in Dedza. She looks ordinary but how she blends science and art is uniquely admirable. In 2012, Damiano joined few Malawi Homeless People's Federation women to India to study Solar Engineering at Barefoot College. After six months, she returned to light up her village; installing solar panels. But when everyone thought she would end up electrifying homes, Damiano’s hands mastered another trade. When CARA and CCODE established a Cottage Industry in her area to train local women in knitting, she was among the first to enroll. Today, Damiano and colleagues knit hats, gloves, bed shoes, scurfs, head bands,which are exported to Ireland for CARA to sell the products. Damiano said she used proceeds from her first sales to buy iron sheets and cement to finish her house. She bought fertilizer for her maize field too. She spent the change on groceries. Gertrude is multitalented. Apart from her solar engineering and knitting skills, she is a leader. She is the secretary of the Dzandi solar workshop which is in its final phase of establishment. She is also a committee member of the Dzandi cottage industry group. Damiano owes her success to being proactive. “Being a member of the Federation has opened for me doors to great opportunities which have assisted me in acquiring so many skills,” she said.