Kose is disabled but determined

By Saudha Nakandha

Sophia Kose, 34, struggles to make her way to work. In her wheelchair, she has to ride herself to her workstation, attracting the attention of people along the way.

She has since got used to this and usually, she responds to this attraction by waving back with a wide smile carved on her face.

Kose is well known in the area because of her services, and part due to her physical disability.

She is not your begging type, though. The single mother of a one-year-old son is a popular tailor at Buyala trading centre, Budondo sub-county in Jinja district.

She is good at what she does, as her services are more preferred to her competition in the area.

‘I hate begging’
 

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But still, the reality is, she is facing many challenges life is throwing at her, especially being a single mother having to provide for her child.

Her determination is to overcome life’s obstacles through tailoring, and this is helped by her belief and positive attitude towards work.

"I believe that working is fruitful,” she says.

“That is one reason why I know I will get all my needs one day. I hate begging, that is why I am not a bother to the father of my one-year-old son.

Kose derives her inspiration from her late mother who worked tirelessly for her family’s survival.

"When my father passed on she [Kose’s mother] remained firm for the development of our family. She tilled land for us to survive.”
 

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Despite this inspiration, Kose could not follow in her mother's footsteps because her crippled nature did not favour her to move from door to door digging for people.

She then decided to take on a training opportunity in sewing for the disabled and since then, she has not turned back.

"After the training in 2009, I got skills in tailoring and was given a sewing machine which I now use. Many other people trained in different courses.”

Not much

The professional tailor currently specializes in sewing skirts, dresses, trousers, tunics (kanzus), Gomesi's and mending clothes that need patch-up.

She doesn’t earn much though, but at least it is something.

"I earn between sh2000 to sh4000 on a good day; it is very little but I am able to meet my necessities and those of my child, especially the milk.”
 

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Challenges

Kose's sewing machine is old and always breaks down, disrupting her daily work output.

"Instead of working I spend most of the time and money on repairing the sewing machine. This is slowly hindering my work motivation," she admits.

The issue of limited materials is another problem for Kose’s business survival. "I would have loved to start sewing materials like the African prints but I do not have the money to invest in such a venture.”

Her work station has issues too.

She says: "As you can see this floor is not cemented. When it rains I have no shelter. Above all, I place my sewing machine down here instead of a flat table. I think this as well contributes to its continuous failures or breakdowns.”