The girl who lived her name

Who could have thought Faith Majiga Banda, at 22, would be the next big thing in the fashion and designing industry. A young woman whose hearing and speaking challenges did not limit her from achieving her goals.

Probably her dream has been to fulfil the scripture Joshua 1: 9, which reads: “Be determined and confident”. 

And, indeed, Faith has been determined and confident in her life.

Full of faith, as her name says, she started learning fashion and designing when she was 14 years old at Stella Maris Secondary School in Blantyre.

Her works were always brilliant and the school’s disability-friendly facilities set the perfect environment for her skills to grow. Coupled with that, she was being taught by teachers trained in sign language.

Unlike the story of Robert Malemia, the painter, who had no one to train him, Faith was privileged to be surrounded by a community of people who loved and supported her. Even more, she had a loving and supportive family.

Not long after finishing her secondary school education, Faith decided to advance her skills in fashion and designing. With support from her family, she enrolled at Girls Shine Skills Academy and, after seven months, she graduated with a Level Three certificate in Basic Tailoring Skills and Entrepreneurship.

Said Faith: “It was an exciting experience that has taken me this far,” she said.

Later on, Faith found a job at Titchene Fashion Designs in Nyambadwe, Blantyre where she is working as a tailor and designer.

Meanwhile, she owns her own fashion shop, Ntonga, at Mkwate Stage in Machinjiri where she resides.

According to Faith, she has featured in great shows like All Shades of Beautiful Fashion, staged at Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre.

In an interview, Titchene Fashion Designs founder Katiana LaFrance hailed Faith for her hard-working spirit.

She said: “Disability is not inability. Faith is just like her name. She is trustworthy, confident, independent and resilient. Her work speaks for her. She is creative and reliable. She and her friends will be trendsetters in the fashion industry in Malawi. I am happy to have worked with her.”

With all these beautiful highs, one might think Faith did not encounter challenges, but she admits that she has had difficulties to communicate with people, especially her customers who do not understand sign language.

“It is not easy to communicate with my customers because they don’t know sign language. I cannot understand them and they cannot understand me. There is always a need to have a translator,” she said.

Yielding to her faith, determination and confidence, Faith is able to support herself through her job, and her fashion business.

“Through this skill, I find money for my necessities, in a way contributing to my family’s sources of livelihood,” she said.

For the love of others, Faith pleads with the government to help create an enabling environment for both, people with disabilities and without to thrive in life.

Happy and proud of her work, Faith encourages everyone to believe in God, and in themselves, as they work hard to achieve their goals.

“Life works for everyone as long as you put the effort either with disability or not. All you have to do is work hard to achieve your goals,” she said.

And, indeed, Faith lived her name.