Deaf hawkers defy disability to turn profit

A group of five hawkers has refused to sit back and mourn what to others would have been considered a “misfortune in life.” 

Unable to communicate owing to their speech and hearing impairment, they have become enterprising. 

The group, led by Kevin Ongwalo,34, has turned to selling sausages and “smokies” to earn an income and support their families. 

They wake up early each morning to collect their trolleys at a Farmer’s Choice stockist in Kakamega Town to prepare for the tough and challenging day ahead.

According to Kevin, members of the group assemble outside the stockist’s shop along Sudi road at 6 am to start off preparations for the day. 

They clean their trolleys before getting the day’s supply of smokies before take their positions at their place of work. One cardinal rule the vendors observe is always to stay clean to attract customers. 

WARM AND FRIENDLY

The vendors have put stickers on their trolleys indicating the price for the products they sell to avoid misunderstandings with customers. 

Each day the hawkers sell smokies worth between Sh7,500 and Sh10,000. Their customers include university students, boda boda cyclists, traders and people walking by their place of work at the busy bus terminus near the Muliro grounds along the Kakamega-Kisumu road. 

From the amount, each of the vendors make a minimum of Sh500 daily and save part of the cash to invest in project they plan to run jointly in future.

The smokies are popular with people who want a quick bite of the fast selling snack as they go about their daily chores. Other members of the group are Victor Wawire age 23 years, Cornelius Juma 26 years and Edwin Ambani aged 28 years. 

Although deaf and dumb, the group has decided to put their disability behind them and open a new chapter in their lives. 

With the help of a sign language interpreter, Mr Ongwalo said the secret for the good sales they made each day was driven by their affability and astuteness when dealing with their customers. 

“Although we are unable to speak and hear, we have managed to attract customers by being warm to them and friendly as they approach us to buy the smokies,” said Mr Ongwalo. 

According to Mr James Mburu, the Farmer’s Choice Field Sales Manager in Western, Nyanza and Rift valley, smokies unlike ordinary sausages have a longer shelf life and can stay up to three days without going bad. 

He said the company sold more than 50 assorted products which included beef sausages, bacon, ham hot dogs but the smokies were popular with the public. 

He said the company was impressed with efforts made by the group of hawkers who had decided to put their disability behind them and were competing with their colleagues and earning a livelihood from the job. 

GOOD RELATIONSHIPS

The group has started saving part of their income and plans to secure a loan from a financial institution to expand the business. 

Mrs Lilian Muthoni, a shop owner and a stockist in Kakamega said at first she faced challenges when the group approached her to be allowed to sell the products. 

“The situation was complicated by the communication barrier but with time I came to learn some basic sign language and was able to communicate with them with ease,” said Mrs Muthoni. 

She said hade had not experienced any problems working with the group after developing a close working partnership with Mr Ongwelo and his colleagues who refer to her as Mama Baraka (blessings). 

Mr Ongwelo said he has managed to buy a cow to provide milk to his family and augment his income. He now plans to buy a bigger parcel of land for farming.