FHI-Supported Loan Program Empowers Malawian Women

MARCH 2007 — Women generally are not given as much respect as men in Malawi. Therefore, they often do not consider themselves self-sufficient.

"In our culture, the husband is the breadwinner. When you lose a husband, you have lost a breadwinner and you do not have the means to provide for your family," said Dina Kapiza, a widow who is the orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC) program coordinator at Mponela AIDS Information & Counseling Centre (MAICC).

MAICC has helped empower women financially in partnership with Family Health International (FHI) through its Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care (IMPACT) project, which is funded by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through USAID. FHI has also funded MAICC directly and trained its staff in home-based care (HBC), OVC care, monitoring and evaluation, and financial and administrative procedures.

In 2004 MAICC initiated FHI-assisted care and support programs for HBC and OVC clients in 125 Dowa District villages in central Malawi. Assisted households typically consisted of widows and orphans barely able to afford food and other household necessities. Seeking a solution to their dire circumstances, the women told MAICC they would start small businesses if they had access to capital.

In response, MAICC established a loan program for income-generating activities and selected 71 widowed OVC guardians to participate. The women had to complete business management training at Malawi Entrepreneurship Development Institute (MEDI) to receive the loans.

The participants were required to sign an agreement to pay back their loans within six months so the program could benefit as many women as possible. Approximately one-third of the recipients have paid back their loans, one-third have started to do so, and the remaining one-third have not made a payment yet.

The women have used the MK211,500 (approximately US$1,532) dispersed under the program to establish 31 small-scale businesses, including embroidery, mandazi (doughnut) making, tailoring, beer brewing, hat making, and small grocery stores. They have also used the loans to address such urgent needs as their children's school fees, food and clothing, and housing. Thus far, 410 children have benefited.

Margaret Njoka, a widow caring for four children and a loan recipient, is proud of what the program has helped her achieve. "I have solved my own problems and set an example for other widows. I do not feel I am a widow anymore but part of normal society."

PHOTO: Women guardians of orphans and other vulnerable children benefit from loans provided by donors through MAICC. Some beneficiaries and MAICC staff are pictured here. (Photo courtesy of MAICC)