PROJECT #226

Project #226 | Equipping Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Malawi (Year 3)

Our Partnership with Zoe Empowers

Malawi is one of the most economically challenged countries in the world, with 50.7% of the population living below the poverty line and 25% living in extreme poverty. Zoe Empowers has operated in Malawi’s rural Doya District since 2013 where the poverty numbers are even more disproportionate, with 28% in extreme poverty. Large-scale flooding in 2015 followed by a major drought in 2016 has compounded issues of food insecurity. Approximately 37% of children under age five experience growth stunting due to malnutrition. High poverty rates have resulted in Malawi having the 12th highest rate of child marriage with 9% married by age 15 and 42% married by age 18. Many children are trapped in a cycle of poverty and are unable to meet their basic needs of food, shelter, education, health, income generation, and safety. Zoe Empowers is reducing the number of orphans and vulnerable children living in poverty by meeting the needs in all areas of their lives enabling them to become self-sufficient.

One Day’s Wages partnered with Zoe Empowers in Year 1 of a 3-year project to support 600 Malawian orphans and vulnerable children. Zoe Empowers is a three-year comprehensive, youth-led program that enables vulnerable children to permanently pull themselves out of extreme poverty, with a 95% rate of success. Building on a foundation of indigenous staff, community leaders, and local resources, orphans and vulnerable children are empowered to become entrepreneurs who are socially, economically, and spiritually strong, transforming entire communities in the process. Zoe Empowers provided comprehensive training and resources across 8 key areas to ensure self-sufficiency. By the end of the first year, each child-headed household had established a business that provided a steady source of food and income, and had access to educational opportunities and healthcare systems. At the end of the three years, the children will graduate to owning multiple businesses with diverse revenue streams for their families.

Our Collective Impact

People With Increased Food Security

People Received Entrepreneurial Training

People With Improved Hygiene and Health

Meet Lute

Lute’s father died in 2016 from tuberculosis creating an economic crisis for the family of three children. They sought support from relatives and well-wishers, but it was not enough to meet their needs and they experienced many days of hunger. To make matters worse, their home was destroyed by heavy winds, forcing the family to move into their grandmother’s grass thatched house.

Fortunately, Lute was recruited into the Zoe Empowers program and their lives began to improve. Lute attended vocational training and then received a sewing machine and materials so that she could pursue her dream of opening a tailoring business. With her earnings she purchased iron roofing sheets for the house and latrine, and is able to provide three nutritious meals a day for her family. Her long-term plan is to buy land and build a spacious house. To achieve her goal more quickly she has started raising livestock and vegetable farming.

Thank you for making this possible!

Our movement is grassroots, to us that not only means the work on the ground is led by local leaders with the support of the community, but it also means that we raise the funds for our projects through everyday donors just like you. In addition to all the donors that gave $25, $100, or $250 and the campaigners that ran a race or donated their birthday to raise funds, we also want to thank our generous business, school, and faith sponsors who believed in our work and joined the movement.

If you want to support future projects like this you can make a donation to our jobs & skills fund.

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