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Life was the only valuable Mary Mpemba had to salvage when Cyclone Freddy induced floods hit her home in March 2023.

“It was a disaster. It happened at night. We were caught unawares. Priority was to save my family. Nothing more,” she says.

For years, the scenic muddy and thatched classrooms at Chimwemwe Community Based Child Care Centre (CBCC) in Mzimba district stood as a symbol of tradition and nostalgia. However, their vulnerability to leaks during rainy seasons had become a pressing concern for dedicated caregivers, parents and children.

Over the years, there has been an increase in the number of children with disabilities enrolled at Kaphuta Primary School in Mzimba district. In 2021, the school enrolled 80 and in 2022, the figure rose to 97. Currently, the school has 101 learners with various forms of disabilities.  

When she was impregnated aged at 16 years in 2019, Passover Ngwara was destined to become a statistic—a promising young girl who got pregnant, dropped out of primary school and fell into the vicious poverty trap. A typical rural Malawian story that replicates itself across this country.

Divorced with seven hungry kids to feed, 37-year-old Grace Emmanuel typified poverty in its perfect form.