Wisdom Thambwe Empowerment Group, Malawi
Partnered with Soapstone UMC, April 2022 – March 2025
Three years ago Soapstone UMC committed to a three year partnership with ZOE Empowers as the sponsor of a youth empowerment group in Malawi. Since that partnership started we have seen amazing growth in the youth we support! You can learn all about how our church’s giving towards this wonderful ministry has created tangible impact in the lives of youth in Malawi.
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Zoe youth inform others about the dangers and hardships of the AIDS pandemic through drama.
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Zoe Malawi Youth Raise AIDS Awareness
by Frackson Maotcha, Communications Facilitator for Zoe Empowers Malawi
As the world was commemorating the 2023 World AIDS Day under the theme “Let Communities Lead”, Zoe Empowers Malawi youth used the opportunity to urge members of surrounding communities to join hands in the fight against the deadly pandemic.
“Millions of people, including parents have died of AIDS, leaving behind children without any support. This is why we organized the function to share various messages on AIDS and to remember those who died because of the pandemic,” noted Leah of Tigwirizane Sauzande Empowerment Group.
The youth, who came from various empowerment groups, sought to raise awareness through performances that highlighted various challenges the world is facing due to the pandemic. They also suggested solutions that would help the world win the fight against AIDS.
Since 1988, events to show support for people living with and affected by AIDS have been held to commemorate World AIDS Day every December 1st. The Zoe youth feel it is vital that they join these efforts. Apart from community members, the function was also graced by health experts, government representatives, local politicians, traditional leaders, faith groups, and other key stakeholders.
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General Program Updates
Status of Crops
During the current planting season (2023/2024), Zoe youth have engaged in various crop production activities for both subsistence and commercial purposes. Zoe Empowers Malawi provided households with maize and soybean seeds along with fertilizer for both individual and group farming projects. Some households have managed to engage in crop production using their own resources and have also planted groundnuts and sweet potatoes.
Changes in the climate have impacted crop production in multiple ways. Due to delay in rainfall, most youth planted their crop seeds later than normal. Then, some of the crops were attacked by pests, especially stalk borers which came due to a prolonged drought in most parts of the country. About 20% of the Zoe households in the areas surrounding the Mponela region lost all their crops due to floods. To overcome these challenges, program facilitators have been providing necessary expertise to the youth on how to deal with the pests and the flood situation. Most recently, the conditions have improved.
To the right is a Zoe youth showing his maize crop which is doing well while below are examples of crops affected by pests and flooding.
Networking Activity Between Groups
Apart from using experts from government departments and other organizations to equip the youth with various expertise in their respective endeavors, the youth also network within the program. For example, Titukuke Mbalame Empowerment Group has been doing fish farming for some time and the project is benefiting the group members a lot. This has enthralled people from surrounding communities, including members of Tithandizane Chipwenkha Empowerment Group who visited the Titukuke Group in August 2023 to learn how to construct a fishpond, care for the fish, and find good markets.
Above, the Tithandizane Chipwenkha Group members learned how to build and care for a fishpond from the Titukuke Mbalame Group. Later, they begin work on their own pond which will be a group income project and a benefit to their community.
Special Training
In October 2023, Zoe Empowers Malawi conducted a refresher training on entrepreneurship. The specialized training targeted all second-year empowerment groups. The training aimed to improve productivity and reduce chances of mistakes in their respective businesses. The topics covered during the training include savings, cash flow management, marketing skills, networking, and business diversification.
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Group Members Invest in Livestock
With constant devaluation of the local currency and its effect on the economy, it is especially important for youth to have diverse forms of savings and income generation. This is a focus of attention at both the household and the group level. However, it is left to the youth to decide how best to become financially secure. The Tigwirizane Sauzande Empowerment Group provides an example of how they implement this philosophy through subgroup projects. The empowerment group has five subgroups. Three of these decided to use money from their maize yields to purchase goats for each household which will increase the families’ wealth. The other two subgroups decided to use their revenues to sublease additional land and increase their commercial maize farming.
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