Mostly we underrate pain. Sometimes we overlook it if it does not affect us. Much as we advocate for a capital and liberal market we must think of Ubuntu too. This is a spirit that unites us all. If one of us is hurt, then we are all hurt. To be hurt is not only physical or emotional but also social and economic. Imagine walking around the village with the shame of property confiscation due to a mistake made in pursuit of economic freedom? Imagine seeing your children suffering because of the decision which you made thinking it will be a solution for your family problems? In a set-up which is crippled by poverty and thwarted by high illiteracy levels, it is hard to move swiftly. But if we are indeed for economic empowerment and poverty reduction then we must consider supporting the less fortunate with more knowledge than handouts.
In 2006, rumors were in that money lenders had offered funding to women led start-up businesses. Women of Chozoli, were happy with this initiative. They had brilliant business ideas to change the fortunes of their families. Any little amount whether be it borrowed with interest or given for free could help. In two weeks’ time the fund providers came. Expectations were high on the faces of the women of Chozoli. But Alas, that story would change sooner than later. A bag of frustration came into their faces and reality caught with them. They had to pay back the money within two weeks which in any case taking into consideration of village business was not possible. Things were never the same as the money lenders came chasing the women day after day. Some lost their hard earned properties. Yes, I mean property like furniture and other household items which they had accumulated over a long period of time.
I felt sorry for the women and their families for I was of the view that they had been hard done. I could not hold on to sympathize with them especially one of them NyaChirwa (Not real name) who was an octogenarian. She had hoped for change of her life from abject poverty through small scale businesses but that perceived solution turned out to be a stab on her chest. It never solved any problem but rather created more miseries upon her life because the business did not pick up anyway. I vowed to be a champion for women empowerment especially in a pursuit of their economic progression and development due to what the women of my village experienced. I decided to help if these women were to realise economic justice. These women had signed agreements to get soft loans from money lenders who had excellently marketed themselves to an extent of making the women believe that the loans would be a solution to their problems. They signed agreements to do businesses of their choices and be paying back the loans every fortnight with an interest. It is impossible to make enough profits in a fortnight for an economy like that of Malawi. It requires necessary business skills to make an informed decision. Unfortunately, most of the women blindly signed these agreements but had no knowledge in business management and did not know the terms of their loans. It was sad because they became victims of ignorance and illiteracy.
In the end, we all must take action and push for change. In a quest for change, I decided to empower these women with knowledge and skills on business management through mentoring and training. In 2015, I founded Foundation for Girls Advancement (FOGA) and registered it in 2019. In 2018, even before the organisation was fully registered, I took a leap of faith. We applied for a grant through the Alumni Exchange Innovation Fund and were awarded funds to train and mentor women from Chozoli, Mphompha, Kanyelele and Ng’onga in Rumphi district.
Our project is aimed at helping women earn regular income from their involvement in small scale women-led enterprises through which they would be able to contribute to the welfare of their families and even to add regularly to family savings. Another goal is to help women develop personally and professionally by acquiring basic business skills and personal confidence to deal with structural challenges emanating from cultural and socio-economic factors. We have equipped them with business management skills by conducting entrepreneurship master class sessions which are facilitated by business experts to fine-tune their business ideas, develop business plans with support from experts, conduct a mentoring exercise aimed at addressing some of Women-led Enterprises’ needs like fund raising techniques, money management and product marketing. Today, I boast of being a part of change through knowledge and skills support. We have trained close eighty women in business management and entrepreneurship. We are still pushing for ways where we can find seed capital to help these women to fully realize their business potential. I would rather teach them how to fish rather than give them fish for immediate consumption.