A Better Childhood in Nyambi

When I met Estele and her six children, they were huddled together on the front porch of their mud hut. From a distance, I saw a warm and loving family who enjoyed being around each other. But as we neared them, I realized that, despite their bond, there was no joy or excitement. The children kept their heads down and clung to their mom. No smiles. No light in their eyes. They looked haunted by the daily hunger they faced.

Over half of Malawi’s population live in poverty and one-fifth lives in extreme poverty, including Estele and her children. They live in Nyambi, southern Machinga. It’s one of the poorest and most remote villages in the region. Families speak of the dual challenges of poverty and lack of food, and for Estele, who is a widow, it is more profound. Her family doesn’t interact with the community. They are ashamed of how little they have, referring to the “layers” of poverty they endure.

“I normally find enough money for one day. Most times, the children go to bed hungry and wake up the next day just as hungry. I don’t have enough money to feed them for two days, let alone a week,” Estele explains.

Their livelihood used to be subsistence farming, but like most local families, they have been unable to harvest anything recently because of drought and flooding affecting the land.

What a Lost Childhood Means

Estele spoke quietly, but I could feel her anger and grief when she told me her children’s childhoods had been stolen, “They’re so young, but every day they work and do very heavy chores that make it difficult for them to grow up healthy or to just be children. They do all this work so we can eat, but because we do not get enough to eat, they remain malnourished and weak. They have no time to be children. They have had to grow up too quickly.”

School was not an option for her children, because they didn’t want to leave her. She explained, “They went to school once and didn’t go back because they were hungry, and thought, ‘what will their mother eat?’ If they stay in school, who will help their mother with the burden of feeding all of them? They left school to help me. It hurts me deeply because I would like them to get an education because education is good.”

The Transformative Impact of Mary’s Meals

Six months from that visit to Estele and her children, their lives are very different. Mary’s Meals started a school feeding program at the local primary school, Namingwere. Now her children are happy to go to school. The impact Mary’s Meals has had on them is clear: they’re no longer as hungry, and they’re also laughing, talking, and playing with other children – they’re enjoying their childhood.

Estele said, “One of the biggest things I have experienced with Mary’s Meals is that now, my children get to eat one meal a day in school. Before, I would ask them to go to school, and they would not enjoy it because they were surviving the pains of hunger. Now, they go to school with no worry of being hungry. I've experienced a big change in my life. I think every person should have the right to be happy in the world.”

“I wish for my children to get an education and to have a bright future. If they do well in their education, I know they will find good, professional jobs that will help them support our family and our community. Education will be the only way they can help to develop this community.”

One of Estele’s daughters, Mbilire, added, “The porridge makes school enjoyable for me. We’re learning and playing. Porridge makes me stronger.”