FROM DESPARATION TO HOPE
In the rural heartlands of Traditional Authority Mbelwa, GVH Kamba, Thyolo District, lives Getrude Joseph, a 36-year-old single mother of three children. Like many women in her village, Getrude was thrust into a survival crisis during the 2024/2025 farming season, when a prolonged dry spell brought on by climate change devastated local crops, dried up water sources, and drove food prices beyond reach.
“We lived off meal and basic daily needs,” Getrude recalled. “There were days when we had nothing—no food, no money. We would sleep on empty stomachs.”
Getrude is one of 290 vulnerable households that benefitted from the Multipurpose Cash Transfer (MPCT) support under the EU-funded ECHO project, implemented by Njira Impact and partners in Thyolo District. These households were selected based on vulnerability indicators including food insecurity, single-parent status, low asset ownership, and exposure to climate shocks.
Before the MPCT intervention:67% of families in GVH Kamba ate only one meal per day,Children were missing school due to hunger and lack of uniforms,Women-headed households, like Getrude’s, had no savings or assets, Traditional coping strategies—borrowing, selling utensils—were exhausted.
Getrude, despite her resilience, was facing hunger, emotional stress, and a constant fear of how to care for her children.
| “I bought a goat because I want something that will multiply and help me even after this project ends,” she explained. |
The ECHO Project introduced Multipurpose Cash Transfers, giving each household MK92,500 per month for three consecutive months. What made this innovation stand out was the freedom and dignity of choice — beneficiaries could prioritize based on their most urgent and strategic needs.
With this support, Getrude used the first transfer to buy maize and relish, ensuring her children could eat two meals a day, Saved part of the second transfer to invest in goat farming, Used the final installment to build a simple goat shelter and purchase basic feed.
“Life is starting to look promising,” she says. “I’m grateful to Njira Impact and the EU for giving me a chance to breathe again.”