It was a moment of excitement, disbelief and pride as members of Chimpakati Savings and Loans Group Network in Senior Chief Chamthunya, Balaka District, gathered to share their MWK16 million collective savings.
As they shared their savings, the network’s sense of accomplishment and pride was evident. The achievement not only demonstrated their financial progress but also reinforced the bonds of solidarity and cooperation that defined their community.
Ellen James is a member of the 10-member Takondwa savings and loans group—part of the 25 groups making up the network. She rekindled living in extreme poverty before she joined the network.
“Before our group joined the network, we were only able to get little savings. This impacted us heavily because we could not afford to access better loans to enhance our personal and group enterprises. However, the narrative has completely changed after our group joined the network,” emphatically said James.
At the household level, James disclosed that she has managed to send her two children to boarding schools, and school fee challenges are no longer a problem. Apart from that, James has also enhanced her agricultural productivity since she can get farm inputs on time.
The initiative is part of the Social Protection for Gender Equality (SP-GEAR) project, which the Malawi Government is implementing with financial support from a multi-donor trust fund—comprising the European Union, UNICEF and the Irish Government.
The project aims to reduce vulnerability and enhance resilience among women, girls and other marginalized groups of people in the nine districts of Balaka, Chikwawa, Mzimba, Ntcheu, Mulanje, Mwanza, Neno, Nsanje and Zomba districts.
In Balaka, Find Your Feet, a local humanitarian organization has partnered with the Balaka District Council in the implementation of the project.
Jean Chitule is the Find Your Feet project officer responsible for the Balaka and Ntcheu districts, and she shares her organization’s role in the project.
“As an organization, we are working on a component which provides technical support to the district council through capacity building and facilitation of financial linkages, marketing linkages and other social services that benefit project beneficiaries,” said Chitule.
According to Chitule, her organization is currently working with 464 SLGs across various Traditional Authorities in Balaka District.
Meanwhile, the district’s Assistant Community Development Officer (ACDO), Idah Mereka Chifika, has emphasized the importance of SLGs in forming networks, citing that they stand a better chance to enhance their collective savings.
“It is apparent that the networks are facilitating many groups to have better access to finances, which is fostering socio-economic growth.
The 3-year project was launched in April 2024 and supports the implementation of the Malawi National Social Protection Strategy (MNSPS); the Social Cash Transfer Programme targeted socio-economic activity, which is expected to benefit more than 500,000 people between 2024 and 2026.
Research shows that more than 20 per cent of Malawi’s 19.6 million population lives in abject poverty, which disproportionately affects women and girls.
The SP-GEAR project is being implemented with a financial support of about MWK 46 billion.
