Othakarhaka

This small East African nation (about the size of Pennsylvania) is currently one of the poorest countries in the world, with an annual per capita income of less than $366 ($1 per day), and an average life expectancy of 52 years. Within its population of about 12 million, over 600,000 are orphans—the result of widespread HIV/AIDS, which kills nearly 80,000 people per year. There is an entire generation missing here... parents. There are children and there are some grandparents, but the middle generation, the parents, the breadwinners, are missing.

Life in rural Malawi is not easy. Mud or brick huts with tin or thatched roofs. Some have openings for windows. Others do not. Some have more than one room, many do not. No kitchen. No bathroom. No beds. Possibly a mat to sleep on. Sometimes a mattress on the ground. Hopefully a mosquito net to sleep under, unless it is being used to catch fish. No electricity. Water pumped from a community well, hopefully nearby. Laundry often done in a river or lake.

Rocket stoves have been proven to be far more efficient than traditional stoves. Consequently, the women in these villages are being taught by Othakarhaka how to build them with brick and to use them. These stoves burn wood and because the fire is enclosed it burns hotter and more efficiently. It also heats up the bricks which retain that heat for long periods of time as well (allowing women to boil water, for example, without having to keep the fire burning). This saves on the amount of wood that is necessary (better for the environment) and the amount of attention needed for cooking. The lack of open flame is also safer with children around.

Most all farming done in rural Malawi is done BY HAND, entire fields even. Usually the only tool, if they have one, is a hoe. The Othakarhaka Foundation currently has 1,135 small holder farmers participating in their agriculture program. Each farmer is loaned a small plot of land and given enough high yield seeds (maize) for one crop. They are then taught how to sow the seeds, fertilize them, water them, tend to the growth, and harvest. Upon harvest, they are required to give one 50kg bag back to the Foundation each year (which helps fund/support Othakarhaka programs).

This year all farmers in the program are doing well even despite drought because they had seed and fertilizer and they started at first rains (so crops already had a good start when the dry spell started). There are no mechanized farming tools or help. Instead, they usually just have one tool: the hoe. They apply fertilizer by hand. They reroute irrigation ditches by hand (move mud from one ditch to another to control where the water flows)… all on a manual time table.

With their small profits (even after giving back the required 50 kg bag of maize), farmers have built houses or added roofs or cement floors. Some have started small businesses selling groceries, fish, goats, etc. Each farmer that has participated in the program so far is fully self-sustaining at this point (selling their product and having enough money to feed their families and sometimes starting other businesses). The more money that can be raised, the more farmers can be brought into the program.

HIV/AIDS awareness and education programs in Malawi are serving to decrease the number of new cases each year. Othakarhaka volunteers are doing their part to reduce the stigma of HIV/AIDS through education, awareness, and support.

Othakarhaka's tailoring program was started with 5 students. Students are taught to sew and then once they are ready to graduate from the program, every two students are loaned a machine to share. They take this back to their village to begin their own tailoring businesses. Once they have made enough money to purchase the machine outright, that money is then used to purchase more machines and more students are accepted into the program. This program is fully self-sustaining as there are small markets for sewn goods and tailoring (school contracts for uniforms, churches, etc.).

This is a day in the life of rural Malawi women; seen here socializing as they go about the day's work. The chitenge is the traditional wrap that is most often used to cover one's legs (as this is a fairly conservative culture). It is wrapped and tied like a sarong and comes in many different colors and designs.

Yes, Malawi is currently one of the poorest country in the world. And yet, here is a local girl not looking to others to save them. This local girl is mobilizing her own people to take care of each other. To lift up entire communities… locally.

For a young woman (yes, a young WOMAN no less) to garner the support of local chiefs, that is quite an accomplishment. Then to rally volunteers who PAY to participate? And orphans on scholarship outperforming all the other students? Lives are being saved. People are becoming educated and starting sustainable businesses. All because of the gratitude, fortitude, intelligence, energy, and pluck of this one young woman. Ida Puliwa is not simply a role model. She is a hero.