Housing Programmes in Malawi

Maggie Gambatu rises early each morning to fetch water and tend to her family’s small garden. At 12 years old, she works very hard to care for her younger siblings. They have been living with their grandmother Marita since they lost their parents to HIV/AIDS.

Marita is unable to walk and therefore cannot earn an income or help much with household work. She finds it uncomfortable to use a chair or cane and usually crawls from the bedroom to the veranda each morning. Through partnering with Habitat for Humanity Malawi and recieving a new home, some of Maggie’s burden has been lifted.

“We used to live in a house that leaked because it had a bad roof. I love this new house because of the cement floor and the metal roof. We are now safe because we don’t get wet when it rains.”

Many children served by our orphans and vulnerable children programme live with a single parent, or an elderly, sometimes disabled, relative  for support. In other cases, the oldest sibling has become the head of the household. For these children, there is little hope that they will be able to improve their situation.

Through the construction of new homes or the renovation of existing structures, we strive to improve the living conditions of families, thus improving their overall quality of life. This increases their attendance and performance at school, and helps set the foundations for a brighter future.

“When I heard that a house would be built for us, I was so excited I gave my friend a high-five!” 

At just twelve years old Suzan Chimaliro has already  experienced  loss. Six relatives have died over the last few years. She misses all of them dearly and wishes they could have experienced a better life with her in her mother’s Habitat home. With a new sense of comfort and stability, 12-year-old Suzan has been able to refocus on school and has been studying the subjects she loves.

“I like reading the Chichewa language, social studies, life skills, and a bit of English. When we were living in the old house, we worried rain would ruin our things — especially our uniforms. But we don’t worry about that anymore. Our school performance has improved since we moved into the new house.”

Fighting for homes, land and a healthy life

In addition to construction and renovation, we also invest in the long term  future of each family. This includes comprehensive training for new homeowners on:

• Health and hygiene (e.g. prevention of malaria, cholera and covid19 )
• Ensuring legal ownership of their home by securing land rights
• Through all these efforts many families have regained a sense of stability and hope.

Bertha could not believe the four-room house was hers until she was handed the keys and spent the first night there. She says just having a toilet that is clean, safe and dry is a miracle to her. “When we received this gift our hearts were full of joy” she said.

“We won’t stop taking care of the house. We’ll treat it as a child.”

In January 2015, only a month after the construction of Bertha’s house, southern Malawi was devastated by floods, with some areas hit by up to 400% higher rainfalls than normal.

“When the floods came, I was in the new house. I wasn’t worried because the rain couldn’t come inside the house. That made me feel secure. With this house, we had no problem, right until the floods ended.”

Less disease, more school attendance

A secure home has enabled the Likeke family to rebuild their lives. For Bertha, the biggest relief is that the children are back at school. The new house provides a space that allows her son, Alick, to study and keep his books dry. A cleaner environment to live and sleep in also means less disease and more frequent school attendance.

“We went through health, sanitation and malaria training,” Bertha recalls. In addition to the information, we give three insecticide-treated mosquito nets to each family. Malaria infects almost 5 million Malawians annually and is one of the leading killers of children under the age of 5. Since receiving the nets, no-one in the Likeke family has had the disease.

The impact of our team in Malawi work is noticeable. Emory University conducted a health-impact study in northern Malawi   and found that children under 5 living in Habitat houses had 44% less malaria, respiratory or gastrointestinal diseases compared to children living in traditional houses. Other important aspects that improve significantly for families in Habitat houses include:

• Physical safety
• Education
• Job prospects

More evidence has also shown that providing a secure home gives a family an increased sense of pride and confidence in the future and very often a raised status in the community, enabling family members to participate in community activities at a higher level.