Building Housing for People with Disability in Malawi

Accessible Housing for People Living with Disability

How do you access your home? Perhaps the door is level with the ground outside, or there are stairs or a single step. For many, it’s not something that is thought about. But for people living with disability in Malawi, how they access their home can make a huge difference.

In March 2022, Habitat for Humanity Malawi (HFHM) in partnership with Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA) conducted a joint monitoring visit to view houses that were constructed under the Empowering Families of People with Disabilities (EPWD) project in Salima. MACOHA is a government agency whose goal is to facilitate the empowerment of persons.

This project is being implemented with financial support from Hope and Healing of Canada, Habitat for Humanity Canada. The goal of the project is to improve the physical living conditions of families of people with Disabilities (PWDs).


When constructing housing for people with a disability, Habitat for Humanity assess the specific needs of the residents. It is important that the home is easily accessible and functional. The house pictured above was built with a ramp so that wheelchairs can enter into the home without issue.

This project is currently working on 14 disability-friendly houses and 14 disability-friendly VIP latrines/toilets for the families in TA Maganga in Salima district, Malawi. The houses are expected to be completed by the end of July 2022. The EPWD project started in 2019 and has so far constructed 127 houses for families with People with Disabilities in Salima.

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Reviewing the New Homes

“We are very much impressed with the quality of the houses. Also the use of sustainable materials in the construction of sustainable buildings. This significantly decreases the use of water, energy, land, and raw materials. People with disabilities are deprived in many ways in the communities. Supporting them with a decent shelter is a great empowerment to them. Access to shelter for the PWDs is not only the fulfillment of their human rights to shelter. It also brings hope and dignity. We appreciate the support we get on this project from Hope and Healing of Canada and Habitat for Humanity Canada” – Dryford, speaking for MACHOA

Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA) is a government agency whose goal is to facilitate the empowerment of persons. The quality of the structures was impressive to MACOHA. The homes were all fitted with necessary assistive devices, they found.

Salima District Council was also very impressed with the quality of the structures because they found the new homes to be highly functional. In addition, they were impressed by the beneficiary selection because they felt that the identified families that were chosen were most in need and would benefit most from the project.

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