Elizabeth Malinga, who hails from Edingeni in the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Mbelwa in Mzimba district, is a single mother of four (three girls and a boy) whose life has been transformed by the Social Protection for Gender Empowerment and Resilience (SP-GEAR) program, which is locally known as Amayi Titukuke.
Elizabeth Malinga captured at Village Bank. Picture by Howard Mlozi.
She recalled how her life went through the mill when her husband left for South Africa to search for greener pastures and never returned home. This marked a genesis of hard life for her entire family, especially children.
“My husband, whom I banked my hope on for support, left for South Africa in search of green pastures so that our family can afford a living. But months turned into years without hearing from him. Let alone receive financial support from him. This marked the indefinite end of our marriage and untold hardship for our family,” narrated Elizabeth.
She disclosed that, for many years, she struggled single-handley to make ends meet for her five-member family following her husband’s disappearance. But it was until she was enlisted for a social cash transfer program under the UNICEF-funded SP-GEAR (Amayi Titukuke) program, when she found hope and courage to forge ahead with life.
“I found hope when I received the cash transfer between November and December 2025 which enabled me to meet some of my household needs. At first, I received K107, 000 which I used to buy fertilizer for farming from which I harvested 15 bags of maize. For the first time in my life and as a single mother, I managed to harvest 15 bags of maize for my family to survive on,” said a mother of four.
She added that she used the second chunk of the social cash transfer to buy learning materials for her three school-going children, and invested some in business.
“I am grateful to the project because it horned my business skills and enabled me to join a Village Loan Savings group where I do not only save and borrow money, but also discuss issues that affect us (women) such as health and Gender-Based-Violence,” said Elizabeth.
Elizabeth is one of many vulnerable women from Mzimba South who are currently reaping the fruits from the SP-GEAR (Amayi Titukuke) program. She said she plans to build a descent house of her own, and most importantly educate her children for them to become independent in future.
“I know that I face some of the challenges because I did not go far with education. But I don’t want my children to encounter a similar problem thus I am investing in their education with the little that I get from the small business I started with mtukulu pakhomo money,” said the Standard 8 dropout.
According to international poverty line, approximately 75.4 percent of Malawian’s population lives below the $3.00 per day, and about 7.3 percent live below extreme poverty line, living below $2.5 per day. The drivers of current extreme poverty in Malawi include agricultural shocks that result in reduced crop yields due to climate related conditions such as floods, droughts and dry spells that reduce households’ food reserves and incomes. Over 80 percent of the workforce in Malawi resides in rural areas where they are employed and dependent on farming.
Rising cost of living and economic stagnation, which is evidenced by Malawi’s tumbling Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth currently averaging around 2 percent, also perpetuates financial vulnerability and deepen inequalities among vulnerable population.
The Malawi Poverty and Equity Brief (October 2025) released by the World Bank further indicates that by 2025, 71.3 percent of Malawians were projected to live below $2.5 per day poverty line, with the total number of people in poverty increasing by 417, 000, bringing the total to 15.8 million people trapped in poverty.
In an effort to contribute to evidence on its impact as well as intensifying awareness of responsible management of social cash transfers, Mbelwa District Council (through the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare) in collaboration with Elephant Media Productions (EMP) conducted a Social Mobilization (Roadshows) campaign and Survey on Amayi Titukuke project in Mzimba South between 11 and 15 May, 2026.
The social mobilization campaign used the power of the Roadshow Van, popular local music, entertainers and social media influencers like musician FredMw, model Xania (Zandile Phiri), and dancers Petulo Smart (the fire-eating dancer), and Andy Baba (Andrew Chikaonda). Elephant Media Productions conducted a total of seven (7) roadshows in seven different locations of Euthini, Edingeni, Eswazini, Manyamula, Luwerezi, Khonsolo, and Kazomba trading centers where over 11, 400 people, including beneficiaries of SP-GEAR project were mobilized and sensitized on different issues such as effective management of the social cash transfer (mtukula pakhomo), investments and savings, gender roles and family dynamics, economic GBV, nutrition, child care, support and protection.
While the survey discovered enhanced household income as well as food security among sampled households. Majority of the project beneficiaries, including women, indicated that the social cash transfers have empowered them to engage in meaningful economic activities such as farming and small-scall businesses that are enabling them to support their families, including feeding and educating their children.
A major highlight of the survey was women’s active participation in the economic activities as well as improved decision-making.
However, many households lamented devaluation of the Kwacha, saying the social cash-transfers were proving to be on the lower side as compared to the cost of living which is characterized by the skyrocketed prices of commodities such as groceries and transportation. Project beneficiaries recommended an increase in cash transfers in order to meet the demand of the rising cost of living.
Mbelwa District Council is implementing the SP-GEAR (Amayi Titukuke) project with support from UNICEF, European Union (EU) and the government of Ireland. The intervention uses a “Cash-Plus” approach, which combines social cash transfer (Mtukula pakhomo), financial literacy and business training to equip vulnerable communities with socio-economic skills necessary for self-reliance.
Principal Gender Officer for Mbelwa District Council Shadreck Mingo hailed donors of the SP-GEAR project, saying the project was having a tremendous impact on vulnerable groups.
As of January 2026, Mbelwa District Council had a total of 21,694 households that benefited from the SP-GEAR project of which 14, 215 were Male Headed Households (MHHs), 7, 479 Female Headed Households (FHHs), 34 Child Headed Households (CHH), 3, 024 Disabled Headed Households (DHHs), 205 Chronic Headed Household (CHHs), and 7, 663 Elderly Headed Households (EHHs).
In terms of total member beneficiaries, the district recorded 89, 979 beneficiaries of which 47, 347 were females, 42, 632 males, 38, 292 children, 7, 107 disabled, 8, 866 chronically ill and 10, 038 elderly.
During the social mobilization campaign and survey, Mingo urged communities to invest the social cash transfers into income-generation activities in order to multiply the money.
“At the heart of SP-GEAR (Amayi Titukuke) project is the desire to empower vulnerable girls, women and men to become self-reliant. And the only way to achieve this is by investing part of the social cash transfers into income-generation activities,” said Mingo.
On his part, director of Elephant Media Productions Gabriel Mmina said they were committed to complements government’s efforts in changing people’s mindset and behaviors through innovative social mobilization interventions.
