Grantee Highlight: Agnes Makes her OWN Plan

Agnes Makes her OWN Plan

Another Grantee story from Malawi

Agnes Filimoni

Agnes Filimoni is a thirty-year-old, mother of four who currently lives in the Mtembo Village in Chitera traditional authority in Chiraduku District Malawi. In this area there is a high number of child marriages and thus, child mothers. Agnes was pushed into marriage at an early age, as a way to escape poverty and sexual abuse from her stepfather. She ran away from home to live with her grandparents when she was fifteen because of this abuse. After her move, she ended up in a relationship with a man who was helping her and then when she finished primary school the two were married. With only this primary school education, Agnes had no skills to earn an independent living, and because of motherhood she did not have a lot of time to build on her innate talents.

After her first child arrived, Agnes started experiencing abuse from her husband who ended up marrying a second wife. Living in a polygamous relationship made life even worse for her. Her husband was never around and did not care for her and the children. With no source of help she endured years of marital abuse. On top of that, her first child dropped out of school because she could not provide him with his basic needs such as a meal before school.

One day, Agnes attended a community awareness programme on the rights of women organized by Girls Empowerment Network (GENET) and she took the bold step to join this network set up in the traditional area. Identifying her leadership qualities, the network encouraged her to set up a GENET network in her own village and she did and is currently the chair of the Tikondane Women’s group that has eighteen members. The group was trained in business management skills, life skills such as taking care of children and leadership skills. The group was given a start-up capital of 250,000 Kwacha (About $600) in June 2013. Out of this she got a loan of 15,000 Kwacha (About $35). She then started hawking ladies’ bags from village to village and during market days she would go sell in the market. Within months, she had diversified her wares and included the Malawian traditional cloth “”Zitenje,” and children’s clothes. In about 10 months her capital had shot up to 80,000 Kwacha ($190). She put 30,000 Kwacha ($70) of her capital into her farming of corn and beans. Currently she has a business capital of 50,000 Kwacha ($120) and hopes to grow the capital again. She is also expecting a good harvest from her farming venture after applying fertilizer.

Before receiving the loan and training Agnes was not doing anything, she was just bemoaning her lot. She and her children were in a lot of difficulties “life was hard because I was relying on my husband for everything and he could not meet our basic needs. In fact I had to beg my husband for everything including a tambala (a coin) to buy salt. ” Now, with the increased income and improved confidence she is able to support her two children in school now. They “are feed better, have soap and pomade to use, dress better and are happier.” She is now encouraging her sixteen-year-old son who dropped out of school years ago to go back to school. Agnes says of her four-year-old daughter: “As long as I am alive, I’ll not allow my daughter to marry early. She would have to finish school and get a means of earning income first. I have been through hell, I thought marriage would be a solution to my problems but it was a bitter lesson and I will never allow my daughter to go through the same experience. Through this project I have learned business skills, I have been nurtured by this project.  The project has changed my life within such a short time. Within one year, my life has been transformed. I feel empowered in different areas of my life.”

According Agnes her husband was the most unsupportive of her, but since she started working her husband has become her chief supporter sometimes even helping her with her trade. “Now I am a source of attraction to my husband. Now my husband stays at home more and more because he realizes the improvement in our economic situation. In fact my husband’s new attitude towards me surprises my children especially my eldest son.” Having realized the way his father treated his mother in the past, Agnes’ eldest son is very protective of the mother and often gets into tense moments with his father over his mother’s newly acquired wealth.

As a result of the obvious improvement in Agnes’ life, her hard work, her sense of business, her newly acquired wealth, her assertiveness and her leadership skills, she has been invited to sit on the village Development Committee (VDC) and she even has attained the post of a secretary. With her advocacy work especially her opposition to early marriage and teenage pregnancy; Agnes has also been made the chair of the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) committee in the village. Agnes has said that “the AWDF funded project has been of great benefit to me and I wish the project came earlier before I got lost.”

As a result of the work being done by GENET and other civil society organisations in the traditional authority, the Chitera traditional authority has banned marriages by subjects less than 21 years.

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