Essmy Mathayo of Chibalala Village, Traditional Authority Njolomole in Ntcheu District, survived the desperation to marry before her 18th birthday to escape from poverty.
Her zeal to become a doctor suffered a blow just a week into her Form Two as her parents could no longer afford to pay her school fees.
“I spent a year at home. I was dejected, so I went straight to Form Three to learn with my peers,” says the 21-year-old girl.
A concerned neighbour sponsored her return to Dombole Community Day Secondary School, but the uncertainty persisted as other needs remained unmet.
Essmy says even though her family was receiving monthly social cash transfers, the support, coupled with meagre earnings from piecework, could not meet their daily needs.
“After completing secondary education, I found a partner and we produced 21 bags of maize in readiness to marry by December last year. But we shelved the idea when I was selected to study information and communications technology ( ICT) at Namitembo Technical College in Zomba,” she recounts.
Essmy’s family is among the beneficiaries of the Social Cash Transfer Programme which targets the poorest households across the country.
“It was a day of joy and a moment of sorrow,” she says. “I didn’t know where transport money and fees would come from as the monthly social cash transfers were not enough. However, my love and I agreed that marriage could wait.”
In January this year, Essmy, the firstborn in a family of four children, was selected to receive financial assistance from the Social Protection for Gender Empowerment and Resilience Programme (SP-Gear) through the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare.
Funded by the European Union and the Government of Ireland in partnership with Unicef, SP-Gear links girls from households that receive social cash transfers to vocational training and social services to accelerate their rise from poverty.
Essmy received K200 000 for the first term. She paid tuition and rentals for self-boarding. She also bought food, a cookstove, some learning materials, clothes and shoes.
“Without the financial support, I would have been married like my peers who already have two or three children,” says the trainee.
She endured high self-boarding expenses at Namitembo until March this year when the ministry facilitated her transfer to a boarding technical college in Salima District along Lake Malawi.
“Salima Technical College is fantastic and I learn in peace. My future looks promising. My dressing and looks say it all. When I go home, everyone knows I’m a college girl. I am inspiring girls in my rural community to stop marrying young,” says the ICT student.
And she refuses to quit.
“After obtaining the ICT diploma, I will get a loan to study for a degree in computer science at Mzuzu University or the University of Malawi. I want to inspire girls to dream big,” she says, her unyielding eyes fixed on her best friend, Sarah Chadzera.
Sarah, from Chitsulo Village, T/A Ganya in Ntcheu District, is studying bricklaying at Salima Technical College. She also receives SP-Gear support.
She says: “I’m living my dream. I want to build my nation brick by brick like Melifa, the skilled bricklayer I read about in the Standard Four Chichewa textbook. The support I get every term gives me peace of mind. I focus on what tutors teach since my main needs are sorted by SP-Gear.”
Like Essmy, Sarah wants to inspire girls and create jobs for the youth.
When she returned home in June, Sarah carried application forms for her peers interested to apply for vocational training.
