Hildarey Foundation Malawi: Hope for the elderly and the youth

By Joseph Kayira

Undeniably, Malawi remains one of the most impoverished countries in the world. According to the United Nations, about 70 per cent of Malawi’s population currently lives below the $2.15 international poverty line with about 46 per cent of its national income being held by the top 20 per cent of the population. The elderly, women and the youth tend to bear the brunt of biting poverty, and assistance is not always readily available.

This is the reason, Nellie Msowoya and Mayamiko Taferakaso, a young Malawian couple with big dreams from Balaka, has decided to come to the rescue of poor households through an organization called Hildarey Foundation Malawi. Mosowoya, who founded the organization in 2024 says it is heartrending to see and hear stories of how deep-seated poverty is in Malawi, with millions struggling to put body and soul together.  

Msowoya: It’s a calling to serve people (Photo Credit: JK)

Hailing from Mchenga Village in the area of Traditional Authority Nsamala in Balaka, Msowoya says the ideation of Hildarey Foundation Malawi, a community-based organization, was a result of what her mother believed in – the spirit of giving and the resolve to reduce inequality and poverty in society.

“My mother would buy shoes, clothes, food and anything that would transform communities at Mchenga Village. She did not have all the money one might think of but she believed in sharing with the needy the little that she had. From her spirit of sharing, we grew up realizing that to make a difference in a given community, we did not need to be millionaires or billionaires. All you need to do is to make someone afford a smile – clothe someone, feed the needy,” Msowoya says.

She says raised as an orphan herself, she has come to realize that life is not easy growing up without parents or one parent. Msowoya says growing up with both parents, who have the means to provide for their children helps the children to grow into responsible citizens with greater access to economic resources “which leads to better academic performance social progress.”

Msowoya and an elderly woman (right), a beneficiary of a house (Photo Credit: JK)

“But today, more and more children find themselves in an environment that disadvantages them. They lack basic amenities; they can’t afford school fees and their academic performance in class is below par. So, my dream is to help them to increase their emotional stability and create a structure that fosters a secure environment that promotes higher self-esteem and good behaviour,” Msowoya says.

Not an easy road

She explains that Hildarey Foundation Malawi, joins a handful of other organizations who have dedicated themselves to uplift lives of the disadvantaged, less privileged and vulnerable communities. But with resources hard to come by, and with funders of projects rethinking their involvement in countries like Malawi, the going is tough. It means mobilizing resources locally to implement life-saving projects.

Taferakaso (left) and a beneficiary who now lives in a new house (Photo Credit: MKT)

“To a large extent, we use our resources to assist vulnerable communities in Mchenga and surrounding villages. There are projects that we have lined up for funding and implementation but these will need immediate and steady funding. In a small way we are trying to do our part but it’s not easy.

“For instance, we have already built nine houses for the elderly using our resources. There are still many vulnerable elderly people who have nowhere to call home and hardly live in habitable houses. Some families that we have assisted with the houses were literally living in shacks. Today, they live dignified lives because their lives have taken a new turn. We want this transformation to reach out to many lives in Balaka,” she says.

One of the houses benefitting the elderly and the vulnerable (Photo Credit: MKT)

Some of the people Hildarey Foundation Malawi has reached out to were survivors of tropical cyclones and other natural disasters that hit the districts months ago. Recently, the organization assisted 49 food insecure families with 50kg bags of maize. Msowoya says some of these families were hit by prolonged dry spells and their harvests failed.

“There are still more people who are food insecure and need our assistance. That is why we need more resources to buy food for these households. The situation is particularly dire for the elderly, orphan headed households and people living with HIV and AIDS,” Msowoya says.

The organization is also assisting youths who are in need of school fees but have no one to turn to for help. Currently, Hildarey Foundation Malawi is already assisting 15 students in different secondary schools.

Fruits of hard work: Children in the barn storing maize harvested from the organization’s garden (Photo Credit: MKT)

While Malawi government has abolished school fees, examination fees, and School Development Fund contributions in all public primary and secondary schools to improve access, boarding fees remain payable and costs still exist for uniforms and materials. Hildarey Foundation Malawi is paying all these costs for the 15 students under its care.

“Under what we call the Scholastic Funds, we target brilliant minds and put them on a scholarship. We encourage them to work hard in class to remain on the scholarship. The condition is that you perform above average or get ‘replaced’. So, the idea is not necessarily to replace those whose grades are dwindling, but to encourage them to work even harder,” Msowoya says.

Prospects of a brighter future

Msowoya acknowledges that operational costs for Hildarey Foundation Malawi need considerable financial backing. Implementation of existing and future projects call for partners, sponsors, networking and collaboration. Apart from that reality, Msowoya says Hildarey Foundation Malawi is headed towards a future of self-reliance and sustainability.

“We need to partner with different institutions; we also need financial support to reach out to many people in our area of scope. We also believe in sustainability of projects; once assisted by well-wishers with financial backing, we should be able to move on and ensure that the dream lives on. Projects should not die once donors leave hence our call for substantial financial backing to strengthen structures that support our projects,” Msowoya says.

Taferakaso and Msowoya pose with the elderly who received 50 kgs bags of maize to cushion hunger (Photo Credit: MKT)

Without waiting for financial and food assistance from elsewhere, the organization has now embarked on farming – at least as a starting point to deal with instances of perennial hunger and food shortages in the area. Msowoya says the idea is to make sure that there is enough food for the children in their care and to assist the needy.

“We have land which we resolved to put into good agricultural use as we wait to source funds to put up structures in future. The maize yield this year is very encouraging. At least we have maize to keep us going for a better part of the year,” she says.

Msowoya with a beneficiary of relief maize (Photo Credit: MKT)

She explains that the journey to this end has not been easy, along the way, there been voices that discouraged her pursuits to transform lives; and to put a smile on the faces of the vulnerable. It hurts so bad when some of the people who discourage you happen to be close relatives, Msowoya says.

Msowoya with some of the children on the Scholastic list (Photo Credit: JK)

“But I have vowed not to give up. To me, this is a calling. My dreams to build an orphanage will be fulfilled. My plans to build a secondary school and a community hospital in Mchenga are very much alive. With God everything is possible. I therefore ask well-wishers to collaborate with Hildarey Foundation Malawi to help change lives for the better. Help us in any way you can, so we can also help others,” she explains.

For Msowoya and Taferakaso, sky, as they say, won’t even be the limit as they soldier on to serve and save lives at Mchenga Village and surrounding areas – in the process transforming lives – and bringing hope to the less-privileged and those forgotten by the system.