From One-Man Decisions to Shared Purpose: The Banda Family’s Journey of Change
By Trinity Kubalasa.
Communications and External Engagement Manager, World Vision Malawi.
Forty-eight-year-old Pastor Arnold Banda is a Malawi Assemblies of God minister and father of six children in Mutchenda community in the area of Traditional Authority Chulu in Kasungu.
Married in 1999, he grew up believing that a man should be the sole decision-maker in the home.
“In my family, what I decided was the final outcome, and I never cared who said what about major decisions of the family,” says Banda "As a result, I ended up making decisions that backfired and hurt me or the entire family. So through the many years of my life as a family man, I have made very limited progress,” he adds.
This changed when he participated in World Vision’s Empowered World View (EWV) and Celebrating Families trainings. These lessons reshaped his understanding of family, partnership, and leadership.
Banda says, the teachings under the Celebrating Family training have enabled him value family in all decisions he makes, he says, since he got the training in 2019, his life has transformed.
“The Celebrating Family has proved to me that family is the most crucial institution of the society, so it must be built well and cherished. Previously my wife could not make any decision, even if I happened to be away from home, and this made family matters a one-man show. But since I got the training, things have changed,” says Banda.
Pastor Banda openly apologised to his wife, Miriam, and their children.
“After the training, I confessed to my wife that I was not right in being the ultimate decision maker of the family. I told her that we are partners in everything. I even told my children. After I made this decision, even my children wondered what had become of me as they too are included in family decisions these days,” he adds.
Together, Banda and Miriam have transformed their household. After attending EWV training as a couple, they began rearing pigs and chickens to generate income.
“The training empowered me to be an equal partner,” says Miriam. “I now help make financial decisions, and things are improving. The Celebrating Family and EWV training have helped us open up on financial avenues. We have been able to start rearing pigs as well as chickens, and these have eased up our financial pressure. For example, we have been able to pay school fees for our children from the same,” she adds.
Their livelihood activities have helped them pay school fees for their children, including their 18-year-old daughter, Evelyn, who recently completed her secondary school exams and dreams of becoming an agriculture extension worker so as to contribute to sustainable agricultural practices in the community.
“I am glad I have seen my parents improve in terms of how they make decisions, like handling of finances and a few home decisions. Previously, I used to be anxious of how they could help us with school support but since they got the World Vision trainings, there has been much improvement, World Vision has helped our family to get the right direction,” says Evelyn.