Rice farming transforms livelihoods
By Trinity Kubalasa.
Communications and External Engagement Manager.
46-year-old Emmanuel Felenkoni from Likasi Area Program in Mchinji District, is a true epitome of inspiration and transformation worth sharing. Felenkoni is a member of the Tikondane Club, where they practice rice farming under World Vision’s livelihoods and resilience interventions.
“World Vision took us to Lifuwu in Salima, where we were trained in rice farming. Ever since, my life has been transformed. I am one of the people who have benefited greatly from rice farming,” he says.
Recently, Felenkoni managed to harvest 85 bags of rice. The proceeds helped him pay school fees for his firstborn son, Gift, aged 19, who is about to sit for his Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examinations.
“I pay K40,000 per term for his school fees, along with other expenses such as examination fees and pocket money. I also pay K165,000 in school fees and pocket money for my youngest son, Frank, who is 14 and currently in Grade Eight at a private primary school.”
Felenkoni has also managed to buy a motorcycle, which helps him with transportation, especially for business transactions. He has built a house with iron sheets, cement, and proper metal window frames. As a family, they are now able to eat rice as a staple food alongside maize.
“My children go to school well-fed, which has improved their health and academic performance,” narrates Felenkoni.
His niece, 17-year-old Maclina, testifies to the change in their household.
“My aunt prepares rice porridge every morning before we go to school. I always feel full because there’s now enough food at home. This helps me concentrate better in class unlike before, when we often went to school on an empty stomach,” she says.
54-year-old Ezeria Nachimate also shares her story of transformation. She says before she joined the Tikondane Club, she was living in hopeless poverty and never imagined a day when she could afford to build a house with iron sheets. But now she owns one, and it’s all thanks to rice farming.
“Apart from building my own house, I also have enough food at home, which has helped prevent my two children from suffering from malnutrition as they used to,”
Explains Nachimate, a single mother of two.