One house at a time: Malawi program constructs social and economic equity

By Elana Hayasaka, PIH Communications Specialist

“It’s not so bad,” Edwin told me, surveying the property. I was dubious. One solid push probably would have toppled the dingy walls of the small house. It was flanked by a small brick house without a fourth wall, and a mud structure without a roof. Several dogs lay sunning themselves in the dusty shade of a small tree while a flock of black hens and a lone white turkey pecked around the yard. “There are so many more people even more poor than this family. We have to help them first.”

	Chimfuka Felesiano

So we climbed back into the truck and bumped back up the dirt road towards the village of Magaleta in the southern corner of Malawi, one of the poorest areas of one of the Africa’s poorest countries.

Edwin, the coordinator of Malawi’s Program on Social and Economic Rights (POSER), was right. Unfortunately, this family was actually relatively well off for the area, I reflected as our driver turned down a small, rocky path (which quickly grew smaller and more rocky). Soon, the truck’s wheels began mowing through tall reeds, grasses, and small shrubs as we made our way to visit the Felesiano family. Chimfuka Felesiano shuffled towards us as we climbed out of the truck.

I soon realized why he moved so slowly — a hollow-sounding rattle wracked his lungs with each breath he took. He had a severe, debilitating cardiovascular condition. As Edwin translated the family’s story to me, Chimfuka struggled to recover from the exertion of walking to greet us.

Over the years, Chimfuka’s breathing problems rendered him unable to work, unable to support his family, and unable to maintain their small hut. His condition was exacerbated by living in the damp, drafty mud structure, and as his house deteriorated, so did his health. It was a catch-22 situation: If he were in better health, he would be able to build and maintain a decent house; but his health would never improve without better housing to start with.

	Chimfuka’s old house after the rainy season.
	The straw house Chimfuka's family was forced to move into.
	Chimfuka’s new house.

One night last December, Chimfuka and his wife, Noulifa, and their young son were sound asleep during a rainstorm, when the wall and roof of their hut crashed down on them. With his medical condition, there wasn’t much Chimfuka could do to rebuild the house. So Noulifa and her son did the best they could to cobble together a shelter to help the family endure the torrential downpours of Malawi’s rainy season. They constructed a small lean-to out of a pile of straw and reeds leaned up against a tree. No floor but the muddy ground, and no walls or roof but a straw stack that looked like it would collapse if anyone other than Chimfuka puffed at it. In this “house,” Chimfuka’s condition only grew worse.

As part of PIH’s communications team, my job regularly includes interviewing our program staff and patients and sharing their stories with our supporters (often through this e-Bulletin). So I know only too well that Chimfuka’s story isn’t unusual for our patients. One of the guiding beliefs at PIH is that most of the poor health and diseases our partners face are rooted in poverty, a reason for the formation of POSER in the first place. However, because most of PIH’s Boston-based staff rarely get an opportunity to visit program sites, my visit to meet Chimfuka was actually one of the first opportunities I’ve had to see a POSER team in action.

Although PIH’s partner organization in Malawi is only a year old, Edwin and his POSER team are already making a difference for people like Chimfuka. After visiting his family for the first time this spring, the team immediately decided that a new house was desperately needed. Construction of a modest two room house with a metal roof, brick walls, and cement floor quickly began on a small plot of land a few feet away from both the crumbling hut and the makeshift straw lean-to.

Edwin and I soon returned to visit the family again, but this time in their new home. Although still wheezing, Chimfuka was all smiles that day, and a small crowd of neighbors had gathered to admire the shiny, solid (and warm and dry) house. But we didn’t stay long. We couldn’t. After inspecting and approving the sturdy structure, Edwin quickly herded us back into our truck and we began the bumpy journey to help another patient in need.