AKM Musha, Country Director, Malawi, Concern Worldwide

"These crops you see here during this dry season are the results of our club's dedication and desire to see off poverty once and for all. We are now well equipped, thanks to Concern, to produce enough food - a thing which had eluded this village for many years. In fact, we have given a ray of hope and confidence to many in this village who didn't believe that with enough commitment and hard work, the beast called hunger can be defeated. We will not wait for Concern to come again to our rescue. They did their part and now we have a good foundation to tackle hunger." - Mr. Enock Mbeta, Treasurer, Mtisautsa Community Irrigation Club, Nkhotakota District, Malawi

In my role as Country Director for Concern's programs in Malawi - a country that routinely struggles with hunger and extreme poverty - I see examples of the power of human potential in the face of huge odds every day. I see evidence of the fact that families living in poverty have amazing coping skills and resilience - they are able to achieve more than most of us can imagine on less than $1 a day. The people Concern works with in Malawi have very little, and often struggle to feed their families even one meal a day - but they are rich in potential. Despite what they endure and the obstacles they face, these families have a huge amount of hope and believe that they can lift themselves out of hunger if they have opportunity, tools and knowledge.

Concern's "Program for Attainment of Rights to Livelihood" (PARL) is giving people such tools and knowledge, helping them transform their lives by generating aspiration, building their confidence in their ability to create a better future, and investing in the potential of the poorest to make change in their own lives. Members of the media, some development workers and volunteers, and oftentimes the general public perpetuate a negative paradigm regarding humanitarian aid and development. Within this paradigm, there is an assumption that the poorest are helpless, and that the needs of people living in poverty outweigh their ability to help themselves. An unfortunate, but very common perspective is that, without direct aid and interventions of food, cash, medicine, water, and other material aid, the poorest could not survive. However, in my experience working with the absolute poor in such places as Bangladesh and Malawi, such a view of development is misguided and can have a negative impact on communities. Viewing the absolute poor as passive recipients of development aid or as helpless victims -and the repeated communication of this negative message - destroys the confidence of people in their ability to make change.

Development happens in the intellect first, and manifests through tangible materials. If the essential "software"- the human will and the intellect - are neglected, we miss our greatest opportunity to help people make any meaningful change, even if they are provided with materials, cash or food. Concern's PARL program in Malawi is creating a paradigm shift: encouraging poor communities to be confident in their capacity to lift themselves out of poverty, and empowering them to take charge of their own lives. Concern provides tools, training, education, opportunity--and gives them skills to strengthen their infrastructure so they can begin to manage their own resources. With very little traditional "material" support, I have seen this program make a significant impact. Concern's PARL approach empowers communities to make the change and help themselves. When individuals are given sustained access to tools, training and knowledge, lasting change is possible. The PARL program trains and encourages people to increase food production through the use of improved agriculture practices, including irrigation. It also helps communities reduce post-harvest loss of crops and facilitates the establishment of supplies of food grains for lean periods when the food prices are high. Concern helps these communities make sustainable changes and earn income through promotion of savings and loan programs, small business training, and vocational training in livestock rearing.

Mr. Stephen Amos and his wife live in Chikanga village in Lilongwe District: they have shown me how they have changed their lives with encouragement, technical knowledge, and a pair of rabbits provided by Concern's partner organization, Hope for the Heart Mission. Amos' family has now 20 rabbits, 2 goats, and 1 pig with 9 offspring, and he has increased production in his field.

Mrs. Amos says: "We are a 10-member family with our own 5 children, and 3 nephews and nieces who are HIV and AIDS orphans. We could not even manage to feed the children 2 times a day most part of the year. But now, we have changed the situation; we can feed the children and send them to school with the inspiration and training and little material support by Hope for the Heart Mission. Even if Hope for the Heart Mission leaves us tomorrow our family will continue to grow more food and increase the assets."

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