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Ugandan Mother

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Emmanuel is transforming thousands of lives every year. Here is a story from EIMalawi (from their 2007 Annual Report).

I-LIFE (Improving Livelihoods through Increasing Food Security) is a 5 year livelihoods program which was started in October of 2004. The program is currently in its fourth year of implementation working in areas of Food Security, Health and Decentralisation in seven districts (4 in the Central region and 3 in the Southern Region of Malawi). Emmanuel International is implementing the project in Mangochi District and it is currently the largest and most diverse development project in which EIMalawi is currently involved. A wide variety of activities have taken place over the past year under the umbrella of the I-LIFE Program. We hope you get a clearer picture of the impact of this program by reading the following story.

Beneficiary Focus – An example of the positive impact of the I-LIFE program.

Mrs. Alice Diri is 27 years old, is HIV-AIDS positive, and is a single parent with two children, who lost her husband some three years ago. She is from Kawinga village, GVH Mase TA Chowe in Mangochi.

The scarcity of food for Alice and her children was at a critical point before she became a beneficiary of the I-LIFE program. Last year she was helped by the food distribution project for the chronically ill. Since she joined the I-LIFE program her life and the lives of her children have significantly improved for the better. On top of getting monthly food rations to meet their nutritional needs, Alice is also involved in other I-LIFE interventions such as the Village Savings & Loans Program (VS&L), agriculture projects, and health and nutrition initiatives. She also maintains a backyard garden which has added a dimension to her life which did not exist for her previously. Listen to what she had to say:

Alice's Garden “I was just relying on the rains for me to grow vegetables at my garden, which is 3km away from my house. As you can see that’s no longer the case because I have vegetables in abundance, even
now [in January] when most
households have
none. At my
doorstep, people
from my neighbourhood are even buying from me. I cannot consume all this food myself! I-LIFE is really my LIFE”

Alice is also preserving surplus vegetables using locally constructed solar driers with technical assistance from the project. When this is not enough, she is able to obtain Government of Malawi subsidized fertilizer to increase her rain-fed maize production through her savings in VS&L .

She has continued to participate in these programs in order to maintain a happy and productive life. Recently she has also joined one of the Care groups in her village to contribute to health and economic development in her village.

Alice is among the pillars in her village. She has become a productive and active member of her community and is one of the many countless people benefiting from the I-LIFE Program.

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