Graduating from Ultra-Poverty to Sustainable Livelihoods: Success in Malawi

Opportunity International…has helped [my family] start doing things together and we are now able to make decisions together as a family unlike before.” 

Evelini, Graduate, Malawi

The Rural Graduation cohort in Lilongwe, Malawi recently concluded their transformational two-year program, thanks to Opportunity International staff and donors—and especially thanks to the perseverance of participants like Evelini and her neighbors, who needed just one opportunity to launch their journey out of extreme poverty to sustainable living. Achieving a 96% graduation rate, 100% of graduates improved livelihoods by increasing productive asset value by 50%+; 100% started and maintained savings; and 94% improved food security.

Daily Struggles

Evelini, a married mother of two living in Traditional Authority Masula, Lilongwe District, had no livestock, no business, no hand-washing station, and no backyard garden. Together with her husband, they struggled to make ends meet. She often skipped meals and sometimes ate only once a day. Her livelihood depended on casual labor just to access food for her family.

Graduation Model

Aligned with Opportunity International’s commitment to enable people living in poverty to build sustainable livelihoods for themselves, the Graduation program model equips ultra-poor households with essential skills, productive assets, and continuous social support over 18 to 24 months. Core interventions included business and financial literacy training, participation in savings groups, distribution and monitoring of livestock, and regular household coaching to strengthen resilience and income stability.

Usiwa Watha

The third Graduation cohort in rural Malawi, participants called the project Usiwa Watha (“Poverty Has Ended”). Six case workers and Opportunity staff worked with local agriculture offices, the district executive committee, and village leaders to ensure understanding and acceptance of the program. A rigorous three-step process identified eligible households; inclusion criteria included female- or child-headed household; poor housing conditions; household member with a disability; high or extreme food insecurity; households with six or more children under the age of 16.

The Graduation program is complex and demanding for staff and participants. Learning new skills—family, social, health, business—can be daunting for anyone; living in communities with limited resources and daily obstacles makes change even more challenging. And yet, thanks to the ongoing presence of supportive staff and the incredible focus of the participants, change does happen—and the impact of that change lasts.

Two interventions specific to the Graduation program:

• Social protection: At the start of the program, many households are experiencing severe food insecurity, often struggling to meet daily nutritional needs. To address this, the project provides monthly consumption support for six months, enabling families to meet immediate food needs, reduce the amount of time and resources required to search for food, and allow households to focus on building sustainable livelihoods.
• Livelihood promotion: With support from case workers, participants select enterprises aligned with their skills, interests, and local opportunities. Each participant engages in one primary, longer-term income-generating enterprise and one secondary enterprise. Households participate in a five-day enterprise training; following that, productive assets are distributed, including livestock (goats and pigs), farm produce (e.g., tomatoes, onions, maize), and small business items (e.g., groceries, wrappers). This combination of skills training and asset transfer strengthened participants’ ability to generate income and build sustainable livelihoods.

Results

The Usiwa Watha Graduation cohort included 108 households that successfully transitioned out of extreme poverty and demonstrated improved resilience and self-sufficiency:

One Opportunity Created Many More Opportunities

Evelini began her Graduation journey with a series of trainings on financial inclusion, livestock management, psychosocial support, water sanitation/hygiene, food, and nutrition. The trainings—and her commitment to learning—prepared her to manage her livestock and run a secondary business effectively.

Evelini began her Graduation journey with a series of trainings on financial inclusion, livestock management, psychosocial support, water sanitation/hygiene, food, and nutrition. The trainings—and her commitment to learning—prepared her to manage her livestock and run a secondary business effectively.

She started with four goats (one male and three females); she and her husband built an elevated kraal (enclosure) for the goats, designed to make it easier to collect manure to use as fertilizer.

For her secondary business, she invested capital in a sugar-selling enterprise; she then added tomato and groundnuts farming. The success of Evelini’s businesses enabled her to further diversify into pigs and chickens and purchase a motor bike, for both her use and as an occasional rental to others.

Savings groups are a critical component of the Graduation program, helping participants develop a culture of saving and achieve their future goals. Loans through the groups can boost business capital for members. Thanks to her savings, the family bought nine iron sheets, kitchen utensils, and bedding to improve their home.

Today, Evelini’s life has been transformed: she earns a steady income; she and her family can eat three meals a day; the family has improved their home, including water and sanitation. She has gained confidence and now actively participates and shares her views during savings group meetings.

One opportunity can change a life. Then a family. Then a community. Give the gift that grows at opportunity.org/donate.