A Pen for Social and Economic Impact

                 In many of the communities where I’ve worked, the value of educating a girl is often questioned—or quietly ignored. One visit to a school in a rural village in Neno District made this reality hit hard. I remember walking into a Standard 8 classroom and noticing something striking: 30 boys filled the desks, but only one girl sat among them. Just one! We checked the records. From Standard 1, the number of girls enrolled was impressive. But as the years passed, the numbers dropped—steadily, almost predictably. By the time they reached upper primary, most girls had disappeared from the classroom. We asked the headmaster why? His answer was blunt. “They get married,” he said. “And to many of them, that’s not a bad thing. They look at their married friends and think those girls are doing better in life than the ones still in school.” In these communities, once a girl reaches puberty, the expectation is marriage, not graduation. Edu...

  We can say that many of today’s poor children are likely to become tomorrow’s poor adults. Why? In most parts of rural Malawi, property is often passed down through inheritance. But when it comes to poverty, what gets passed on isn’t just land or belongings—it’s also a way of life. Many people link poverty with misery, but anyone familiar with life in rural Malawi knows something different. Growing up in this part of Malawi, I know that poor families often face hardship with strength and even joy, just like in many other developing countries. Still, we know change is possible. Some families in Malawi who were once poor are now doing well. This shows us that with opportunity and support, people can move out of poverty. Why Child Poverty Matters Poverty affects children the most because it strikes at the heart of their development. It puts their health, education, nutrition, and overall safety at constant risk. In Malawi, many poor families live in rural areas where access to basic...