How Memory broke the cycle of poverty by overcoming all odds
As the eldest child in her family, Memory faced many challenges in her daily life. She had to support her family with domestic chores such as farming, carrying water, cooking and cleaning, alongside her education efforts. She often had to walk to school barefooted because her family couldn't afford shoes.
"My parents don’t have a job, so they depend on farming. When the season goes wrong, we suffer a lot and become food insecure. Sometimes we need to bathe without soap. Sometimes we need to walk without shoes,” Memory said.
“But I told myself I can’t stop going to school because this is the only way I can get a better life.”
Your support has the power to change lives and can help support activities such as tuition and boarding fees, so that young women can attend training courses and gain the qualifications and knowledge they need to become financially independent.
In the face of adversity, people do not lose their capability - they lose their resources and their ability to create meaningful, enduring change for themselves. You can be there for these people, standing alongside them in empathy and understanding, putting your compassion into action by helping provide access to what they have lost and helping them build a better future.
You can be a partner in supporting people like Memory with education, helping them to break generational poverty
Growing up, Memory wanted to become a nurse. However, she decided to pursue vocational training in carpentry to prove to her community that women are capable of working in male-dominated industries.
After being identified by local leaders in her village as a capable candidate for a vocational skills course, Memory completed her training at a technical college with support from people like you and CADECOM, Caritas Australia’s local partner in Malawi.
“In my community, most people think that only men can be carpenters, so I want to prove to my community that women can do it as well,” Memory said.
“It was my dream to go to college, so I was very excited to get that opportunity. My parents also were very excited to see their daughter go to college.”
Your partnership in compassion today can help provide vulnerable people like Memory with the resources and support they need to overcome adversity, and build a better future.
"Being a female carpenter sets an example to others in my community. They see a woman can do what a man can do."
Fighting gender inequality in Malawi
Many young women in Memory's community drop out of school because they can’t afford school fees or because of early marriage. This can lead to early pregnancy and trap future generations in a cycle of poverty. As the first female carpenter in her village, Memory is now a role model and trailblazer for other young women who want to become financially independent and pursue careers in male-dominated industries.
Be a partner in compassion and create change that will last for generations
See the impact your donations can have in other communities around the world:
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Ronita lives in a tiny, overcrowded home with her husband and two children in the slums of Quezon City. when she became pregnant as a teenager, she had to leave school.
Learn more about how your compassion is helping young mothers like Ronita access Alternative Learning System classes, enabling them to go back and finish high school.
Improving clean water access for Leaia's family
Leaia's family in Samoa live in makeshift homes built from recycled scraps, with no access to piped water. She and her children had to walk long distances to collect water, which is then stored in old refrigerators.
Learn more about how the support of people like you is helping build water tanks for families like Leaia's in Samoa.