\u2018The saddest moment of my life?\u201d muses mum-of-four Tamara Kaonga. \u201cWhen my husband took a second wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him no, I can\u2019t live like this. He listened to me and divorced her.\u201d Tamara and her husband Enode are still together, and today care for their own family, two orphaned children adopted from the village, and two grandchildren.<\/p>\n
The family dynamic has gone through other complications, with Tamara throwing her daughter Yvonne out of the house when she became pregnant at 17. For Yvonne, this was her saddest moment. \u201cShe chased me away from the house. It shattered her hopes for me and left her completely broken,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Tamara, who lives in Mwambero village in Northern Malawi is HIV-positive. However, she continues to look on the bright side.<\/p>\n
Receiving training through Self Help Africa\u2019s DISCOVER programme, Tamara\u00a0 <\/span>increased her crop yields and is now harvesting enough to feed the family for the entire year, with a surplus to sell. She also attended an enterprise training course for women and set up a business producing and selling herbal tonics to supplement her farm income.<\/p>\n Tamara can now afford to educate all of her children, an immense source of pride.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Yvonne is now a mother to two young children and has returned to both school and the family home. \u201cI felt like I was doing an injustice to myself by dropping out of school. I want to finish and be a role model, both to my siblings and my children.\u201d<\/p>\n She hopes to attend university, but being a woman in Malawi, faces additional challenges.\u201dWhen I got pregnant, I had to drop out of school. But the one who\u2019s responsible continues, he finishes school. I can\u2019t say that we are given the same opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n Family is at the heart of everything for Tamara and Yvonne. Setting a positive example for her siblings and children has motivated Yvonne to continue her education, while the desire to be cared for has driven Tamara\u2019s determination for her children to be well-educated. \u201cIf all my children can go to school and finish, the future is very bright for me \u2013 it means that I will have people who will be looking after me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"