Streams and rivers flow where before there were dry, dusty river beds. Fields of maize, as tall in places as the farmers' mud huts, tower over the children who run past them. However, looks can be deceptive and despite the lush greenery Malawi is still in the grips of a hunger crisis, caused by a succession of severe droughts in and Shamim not her real name lives in a small village outside Mangochi, at the southern tip of Lake Malawi.
Now 18, she became pregnant three years ago when she was just Her boyfriend left her to work in Mozambique and her parents threw her out of their house in shame. She dropped out of school and tried to make ends meet by working on maize plantations and a nearby tobacco estate. When the droughts came and the harvests failed, people went hungry or became dependent on food aid. A year after her child was born, the farm work that Shamim relied on also dried up.
I was desperate. The drought really affected me. Luckily for Shamim, there was a support group at her local school for adolescent girls. Staff also provide one-to-one counselling with the girls in a more private setting. I realized that I had other options. I wanted to change my life. Following advice from her counsellor, Shamim took an HIV test at the local clinic.
Despite her fears, she found she was still negative, increasing her determination to make a change. And I wash clothes for other women in the village. I feel better about myself. If I can get sponsored, I would like to go back to school. I no longer think about giving him away. Shamim is not the only girl in her village who resorted to selling sex.
Other girls were sold by their families for marriage in return for a dowry. We can see that as hunger increases, these kind of negative coping strategies also increase. We identify and treat cases of malnutrition, provide safe water and sanitation, immunize children, protect them from abuse and help them continue their education.
