Beyond Savings: How the Women of Thunduwike Are Building Resilience, Sisterhood, and Sustainable Futures
In T.A Mpherembe, early morning usually brings a familiar routine, sweeping dusty yards, tending fires, and preparing children for school. But since 2024, across Thunduwike in Mzimba North, those early hours carry something deeper: a quiet, unshakeable confidence.
Through the Tiyanjane Village Savings and Loans (VSL) Group, established in 2024, women in this income-scarce area are shifting from day-to-day survival mode into long-term self-reliance. Implemented by Ulalo under the Community Activation Natural Resources Management and Improvement of Social Infrastructure (CANARASI) Project, funded by Chancen durch Bildung (CdB) the group has grown into far more than a financial circle. It is a lifeline, a brain trust, and a safe space where women rewrite their family stories together.
Members of Tiyanjane VSL doing their share contribution during a meeting.
Real People, Real Transformation
The true heart of Tiyanjane lies in the deeply personal stories of its members. Financial tools are only as strong as the human resilience behind them.
Elizabeth Nyirenda: Restoring Hope for a Household
When Elizabeth lost her daughter, the sole breadwinner for her family, she took in her young grandchildren without hesitation. But in an area with limited income opportunities, the weight of providing food, clothing, and school tuition kept her awake at night.
Joining Tiyanjane right at its inception gave Elizabeth her first breath of financial security. Using small, accessible loans from the pooled savings, she invested in livestock by purchasing goats. Today, those goats are multiplying.
"Before Tiyanjane, worrying about how I would support my grandchildren kept me up at night. Today, the goats are breeding and giving me a steady asset base. Whenever a pressing need arises, whether it’s school uniforms or exam fees, I know I can sell a goat or lean on the circle. My grandchildren have a home where they feel completely secure about their future."
Elizabeth Nyirenda sharing her experience being part of Tiyanjane Womens VSL group
The transformation goes even further: Elizabeth uses manure from her growing livestock to fertilize her farm crops naturally, maximizing her crop yield without buying expensive commercial fertilizers and ensuring her household never goes hungry.
Mrs. Nyirenda: Finding Strength After Loss
For Mrs. Nyirenda, who lost her husband in 2014, economic isolation was a daily reality. She watched from the sidelines as the first round of Tiyanjane members shared their year-end payout proceeds. Seeing her neighbors buy livestock, pay off household debts, and sleep easier, she joined the group during its next cycle.
Today, Mrs. Nyirenda is also a goat owner, and her group share-outs have covered crucial school examination fees for her children.
Mrs Nyirenda after the group shares meeting explaining how being a member has changed her life.
"When you lose a spouse, you feel like you're standing alone in the storm. Tiyanjane became my pillar. Seeing my friends transform their lives showed me what was possible, and now I am doing the same for my family."
Esther Chisi: Driving Innovation from Soil to Market
Esther Chisi, one of Tiyanjane’s founding members and group advisor, views the circle as an engine for community-wide growth. Having already used her proceeds to expand her goat herd and re-invest into grain farming, Esther is now leading the group toward new horizons: a community herbal garden.
Following a recent peer-to-peer exchange visit, Esther and the members learned sustainable methods for cultivating medicinal and culinary herbs using organic manure.
"We aren't stopping at daily savings," Esther explains. "We want to diversify our income so every woman has multiple streams of revenue. The group gives us the cash boost when times are tough, but learning organic farming and herbal cultivation gives us independence."
Esther Chisi sampling organic manure during a peer to peer training session in Mchengautuwa.
A Safe Space Beyond the Ledger
While the daily Kwacha contributions recorded in the secretary’s ledger build capital, the unstructured moments before and after meetings build community. In Thunduwike, Tiyanjane has evolved into a trusted refuge where members comfortably share personal challenges, seek advice, and brainstorm solutions together; from managing household emergencies to scaling up market businesses.
By combining financial literacy, organic agricultural practices, and peer support, Ulalo and CdB are witnessing how localized community activation creates lasting change. When you empower a woman in Mpherembe, you don't just clear a single debt, you build a resilient home, keep children in school, and ground an entire village in shared prosperity.