On 5th September, 2025, Partners In Health (PIH) Malawi officially handed over start-up materials to 39 graduating youths in Neno district that were procured under the ASPIRE Project with financial support from Julius Bär Foundation (JBF). PIH Malawi is implementing this project in collaboration with different government line ministries including the Ministry of Health (MoH), Labour, Agriculture, Youth, and Social Welfare.
The project began in October 2022, and currently, PIH Malawi is working with approximately 530 young people in Neno District who are using the guidance they receive from mentors on how to take care of their health. The handover of the start-up materials came after the youth had undergone an intensive six-months training with skilled artisans at Matandani Vocational Training Center in Neno and Andiyamo Technical College in Balaka.
The youths were provided with a range of professional-grade equipment, including five motorbikes for transport services, comprehensive kits for tailoring, salon services, barbering, welding, carpentry and joinery, and bricklaying valued at MK54 Million. Through this initiative, PIH aims at ensuring that the youths not only have the hands on skills, but have also received the critical entrepreneurship business management tips, and resources needed, to turn those skills into livelihoods.
In her remarks during the event, the PIH Malawi Executive Director, Basimenye Nhlema disclosed that the project came about following the increasing number of youths living in deep poverty, lacking even the most basic necessities, with many having dropped out of school and facing a future without hope.
“As an organization committed to health and human dignity, we know that poverty is a root cause of illness, and we cannot truly address one without confronting the other. That understanding, led PIH, in collaboration with the other government ministries in the district to establish this initiative”, said Nhlema.
With new tailoring materials in hand, an ASPIRE graduate is now equipped to start his own business and build a brighter future.
Joseph Mizere
Through this project, one of the beneficiaries Patrick Francis (22) from Tsoka village, T/A Symon who was equipped with tailoring skills and supported with start-up materials for his tailoring business, commended PIH for the support attributing his business success to the project and the continued mentorship.
“I completed my training in 2024 and received all the materials I needed to start my tailoring business,” said Francis. “Since then, I’ve expanded my business, which is now thriving. From the income I earn, I have managed to purchase 15 bags of maize, livestock, fertilizer, and a motorcycle. I am also planning to buy another sewing machine to further expand the business and increase my income. Additionally, I am now training other youths in my community.”
He added that he is also using his business to support his family, including his elderly grandmother. Through his business, Francis hopes to establish his own empire that will create even more job opportunities in his community and become a beacon of hope to other youths in need of similar opportunities. He encouraged his fellow youths to utilize the opportunity that PIH has presented to them and use the skills to impact more people in their communities.
The Guest of Honour for the event, the Neno District Commissioner, Rosemary Nawasha, commended the initiative describing it as a timely and impactful intervention. She noted that the support would help address many challenges that the youth are facing in Neno, particularly the lack of opportunities to develop skills essential for economic empowerment.
“This support from PIH has come just on time. As a district, we are still working on ensuring that our youths have access to opportunities to upgrade their skills and become economically independent. We hope that this initiative will continue so as to benefit event more youths across the district”, said Nawasha.
Among other milestones under the ASPIRE project, PIH has supported 28 students with school fees and essential learning materials, and funded higher education for 4 promising youths pursuing diplomas and degrees in Community Nursing, Community Development, Clinical Medicine, and Public Health.
This ASPIRE graduate’s new motorcycle allows him to provide much-needed transportation in Neno, creating a valuable service for his community while establishing his own successful livelihood.
Joseph Mizere
To promote self-reliance, the organization has also equipped 20 young people with vocational training, and previously provided 14 of them with startup materials in tailoring, auto mechanics, and bricklaying which has consequently opened doors to sustainable livelihoods.
The initiative is a strategic investment in local economic development, designed to empower a new generation of skilled professionals. The investment also goes beyond materials; it’s an investment in sustainable community development. By empowering the young entrepreneurs, PIH is helping in job creation in the district stimulating the local economy, and shape a brighter future for Neno.
Suffice to say, the project impact have also extended beyond youth empowerment. In the fight against hunger and poverty, PIH also extended direct cash assistance to 200 vulnerable households under the same project, helping them secure food and meet basic needs. Education access was further enhanced by providing new school uniforms to 100 children, ensuring they return to school with dignity and confidence.
Similarly, Partners In Health (PIH) has also rebuilt hope in Neno by constructing sturdy iron-roofed homes for 13 families displaced by storms. To strengthen food security and livelihoods, PIH in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture provided 40 households with farming inputs, including seeds and fertilizer, while 60 families were empowered with pass-on goats (300 of them, 5 per household) and livestock management training. Looking ahead, PIH is sowing long-term prosperity by distributing 800 tangerine seedlings to 40 farmers.
Equipped with solar panels, this ASPIRE graduate can now use his barbering skills to create a sustainable business, bringing new opportunities to his community despite electricity challenges.
Joseph Mizere
PIH Malawi is implementing the ASPIRE Project under its Program on Social and Economic Rights (POSER). Through POSER, PIH Malawi is responding to people’s needs beyond disease treatment based on the premise that medicine and medical interventions alone are not adequate for resolving complex issues that patients and their households face in settings of poverty. It strives on a daily basis, to interrupt the cycle of poverty and the burden of diseases by addressing the social inequalities that place vulnerable clients at increased risk of illness in Neno District.