{"id":206672,"date":"2019-09-09T13:27:01","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T18:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/\/?p=206672"},"modified":"2023-08-16T09:43:39","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T14:43:39","slug":"zoe-empowerment-group-member-becomes-malawi-staff-intern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/\/zoe-empowerment-group-member-becomes-malawi-staff-intern\/","title":{"rendered":"Zoe Empowerment Group Member Becomes Malawi Staff Intern"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u201cI want to remind them [orphans in her community] to not see themselves as down. They should see themselves as high, that they can do whatever they want. Since I have suffered and changed, I want to encourage others to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2012 Suki Makalani, 2015 graduate (Malawi)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
As a young child in rural Malawi, Suki Makalani had a good life. Her mother was a housewife, while her dad worked hard to provide for the family. She attended school with her three younger siblings. The family could afford to eat regular meals, wear clean clothing and maintain a fine home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Life changed in the blink of an eye when Suki\u2019s father fell ill. After a two-month stay at the local hospital, he passed away. Not long after, her mother also became sick, forcing her to become the head of her household at age 14. In an effort to make ends meet, she dropped out of school to sell vegetables in the marketplace. \u201cCommunity members use to mock me at the market,\u201d Suki recalled. \u201cThey\u2019d say things like, \u2018Look at her. Her dad died and now she has to sell vegetables\u2019. It hurt me to hear those things.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Despite feeling alone and discouraged, Suki kept working. Her bravery and strong will to persevere powered her through the dark times, times of uncertainty and pain. She prayed for a better life, the one she remembered before her father\u2019s passing. In 2013, she received the opportunity to create the life she envisioned when she was accepted into the inaugural Zoe Empowers Malawi program.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Suki excelled in the program curriculum and quickly bonded with her empowerment group. Her charisma and bubbly personality began to surface. One year later, in 2014, she started her hair salon naming it \u2018Aunt Yankho Salon\u2019, meaning \u2018the aunt with the answers\u2019. Her maternal nature and desire to help has led her to be a mentor to many children in her community and in the Zoe Empowers program. Profits from her salon allowed Suki and her siblings to go back to school and invest in pigs and tobacco.<\/span><\/p>\n