Flour and freedom

In one of the busy streets in Mchinji district in Malawi, it's hard not to recognise the warm smell of freshly baked bread and the aroma of the hot tea simmering in a small shop Clara manages with her two employees. Moreover, when Clara talks about her life today, it's hard to believe that a few years ago, this same woman was struggling to feed her seven children.  

 
Before 2008, Clara’s days were filled with uncertainty. “My life before was full of struggles and difficulties,” she recalls. “I only did casual work and I was growing soya, maize and groundnuts.”  
 

Her income then was only MWK 5,000 ($3) a day, barely enough to buy soap or take her children to the doctor when they were sick.  


“Before, I could barely afford food for my children,” she says. 
 

That same year, 2008, became a turning point. It was the year Clara divorced her first husband, the father of her first six children, and the year she joined Tigwirane Manja, a village savings and loan group with 26 women members.  
 

“What I like most about the savings group is that I am able to interact with friends,” she says and adds “I am also able to give them advice on how to handle their finances and provide counselling to them on marital issues.” 
 

In 2023, Clara and her group were introduced to VisionFund, the financial inclusion arm of World Vision, which offered loans to savings groups and trained members on financial literacy.  
 

As the group's secretary, Clara quickly learned the value of saving and investing together. With her first loan of MWK 200,000 ($114) from VisionFund Malawi, she bought two bags of flour to boost her bakery and tea business. Two years later, she borrowed another MWK 200,000 ($114) to expand her baking business further. Slowly, the smell of fresh bread became the scent of a new beginning. 
 
“The trainings I attended include financial literacy and Empowered Worldview, where I learned how to operate my business, how to think, use my hands and acquire money, display products and market my products.” 


Since then, she has completed four loan cycles, the latest at MWK 280,000 ($160). 


 “This enabled me to provide enough food for my four children, pay the salary of my two employees, and pay my children’s school fees.” 


The extra income has allowed her to make plans she once thought impossible. “From my profits, I started buying goats and chickens” she says. 
 

Her income has now grown six times over. From MWK 5,000 ($3), she now earns MWK 30,000 ($17) per day.  
 

Beyond business, what moves Clara most is how her success has changed life at home. “My children are now happy at home as if their father is around,” she says.  

Her eldest son helps her manage the bakery, and she beams with pride when she says, “I am happy that my children no longer do casual labour.” 


When asked how it feels to employ others, Clara doesn’t hesitate. “I feel relieved and freedom encircles me because these workers help me raise money for my family and theirs too. My workload has since reduced while productivity has improved.” 

Her journey hasn’t been easy, but Clara uses her experiences to lift other women. In her group, she often shares hard-won advice. “Never reduce yourself to your husband,” she tells them — though she quickly adds with compassion, “Do not lose your marriage like me. Protect your marriages.” 

She also offers wisdom to women who, like her, have faced divorce. “For women who are also divorced, pray to God and seek wisdom to be guided on which business to start,” she says. Her faith, she adds, is what helped her rise again.  

Clara says she would recommend VisionFund Malawi to other women because of its lower interest rates and the training it provides. Her dream now is to buy a motorbike as a hail cab for business, refurbish her business, and buy iron sheets for her house. But more than anything, her greatest goal remains simple and powerful: to educate her children and provide for their needs. 

Clara’s journey shows what can happen when women come together to save, learn, and believe in themselves. And as the scent of warm bread fills her little bakery, each loaf is a reminder of how far she has come. 


###