In Malawi, many single mothers face the challenge of financial instability, despite their resilience and commitment to their families. Inspired by her own upbringing, Eliza Chatchuka developed a community-based prototype to empower divorced and widowed women through sustainable pig farming. Her initiative not only offers a path to economic independence but also restores dignity and hope.
Farming a Future: Economic Dignity for Single Mothers in Malawi
Eliza Chatchuka – Nairobi, Kenya
Eliza Chatchuka, a social entrepreneur and community empowerment advocate based in Nairobi, Kenya, stepped into the Ubuntu.Lab Transformative Leadership Programme with a mission rooted in personal history. “I wanted to understand human service better through the program,” she shares. Hoping to gain “knowledge through mentorships, and get motivated by what other Africans are doing,” Eliza brought both humility and determination into the experience.
One of the most profound lessons for her came during a session on active listening. “We had to learn about listening attentively with an open mind. I get to understand that in diverse environments or situations, open-minded listening makes everyone feel valued and included.”
Her participation in the hub community reshaped her worldview. “Being a part of the hub community helped me to understand and value people around me in a different way. I am not as judgemental as I used to be. Luckily enough, I also have a chance to help others through the seed funding that will be given.” As a result, Eliza says she feels “more transformed and empowered through the program.”
Eliza’s prototype—Empowering Women Through Pig Rearing—was inspired by her own upbringing. “I was raised by a single mum who is a primary school teacher, and I grew up seeing how hard-working she was for me and my siblings, yet she still had some limitations in terms of finding school fees and basic necessities,” she recalls. “Reflecting on her experience as a single working mother made me think about other single women in the village who had neither jobs nor businesses.”
This vision evolved into a focused mission. “I will manage to reach single mothers, both divorced and widows. I believe mentorship and a little funds will help them reach their full potential in the short and long term.” Her initiative has already gained momentum. “We have managed to reach out to all stakeholders,” Eliza notes, and she’s now planning to scale. “Make the program big through the pig-sharing model that will help to reach out to more widows and divorced women in Malawi and beyond.”
In her final reflections, Eliza emphasizes that this is “a community-based empowerment project that helps widows and divorced women in Malawi gain financial independence through sustainable farming.” What began as a seed of inspiration from her mother’s story is now blossoming into a livelihood solution with real-world impact—rooted in empathy, resilience, and community-driven change.
This is my favorite image because we spent time reflecting on listening and shared a meal with friends in the hub.
On this day we learnt that leadership is not about authority or control but service, presence and relationship.
This was the last day of our hub meetings. We had fun taking pictures, sharing food and listening summaries from other hubs