JUDY WOODRUFF: There are many things we take
for granted in the U.S.
Tonight's Brief But Spectacular features Gertrude
Kabwazi, the country director for a nonprofit
that is working to help people deal with COVID-19
and break the cycle of poverty in Malawi.
GERTRUDE KABWAZI, Yamba Malawi: I am in Malawi,
which is situated in the southern part of
Africa.
The poverty levels in this country are very
high. Almost 52 percent of the population
is living under a dollar a day. These people
are suffering more with COVID-19 because they
are communities that were already struggling.
I work for an organization called Yamba Malawi.
Our mission is to uplift the lives of vulnerable
children by empowering communities to break
the cycle of poverty.
Having grown in the village myself, I understand
the challenges that people in the rural communities
face every single day.
Malawi was very late to recognize COVID cases,
simply because we didn't have the facilities
to test, but also because many people in Malawi
do not have access to information. It was
very difficult for those people who are in
remote areas to understand what COVID is,
but even what to do when they're infected.
Nine out of 10 households do not have soap.
And most of the community members do not have
access to running water, clean water. They
live in a one-room house. And there may be
six to 10 members in that house.
So, isolation will be practically impossible.
We are fearing that even the small gains that
have been made through programs like Yamba
Malawi, they are going to be eroded by the
impact of the COVID-19.
Their savings are only minimal, and those
savings can not last them that long. The community
members themselves, they're geared up to contribute
something to deal with COVID-19 in whatever
way they would love to.
The households that have something, they want
to share with the other households that do
not have something. So, it gives me hope that
we are all more united than ever.
My name is Gertrude Kabwazi. This is my Brief
But Spectacular take on empowering the people
of Malawi during COVID-19.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And thank you for reminding
us of something that really matters.
