GRACE MWALE
Grace Mwale is a 47 years old widow of Chazanga
compound in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital city. She and
her family have lived in this location for 9 years.
Her husband died in 2003 after suffering from chest
problems, which were most likely Tuberculosis
related. She was pregnant with their sixth born child
then. Though her husband did not have much
affluence, his presence in the family made a great
different. Grace knew that she had a man she could
run to. His death was therefore a blow to the family.
But as if this was not enough, the family’s house
collapsed due to heavy rains in the same year. Grace
had no means to rebuild it, and neither did she have
a husband to run to. Grace and her 6 children had no choice but to move in with her sister who lives within
Chazanga. Her sister is also a widow with 2 children. The family of 9 had to squeeze in the 2 roomed house for
4 years. Life was not easy especially that Grace was used to having her own space. During that time, Grace and
her children started rebuilding their house. It was hardly complete when she and her children moved in. Though
the family was going back to a mud house, it meant a lot to them because this is the place they would once
again call home. With time, they extended the house with 2 more rooms. These however have not much a
difference to their space as they are barely complete and the family
cannot use them. The family has been living in this mud house for a
year now though in fear that the house would collapse again. The house
leaks severely during the rainy season, has no windows or air vents, no
floor, no proper doors and therefore no proper security.
Grace supports the family with the little income she earns from
vegetable sales at the local market. Her first born daughter, Charity (16)
also does odd jobs like laundry in the community while the two younger
boys Lamech (14) and Thomas (12) work in corn fields at nearby farms
to also help their mother. The 2 boys dropped out of school in grades 8
and 9 respectively, due to lack of finances. Emelia (11 and doing 5 th
grade) takes care of the 2 younger siblings (Moses 9 and Bridget 5)
while the older members of the family are out to fend for the family.
Though this may seem to be a big responsibility for a child of her age,
she
understands that she has a role to play in
ensuring that life for the family continues.
Graces
appreciates
her
children’s
commitment to the family as she says she
would probably not manage to provide for
them without their effort. It however breaks
her heart each time she thinks about her
children’s future and especially those that
are out of school. “Maybe life would take a
different course for them if they got an
education”, she says. Grace also worries about her shelter condition and especially the safety of her children.
She looks forward to the day when her children will live in a safe and decent shelter. A dream to soon come
true, she says.