Young men get ready to sell tomatoes harvested from a backyard garden in Blantyre, Malawi, on Aug. 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Joseph Mizer)
As COVID-19 continues to affect many people globally, youths in Malawi are finding better ways to cushion poverty woes. Many youths have started opening new small-scale businesses that do not require much start-up capital.
BLANTYRE, Malawi, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- As COVID-19 continues to affect many people globally, youths in Malawi are finding better ways to cushion poverty woes. Many youths have started opening new small-scale businesses that do not require much start-up capital.
Lawrence Bello, a secondary school student in Blantyre, has established a vegetable garden which is enabling him to get income on a daily basis.
"Living in the city is very hard, especially when you have no money to meet your basic needs. When it was announced that schools will be closed for a while, I tried to search for a job in the city, but due to COVID-19 restrictions I didn't manage to get one because many companies were not recruiting new people," Bello said.
"For this reason, with support from my grandmother, I decided to open a small garden in the backyard for us to get something out of it. Fortunately, the garden has been a success up to date. Am so overwhelmed with the results that am getting. At first, I thought working on a daily job was a true success but with this development am very certain that there are many ways to get money without stressing too much," she said.
A young lady is seen with charcoal balls she made in Blantyre, Malawi, on Aug. 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Joseph Mizer)
Many youths in Blantyre are engaging themselves into many small-scale businesses of different categories such as tin making, clothing, food delivery just to mention a few.
As for Emily Banda, 26, she has become innovative by selling charcoal balls made from charcoal dust. Even though the business is too involving, Banda is managing to make enough money for herself and her siblings.
"The closure of schools opened my mind to explore new opportunities that do not require heavy financial capital. On a daily basis, I randomly collect charcoal dust from nearby markets and houses," she said.
"At first, my friends from school were laughing at me but now they are amazed with what I produce from the charcoal dust and business. With this material being able to make charcoal balls which are sold at a good price than the actual charcoal, I believe that this can become a sustainable business on a long run and reduce the cutting down of trees in the process," she said. ■
