Elena 70 now lives in a Habitat house together with her daughter Dorica Misili and her four orphaned grandchildren Loveness Edson 13, Evance Wyson 12, Deria Edson 7 and Daniel Simon. Elena was born and raised in Magereta Village T/A Thilamanja in Mulanje district, Mulanje is amongst the highest district with HIV and AIDs population in Malawi, ranking second to Salima. This has led HFH Malawi to intervene by providing decent accommodation. Before becoming a Habitat beneficially Elena and her family used to live in a two roomed worn out house that would get flooded every time it rained. The rains would ruin their food, her grandchildren’s school uniforms and school books. They spent most of the night trying to drain the water in fear that the flooded water might weaken the walls of the house. This in turn would force her grandchildren to skip school the next day. The family had no pit latrine forcing them to share with their neighbor. Hygienically, sharing a pit latrine by many people from different households is a health hazard. Thankfully, this family now has access to their own clean and safe ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrine. One of the greatest joys of this family as they move to their new home is the pride of knowing they now have a safe environment. While in their old house, some of the kids occasionally suffered from illnesses like flu and common cold owing to the overcrowded state of their home as well as exposure to cold during the winter season due to the poor state of the house. At least once a month, some of the children would fail to attend school due to such illness which in turn affects their performance in school. Elena together with her daughter who is also her guardian are very thankful for the generosity shown by Bermuda overseas mission through habitat for building them a house. Her proudest moment was when she saw the GV team arrive because only then did she believe she was going to receive a house from Habitat A new home has meant a number of things to the family – security and safety, privacy, and a healthier environment that allows them to focus better on their studies and consequently improved performance in school.
