Grace Petros was born in 1958, she is married and has six children, five boys and one girl. Grace comes from Mlemba Village, T/A Nyachikadza, Nsanje District. Grace described the situation for women and girls in times of flooding prior to GOAL’s intervention under the DipECHO III and Irish Aid funded programme.
“I once came to live on the camps when floods and disaster struck… at first we used to rent houses but there was a challenge because people used to steal our property and the rented spaces were not always safe places for women and girls. The men sometimes go to rent houses and leave us to stay on the camp”.
Grace acknowledges the impact of the GOAL established Bitilinyu evacuation centre in protecting women and girls from Nyachikadza Village during times of disaster. When asked what her biggest hopes and fears for her one daughter are, she said: “I would like her to finish school and find a good job, she needs to save herself so that she doesn’t contract diseases, these days the world is no longer the same”. Grace is proud of her keen farming abilities which support her and her family.
- This case study was prepared as part of the Gallery Exhibition to commemorate the visit of the President of the Republic of Ireland, His Excellency Michael D Higgins to Malawi in November 2014, and later to coincide with the launch of the 16 Days of Activism against GBV on November the 25th, 2014.
- Pictures taken by: Chipiliro Khonje