Hope in Action vs. Hunger in Malawi: How an NGO Helps Children Thrive

What do children need to thrive? Food security? Health? Education? A good environment? A good standard of living? Perhaps the answer is not so clear, or maybe it's all these factors together. In fact, Yamba Malawi, an NGO, works to improve the lives and future of children affected by extreme poverty in south-east Africa by focusing on these parameters. We spoke to Will Emanuel, Yamba Malawi's Institutional Grants Manager in New York, about the importance of coaching in poverty-stricken communities.

For a start: Why did you apply with your project for the iF SOCIAL IMPACT PRIZE?

Will Emmanuel: Because we believe that where a child is born should not determine whether they grow up healthy, safe, and able to thrive. In the communities we serve, poverty places severe constraints on children during their most critical developmental years.

We have been building and testing a practical, integrated approach that addresses both household livelihoods and early childhood development together, and we are seeing strong results. For example, in our ongoing randomized controlled trial (RCT) in Mangochi District, Malawi, the share of children going to bed hungry dropped from 57% to just 15% in participating households. At the same time, annual household income among treated families increased by 79%, moving families from day-to-day survival toward stability.

Applying for the iF SOCIAL IMPACT PRIZE gives us a platform to share a solution that works in practice and contribute to the global conversation on supporting children growing up in extreme poverty in ways that are both effective and scalable.

Yamba Malawi’s Childhood and Livelihoods Program focuses on children – how exactly?

Will: It is the earliest years of life when poverty does the most irreversible damage. In the communities we serve, many children begin life without enough food, limited access to early learning, and high exposure to preventable illness.

We address this through two interconnected pathways. At the household level, we help caregivers build stable livelihoods while improving nutrition, health, and caregiving practices. This is critical because without economic stability, families are often forced to reduce meals, delay care, or pull children out of early learning. For instance, in our RCT, treated households increased livestock ownership by 70%, accumulated productive assets, and reduced reliance on casual labor by 40%, which strengthened both income and food security.

At the community level, we strengthen Community-based Childcare Centers, ensuring children receive structured play, early education, and improved nutrition. In participating households, preschool attendance rose from 46% to 62%, and dietary diversity increased by 35%, supporting foundational learning and healthy growth.

In your description you say: “The unique model ensures that adult caregivers also receive targeted support - so that their children have the chance to grow up healthy, safe, and empowered.” How exactly?

Will: We work directly with mothers and other women caregivers, providing structured support over a two-year period that builds step by step. Families begin by stabilizing their basic needs through temporary consumption support, ensuring children do not go hungry or miss essential care. At the same time, caregivers receive seed capital and practical training to start or grow small businesses, creating pathways to reliable income.

Field officers visit households regularly, typically twice a month, guiding caregivers on daily decisions that shape children’s lives: managing money, ensuring proper nutrition, maintaining hygiene, creating safe home environments, and supporting early learning.

This combination of economic support, coaching, and community connection empowers caregivers to increase income, build confidence, and strengthen agency. Our randomized controlled trial shows significant improvements: reductions in depressive symptoms, greater confidence in household decision-making, and better parenting practices.

Crucially, these changes are designed to last. By the end of two years, households maintain functioning livelihoods and savings habits, while community systems like childcare centers and savings groups continue operating locally. This ensures that families can sustain progress over time, and children grow up in more stable, supportive environments even after direct program support ends.

Isn’t it just logical to support parents first? So they can support their children? How does the support work out practically?

Will: Supporting parents is essential because children’s well-being is closely tied to the stability and capacity of their caregivers. Improving household income is a critical part of this, but our experience shows that increases in income alone do not automatically translate into better outcomes for young children. Families still face difficult trade-offs, and without targeted guidance, children’s needs can remain unmet, especially during the early, narrow window of rapid development.

Our program addresses this by pairing livelihood support with coaching on nutrition, hygiene, and early learning, while simultaneously strengthening community childcare centers. Evidence from our ongoing RCT shows strong early impacts:

• Child hunger dropped from 57% to 15%

• Preschool attendance rose from 46% to 62%

• Dietary diversity improved by 35%

• Caregivers’ mental well-being improved, including a 50% reduction in depressive symptoms

By combining economic support, structured coaching, and community systems strengthening, we ensure that families are not just earning more but using those resources in ways that meaningfully benefit children. This creates lasting improvements in household stability and child development, even beyond the two-year program period.

What are your plans for the future of the project?

Will: The next phase of our work focuses on learning, refinement, and responsible scale. We will complete our ongoing randomized controlled trial to understand which elements of our model drive the strongest outcomes and translate those findings into practical program improvements.

We are also refining the model to improve cost-effectiveness, exploring ways to deliver coaching and support more efficiently while maintaining impact. At the same time, we are expanding within Malawi, building on community infrastructure and partnerships to reach more families sustainably.

Over the longer term, our goal is to integrate the model into public systems, using evidence to support government adoption and large-scale implementation. Platforms like the iF SOCIAL IMPACT PRIZE allow us to share our approach, contribute to a broader learning community, and collaborate with others working to improve the lives of children growing up in extreme poverty.