Violence survivor finds hope in Rumphi Women Forum
When Elisa Chisambo got married in 1991, she thought she had found the love of her life. Her spouse was loving and supportive. However, after Elisa gave birth to their sixth child in 2017, her husband changed his behaviour.
“He started going out with another woman and stopped supporting the family. He openly told me that he was no longer interested in me and asked me to go back home with my children,” says the 52-year-old Elisa who hails from Lumphasha Village, Traditional Authority Njikula
Following the continued estranged behaviour by her husband, Elisa decided to go back to her parental home where she warmly welcomed. Being the sole breadwinner of her six children, Elisa decided to venture into subsistence and commercial farming. She cultivates maize, cassava and groundnuts which help her feed her family and sell the surplus to meet other family needs.
Elisa also decided to join Rumphi Women Forum, a local partner to ActionAid Malawi, to support women and girls under the scourge of violence. Through financial support from ActionAid Malawi, Rumphi Women Forum has been key in fighting GBV and supporting women in the district to become socially and economically empowered.
“I don’t want any woman or girl to go through what I suffered at the hands of my husband. I decided to support girls and women suffering gender-based violence to access justice through mediation, referral and supporting those who wish to divorce their abusive spouses get all the necessary support,” she says.
Elisa also joined the Village Savings and Loans Group supported by the Forum to enable her run some small-scale businesses to fend for her family. She says the VSL group has enabled her to construct her own house and support education for her children.
“I am now alone but not lonely, thanks to family members and Rumphi Women Forum who have supported me to recover from the trauma of gender-based violence. I now have the space to fight violence against women and girls while advancing my well-being through economic empowerment initiatives such as the village savings and loans,” she says.