GREHAM IS A YOUNG MAN INVOLVED IN A LOT OF PROJECTS WITH TEMWA. READ ABOUT HOW TRAINING AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON HIS FAMILY AND THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.

Greham Banda is from Mzimba (Enunkweni) and was born in 1986. He turns 29 this year and is married with a young daughter who is almost 2 years old.

Greham is the first child in a family of 6. His mother died when he was 3 and his father had no grandparents to help look after such a large family. A lack of maternal support gave Greham a difficult start in life but he remained focused and motivated. His father remarried into a family with another 5 children. Greham worked extremely hard at school and was successful, despite the family’s lack of basic resources.

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However he completed his MSCE in 2004 in Mzuz’s Katoto Secondary School and had an opportunity to attend the District training in HIV Testing and Counselling and Family Planning. Consequently he graduated as a Certified HTC Counsellor and Family Planning Provider for the government in the Nkhata Bay District. In 2011, he was allocated to work in Nkhata Bay north. Later, in 2012,he was selected to attend Temwa Peer Education Training to become a Voluntary Peer Educator. This allowed him to gain a Deki loan in 2014 as he has also spent the past 5 years partaking in an FTS project concerning vegetable production.

Greham feels extremely lucky to have benefited from this support as before then he barely had enough food to feed his family and his father was unable to provide for him and his siblings. He would have liked to continue with his studies but it was beyond their financial means.

Being involved in all these projects and being trained as a HTC counsellor is something Greham finds extremely rewarding, he enjoys supporting his fellow youth and community by being familiar with the project’s objectives. Furthermore, the support under the Agriculture projects (FTS) has improved food security within Greham’s family and he has currently managed to establish 2 big plots in his garden where he grows; Irish potatoes, different vegetables, maize to feed his child and his other family members as well as enough make enough money to support themselves.

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Owing to his DEKI Micro Finance Loan he has managed to buy cattle, goats and pigs which gives him a larger income – with this money he has built a house for his father in order to thank him for efforts he underwent to raise Greham. He is now planning to build a house of his own and possibly continue with his education. His monthly income now puts him in a position where this is possible.

“Temwa has enabled me to understand sustainable community development and allowed me to grow professionally.”

Temwa has given Greham knowledge and skills to facilitate and help transform the lives of people in all areas. He feels fully equipped thanks to Temwa after working in the areas of Education, Health, Agroforestry.

“The biggest achievement of my life to date is my successful promotion to full time officer for Temwa as a Field Coordinator. It demonstrates all my efforts and hard work at the Temwa projects, particularly the Mobile Voluntary Counselling and Testing project as a Peer Educator.”

Finally he thanks everyone for all the training and financial support provided. He can now work efficiently and confidently to the benefit of his family and the community in three ways. Firstly, he is able to support his family (even supporting his brother and sisters with school fees), secondly he can pass on his knowledge about HIV for the good health of the community and thirdly, he can use his business management skills to help improve the economy.

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