Tadeyo helps to feed SOS Children's Village Lilongwe

Tadeyo was one of the first children to go to live at SOS Children's Village Lilongwe in September 1994, when he was six years old, along with his two younger brothers. Even at such a young age, Tadeyo showed an interest in agriculture as he regularly tended to the vegetable garden that his SOS mother had started to complement their household budget. If she could not find Tadeyo, the vegetable garden would be the first place she checked. After completing his secondary school education, he decided he would like to become an agricultural expert.

Tadeyo's dream came true when he joined the SOS Vocational Training Centre Lilongwe in June 2008 to study on a one-year course in tropical agriculture. Tadeyo wanted to put his skills into practice, so he convinced the Village Director to allow him to plant maize for the village youths with the help of other young people. This led the Village Director decide to encourage village mothers to have their own maize garden supervised by Tadeyo. The vocational training centre was very impressed with the proposal and gave part of the agriculture training land to mothers and young people from the Village.

The Village Director is happy about the enthusiasm shown by both the young people and mothers alike. "You know - I am quite impressed with what mothers and young people have done. They are now ready to harvest enough maize to carry them through half way to the next growing season, which means SOS Children's Village Lilongwe will have enough maize to feed itself during the most trying times when maize becomes a scarce commodity". The maize in the gardens is quite promising as it is already at the tasseling stage and it is quite clear that each house will have a minimum of twenty bags of 50kg, each filled with maize from just under an acre of land. This should be sufficient for almost quarter of the year to cover maize needs of one house. The arrangement has not only benefited the SOS Children's Village in terms of providing food security, but has also meant children in the Village are exposed to life in the rural village sector in which mothers and their children grow most of their own food.

Mrs Rose Masiye, the Village Director, really has reason to smile as this has happened at a time when the global financial crisis is meaning that everyone at SOS Children's Villages throughout the world needs to look at ways of saving money. Tadeyo's dream doesn't end there. After finishing his course at the training centre, he plans to study for a diploma at the Malawi Natural Resource College. Tadeyo wants to specialise in crop science. He says: "When I've finished my course I want to go to Natural Resources College and specialise in crop science and then later on I want to have my own estate that produces cash crops. I am sure I will succeed as agriculture is the backbone of the economy of Malawi."