Reheema: The unsung heroine transforming lives in Malawi

Now based in Lilongwe, she was born to a Tanzanian mother and a Malawian father who has been silently making a difference in the lives of children living in extreme poverty.

She doesn’t call it a handout but a tool to help them help themselves; it’s not merely teaching them how to fish but giving them a fishing net, teaching them how to cast a net and clapping for them as you see them do it for themselves. That’s what she has been doing for years.

Her initiatives of giving free bicycles to communities around Malawi have had a profound impact on the villages; farmers have been able to transport their produce for sale, and pregnant women’s lives have been saved by cycling fast to the nearest health centres.

She would donate the bicycles, and a few months later, upon her return, her jaws dropped seeing the economic impact her little contribution has had. One would acknowledge that it’s not just the donation but the ray of hope one gets when they are assisted in times when everything seems hopeless, with no opportunities.

Ms Reheema’s home village is Karonga, a few kilometres from the Tanzanian border, so she has families from both sides of the two neighbouring nations. In a country where Kiswahili is not widely spoken, her good command of the language makes her stand out and raise questions.

She is proud of her connection with both countries; her Nyakyusa grandmother Ezelina Mwakilembe had always instilled values and empathy for others.

A religious woman who was strict and loving, her mannerisms and daily practices impacted the young Ms Reheema. Though she grew up in Malawi, she was exposed to Tanzanian culture and way of life; from the songs to Tanzanian cuisine, she had to learn to cook at a young age.

Every holiday season she had to board a bus to celebrate in her mother’s, and even after her passing when Ms Reheema was just 16 years old, she still remembers all that she taught her. That could have played a role in what she ended up doing in life.

As an international business communication, public relations, and marketing expert, one would presume working with children would not be on her resume, but her compassion was too great to ignore.

She started working with the ministry of Gender, Social Welfare, and Children in Malawi, bringing her close to her devotion to helping children.

Soon she would be in close collaboration with social welfare, going beyond her call of duty to help children in distress, and after a while she started LongArm orphanage with US partners, which helped connect children with adoptive parents, rescuing many of them from destitution.

She recounts how much it meant for those kids to get a new lease on life, many relocating to other countries for a fresh start. Though the partnership with the Americans ended, Ms Reheema reopened it and continues impacting Malawian children’s lives; her work with the young ones goes on, entrusting local passionate young Malawians to help with the daily operations, making sure the children they rescue have a better life.

She continues to directly impact the communities with necessities that would be life-changing to those residing in the villages. Soon the bicycle donations spurred more donations from well-wishers who wanted to contribute to her efforts.

She would later build houses for families who were living in harsh conditions; the muddy houses were extremely vulnerable during the rainy season, and floods and the cold weather left these families in dire need of help.

With the help of Malawian well-wishers, she was able to build several decent houses and welcomed these families to their new homes. You could see in their eyes that this took them by surprise; with tears on their faces, they would accept keys for their new homes in total disbelief.

In most rural communities across Africa, land symbolises wealth, and in African communities, women are often marginalised and hence prone to domestic abuse with no rights to property when their spouses die.

Ms Reheema was determined to ensure that all her initiatives were women-centred, from giving them bicycles, these women would be enabled to transport their produce to markets and earn a living, with a source of earning a living without depending on husbands, it brought a sense of security and power that would insulate them from abuse.

Society is less likely to look down on a woman who earns money. There are a magnitude of stories of how her initiatives have transformed lives, but that is just half of what Ms Reheema has done.

Though in some cases she would be contracted by organisations to do marketing, business development, or accounting that she has specialised in, she never lacks the time to impact the people who need her the most, her communities.

One financial burden women in sub-Saharan Africa face is the rising cost of female sanitary pads; this has led to school absenteeism among girls in rural areas, and the situation is even worse for imprisoned women.

Where people saw challenges, she saw an opportunity. She boldly approached the Malawi Prison Services and asked them if she could work on an initiative working hand in hand with the incarcerated women to start making reusable female sanitary pads, a bold quest to humanise these caged ladies whom everyone seemed to have shunned or given up on. In no time many female inmates got involved in the project; it would give them a sense of purpose behind bars.

Some of these women would have their children with them, behind bars, and seeing them working and earning an honest living always set a good example for the kids watching, even helping them transform in the correction facilities they had been locked in.

She continues to visit Tanzania, mainly her relatives in Dar es Salaam and Mbeya, where she has vivid memories of growing up. She makes sure her bond with her mother’s side of the family remains strong and intact.

With all that she does, Reheema has authored several books, one titled ‘Customer Service Management’, citing the challenges of corporate Malawi to attract and maintain customers due to poor communications and poor management.

Her education from the University of Leeds and corporate ties in Malawi will always mean she will tap into that side of life, with book writing, consultation, and cooperation, but she will never lose focus on what her true calling is, serving the people.