In July 2025, Pemba Epicentre reached Self Reliance, a testament to the extraordinary commitment and resilience of the community.
Walking alongside this community is Eureka Benevolent Foundation (EBF), longtime The Hunger Project Investors. To mark the occasion, EBF travelled to Malawi to attend the Self-Reliance celebration.
The community’s achievement is all the more remarkable for the challenging conditions they’re currently facing. There has been currency devaluation, rising inflation, and successive climate shocks, pushing much of the country deeper into poverty. Against this backdrop, Pemba Epicentre has stood as proof of what communities can achieve when they lead their own development.
Since the project began, severe hunger has been completely eradicated, with moderate hunger falling by 22%.
The group toured the Epicentre’s busy health clinic, which has treated over 39,000 people annually with an extraordinary team of staff, stretching well beyond the predicted catchment area. It was moving to see the newly opened maternity clinic, where women
can access lifesaving pre-and-post natal care; a far cry from the long and dangerous 12km walk they faced before the health clinic was built.
EBF visited Edrina and her family at her home. Edrina is the Epicentre Chairperson and a driving force for women’s empowerment. Under her leadership, and with women making up 60% of the Epicentre leadership committee, the community has made extraordinary strides towards gender equality.
At Pemba, the Women’s Empowerment Index score rose from 65% to 75%, child marriages close to halved, and the number of women owning businesses increased by 33%.
One of the most powerful moments was when the Epicentre’s official name was revealed: the Umodzi Community Development Organisation, belonging no longer to The Hunger Project, but to the people of Pemba, Malawi.