Introduction
Pascal had always assumed saving was reserved for people with substantial salaries, the kind of income that leaves obvious room left over at the end of the month. By the end of a community session led by Epha D Kamisa, that assumption had shifted entirely. He realized he could begin saving with as little as MK500 from his own small business, a figure that felt within reach rather than out of it. His reaction captured exactly what Kamisa, a Cohort 34 fellow based in Malawi, set out to achieve when she designed a session titled The Importance of Saving among the Youth in Malawi.
Rather than approaching the topic as a general financial principle, Kamisa built her session specifically around the realities young Malawians face, income that is often modest, frequently irregular, and easily consumed by small, everyday expenses that rarely feel significant in the moment but add up quickly over time.
Teaching With Examples Youth Could Recognize
Kamisa's approach centered on using practical, Malawian context examples to explain financial concepts, avoiding abstract or foreign frameworks that might feel disconnected from participants' actual lives. This grounded approach shaped the entire tone of the session, which unfolded as an interactive exchange rather than a one directional presentation. Participants were engaged from the outset, asking questions and, notably, sharing their own personal challenges with saving rather than sitting back as passive listeners.
That openness gave Kamisa direct insight into what was actually preventing young people in her community from saving consistently, insight that shaped how she addressed the topic throughout the discussion. Reflecting on the experience afterward, she noted that the most striking part of the session was witnessing how eager participants were to learn practical steps they could apply immediately, even while working with limited income. That eagerness suggested the barrier to saving among these young people was rarely a lack of willingness, but rather a lack of accessible, realistic guidance on how to begin.
Four Goals Behind a Single Conversation
Kamisa entered the session with a clear set of objectives guiding her approach. She aimed first to increase general awareness of why saving matters among young people, laying a foundation before moving into more specific guidance. From there, she worked to encourage participants to develop an actual saving culture, recognizing that awareness alone rarely translates into changed behavior without deliberate reinforcement.
Budgeting and proper financial planning formed a third pillar of her objectives, with Kamisa aiming to highlight the tangible benefits that come from planning spending in advance rather than reacting to it after the fact. Finally, she sought to inspire participants to set concrete financial goals and prepare for both emergencies and future investments, moving the conversation beyond saving as an isolated habit and toward saving as a foundation for broader financial security.
A Shift in Understanding, Visible in the Room
The session produced clear, observable outcomes among participants. Chief among them was a deeper understanding of why saving matters in the first place, moving participants past a surface level awareness and toward a genuine grasp of how consistent saving connects to their own future stability. Alongside this, participants developed a sharper awareness of budgeting, particularly the practice of separating needs from wants, a distinction that proved genuinely revealing for several attendees who had never before examined their spending through that lens.
Perhaps most significant was the shift in personal commitment the session produced. Participants expressed a clear intention to begin saving regularly, regardless of their current income level, directly countering the assumption many had walked in with, that saving required a baseline income they simply did not have. This shift was accompanied by a broader appreciation for financial discipline itself, with participants beginning to view disciplined money management not as a restrictive burden, but as a genuine pathway toward both personal and economic goals.
Naming the Real Obstacle, Honestly
Kamisa did not shy away from acknowledging the legitimate challenges standing between participants and consistent saving. Several attendees were candid about the difficulty of saving when income is both low and irregular, a reality that makes even well intentioned saving habits difficult to sustain without a change in approach. Rather than offering a one size fits all solution, Kamisa addressed this challenge directly, encouraging participants to start with small amounts and to focus their energy on consistency and discipline rather than fixating on the size of what they were able to set aside.
This guidance proved central to the session's impact. By explicitly validating the difficulty of saving on irregular income, rather than glossing over it, Kamisa gave participants a realistic framework they could actually apply to their own circumstances, one built around habit formation rather than an unrealistic expectation of large, consistent deposits.
Voices From the Session
The feedback shared by participants captures the session's impact in their own words. Pascal, who runs a small business, described the shift in his own thinking directly, explaining that he had previously believed saving was reserved for people earning big salaries, but now understood he could begin with as little as MK500 from his business earnings, a concrete, achievable starting point that replaced his earlier assumption entirely.
Grace pointed to the discussion around needs and wants as particularly eye opening for her personally, admitting that she had been spending more than she realized on airtime and snacks, small, recurring purchases that had quietly added up without her fully noticing. Her reflection speaks to the value of the needs versus wants framework Kamisa introduced, a simple distinction capable of surfacing spending patterns participants had never consciously examined before.
Betty's reflection addressed the challenge of irregular income directly, acknowledging that inconsistency remained her biggest obstacle to saving. Rather than treating that inconsistency as a reason to abandon saving altogether, she committed to saving small amounts whenever money became available to her, a response that closely mirrors the consistency over quantity approach Kamisa had emphasized throughout the session
A Foundation Worth Building On
In her closing reflections, Kamisa described the session as having successfully improved participants' understanding of saving and financial planning. She noted that the strength of the interactive discussions revealed something important beyond the immediate outcomes of the session itself, a clear and ongoing need for continued financial education among youth across Malawi. Based on that observation, she recommended that similar sessions be conducted regularly, framing consistent reinforcement as essential to sustaining the positive financial behaviors the session had begun to instill.
That recommendation reflects a broader understanding embedded throughout Kamisa's work: that a single session, however impactful in the moment, functions best as a starting point rather than a complete solution. Genuine behavior change, particularly around something as habitual as saving, tends to require reinforcement over time, and Kamisa's call for continued education positions her outreach as part of an ongoing effort rather than an isolated event.
A Leader Who Met Youth Where They Were
What distinguishes Kamisa's approach is her refusal to treat financial literacy as a one size fits all lesson. By grounding every concept in Malawian context examples, listening closely to the specific challenges participants raised, and directly addressing the reality of irregular income rather than avoiding it, she created a session that felt relevant rather than theoretical. The result was a room of young people who left not only better informed, but genuinely motivated, several of them, like Pascal, Grace, and Betty, walking away with specific, personal commitments rather than vague intentions.
As Kamisa continues her work under the KAFI Financial Literacy Community Project, her session on saving among Malawian youth stands as a clear example of how grounded, honest, and participatory financial education can shift not just what young people know about money, but how they actually plan to act on that knowledge going forward.
Report Summary
Epha D Kamisa, a Cohort 34 fellow based in Malawi, facilitated a community session titled The Importance of Saving among the Youth in Malawi, using practical, Malawian context examples to make financial concepts accessible to young participants. The session aimed to raise awareness of saving, encourage a lasting saving culture, highlight the benefits of budgeting and financial planning, and inspire participants to set financial goals while preparing for emergencies and future investments. Key outcomes included a stronger understanding of why saving matters, increased awareness of separating needs from wants, and a widespread commitment among participants to begin saving regularly regardless of income level. Kamisa addressed the challenge of low and irregular income directly, encouraging participants to prioritize consistency and discipline over the size of their savings. Participant feedback reflected genuine shifts in mindset, including a business owner recognizing he could begin saving with as little as MK500, a participant realizing how much she spent on small discretionary purchases, and another committing to save whenever possible despite inconsistent income. Kamisa concluded that the session successfully strengthened participants' financial understanding and recommended that similar sessions be held regularly to reinforce positive financial behavior and support economic empowerment among Malawian youth.
