Meet our first Do-Gooder

The Story Behind Bertha's House

Jessie Mimi Evans grew up surrounded by examples of compassion in action.

A woman with short blonde hair, wearing a pink and purple floral sleeveless top and blue jeans, standing in front of a yellow background and smiling.

Many people Jessie calls family today were welcomed, cared for, and loved by Bertha as if they were her own. Bertha continued serving others until her passing at the age of 105, leaving behind a legacy of generosity that continues to inspire. That legacy became evident when Jessie was just 12 years old.

One day, she brought home a five-year-old boy who had been living on the streets. Before her father returned home, Jessie had bathed him and dressed him in her own clothes. Though initially shocked, her father soon recognized the deep compassion that had guided her actions. Determined to help, Jessie located the boy's family and used her own allowance to pay his school fees year after year until he graduated from high school. Today, he lives in South Africa, and they remain close friends.

Whenever Jessie felt discouraged by how little she could do, her father would remind her: "Every little bit helps. You can always make a difference. Pikinini (small one), if you don't believe me, sleep with one mosquito and see if it doesn't change your whole night."

1 child,
1 ear of corn

Close-up of a young girl with short hair, looking to the side with a serious expression, in black and white.

In 2023 while in a market, a young boy approached Jessie and asked for money for an ear of roasted corn. She followed him and learned that he, too was living alone, sleeping in a corner of an abandoned house. She started going every day to feed him, then more children came, and Bertha’s House was born.

In 2023, while in a local market, a young boy approached Jessie and asked for money. He wanted to buy an ear of roasted corn and a sweet. She followed him to buy the corn and discovered he was living alone, sleeping in the corner of an abandoned building. Jessie began bringing him food. Soon, other children appeared. Then more. What started as helping one child quickly became a growing community of vulnerable children seeking safety, food, education, and hope. And Bertha's House was born.

A Vision for Lasting Change

Today, Bertha's House serves more than 100 children, some as young as six years old, who are living alone or surviving on the streets. The organization also supports single mothers and widows who have been abandoned by family members or left without economic opportunities.

The mission is simple:
empower women and children to transform their own lives and strengthen their communities. Children receive nutritious meals, educational support, and access to school. Women are equipped with practical skills, including agriculture, tailoring, and entrepreneurship, enabling them to generate income and build sustainable futures for their families.

A young boy wearing a navy and red jacket is outdoors holding a green plate of food in one hand and a spoon with food in the other, smiling at the camera. The background features trees and a dirt ground.

Group of children sitting on the ground outdoors, playing with round plates and red spoons.

A smiling young girl wearing a black and white patterned dress, sitting on the ground with a red plate in her lap, holding a spoon, outdoors in a rural setting with trees and other children in the background.

Building Sustainability Through Enterprise

Jessie's vision extends beyond charity. She believes communities thrive when they have the tools and resources to become self-sustaining. To support this vision, she established Ithel Consortium, a registered social enterprise in Malawi that combines business development with community impact. Its initiatives include:

Graphic design with the word "IMPHASO" and a gift box replacing the letter "O"; the text below reads "YACHAD".

Maphatso Yachad

A tailoring enterprise producing handcrafted African bags, clothing, and footwear while creating employment and vocational training opportunities. Together, these enterprises help create pathways toward long-term sustainability for Bertha's House and the families it serves.

Colorful fabric sail with various vibrant patterns in orange, red, purple, black, and yellow, set outdoors on a grassy lawn with bushes and plants in the background.

A patterned black backpack with colorful geometric designs is placed on green grass with a large tree and a wooden structure in the background.

A red handbag with an abstract pattern on the front, resting on a dark blue fabric surface near a window with a green plant outside.

Colorful custom-designed sneakers with yellow, black, and floral patterns, placed on a flat surface with a blurred background.

Amarsi Farms

A four-hectare working farm in Lilongwe where maize, cassava, bananas, vegetables, and tomatoes are cultivated alongside livestock and fish farming. The farm provides food, training opportunities, and income-generating activities.

Aerial view of a farm with cultivated fields, trees, and small buildings under a cloudy sky.

Child in dark clothing and white hat picking bananas in a banana plantation on a sunny day.

A dirt path runs through a field of tall green corn plants under a partly cloudy sky.

A New Opportunity

Recently, local Village Chiefs in the Mulanje District near Blantyre donated three acres of land and several buildings to Bertha's House. Located adjacent to a technical college, the property offers a remarkable opportunity to expand community development programs. The vision for this site includes:

• Safe housing for street-connected children

• Demonstration gardens and agricultural training• Vocational and entrepreneurship programs

• Community support services for women and families

• Sustainable food production initiatives

This new chapter has the potential to impact hundreds more lives for generations to come.

How You Can Help

The need is urgent, and the opportunity is extraordinary. With community support, Bertha's House can transform this donated property into a thriving center of hope, education, safety, and economic empowerment. Your partnership will help provide shelter for vulnerable children, create opportunities for women, expand food security programs, and build a sustainable future for families across the region. Together, we can turn one woman's compassion into lasting change for an entire community.

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