Andrew Adam is 12 years old, and a fisherman by trade. In Malawi’s southern district of Zomba, Lake Chilwa is the lifeblood of its villagers. Since Adam left school more than a year ago, he has been working as a bila boy – a worker who dives underwater and pulls the nets in.

It is mid-morning and the workday is underway. People are moving in all directions, going about their daily chores. But it is mostly women who move the fastest, many of them carrying water through the impoverished and overcrowded streets. In Mgona, on the outskirts of Lilongwe, most men have ignored the many problems faced by the community, chief amongst them issues of waterborne disease.

For two years, Rozina Chimbalani has struggled to feed, clothe and school the four grandchildren left in her care after her daughter died. Across Malawi, this has been a painfully common story, as for more than two decades HIV has shattered families and left more than a million children orphaned.

With International Literacy Day having taken place on 8 September, Steve Sharra considers the significance of ‘literacy’ in the Malawian context. Literacy – understood in a broad sense to include more than merely the capacity to read and write – should be at the heart of efforts to improve livelihoods and rights, while the country’s domestic book industry and greater digital resources should be embraced, Sharra contends.