By Beatrice Bangula

Blantyre, June 29, Mana:  Phalombe Restored Hope Foundation for Rural Development (REFORD) has described Kum’mwetsa Mother Care Group’s initiative known as Kumemeza as an important tool for mobilizing resources to effectively achieve sustainable community led development.

REFORD Executive Director, Steve Ndiwo expressed the Group’s initiate on Friday during Mother Care Group training at Kam’mwetsa Clinic at Chileka in Blantyre where he observed that Kumemeza approach by the Mother Care Groups brought positive changes to the community in the area.

“Kumemeza means sourcing funds from different organizations and other well-wishers for development in the community here at Kum’mwetsa. We have seen the seriousness of this Mother Care Group in sourcing funds to drill boreholes, build clinic connected to solar powered electricity,” he said.

REFORD Executive Director who visited some of the Mother Care Groups projects acknowledged the Mother Care Groups ways and means of mobilizing resources citing a proposal that the Group wrote to District Health Office for a refrigeration to keep vaccine safe in the clinic.

Chairperson of Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN)-Global Alliance on Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI) platform, Dr. Stanley Chitukwi accredited the work by the Mother Care Group for constructing an under-five clinic and procuring a solar panel to ensure solar powered electricity at the health facility.

“This is very impressing. The mother care group has managed to construct the clinic and on top of this the group also bought solar panel,” he added.

Health Surveillance Assistant (HAS) who works hand in hand with the Mother Care Group, Amos Square commended MHEN for training the mother Care Group to initiate community led development activities.

“The training helped the women care group in a number of ways because they are now able to mobilize resources to do things on their own,” he added.

Group Village Head (GVH) Kabwerekera said he would not condone women that shun to attend Antenatal Clinics during pregnancy.

“I will punish women that shun antenatal clinics and those that will give birth at home,” he said, adding that he did not see reasons why women should fail to utilize the health facility that is within the area.

Kum’mwetsa Mother Care Group at Traditional Authority (TA) Kunthembwe has mobilized burnt bricks to build a house for the HAS so that the health worker should reside closer to the clinic.

Services offered at Kum’mwetsa under-five Clinic include growth monitoring, and child immunization ranging from BCG to PCV.