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Project to empower churches in community mobilization
By Sylvester Kumwenda
Dowa, April 1, Mana: Eagles Relief and Development Program International has embarked on a project, dubbed Dowa Child Centred Church and Community Mobilization Process (CCMP), aimed at empowering churches on how they can contribute to community development.
The pilot project, which is to be implemented in Traditional Authority Msakambewa, focuses on promoting mindset change in development and contribute towards improved living standards and holistic transformation of communities in the area, through improved church involvement and participation in social development.
In an interview after presenting the project to the District Executive Committee on Thursday, Church Mobilization Manager for Eagles, Cuthbert Gondwe, said the project aims to mobilize local churches and communities to work together and deal with issues the communities are facing.
“The main aim is getting the church and the community involved in their own development.
“As we talk of development coming from the people, we should also build the capacity of churches and communities to be able to come together, identify their issues, identify opportunities, identify local stakeholders, and then find solutions to those problems that they have,” he said.
Some of the project key deliverables include mobilization of 20 churches, 60 pastors and church leaders trained in CCMP, and 1,000 church members to be trained and transformed to transform others.
Also, 10,000 community members are set to be mobilized and empowered to be self-reliant and be able to take responsibility of their own development to reach out to 800 children and youth.
He said the project, whose implementing partners are Eagle, Compassion International, and Tearfund, will empower churches and communities to also work with government local structures and complement government's development agendas.
“For example, if government has plans to promote girl child education, we would like the church to understand what that is and how the church can come and realize and utilize the power it has in promoting girl child education,” he said.
He said the project is using the church due to its well-established structures on the ground and proximity to the people.
Maxwell Kadutsa, chairperson for Civil Society Network in the district, urged the organization to observe reporting to the committee on its project implementation.
“We need to understand what is going on with your project at all times, so we urge you to keep coming back to this committee to provide updates,” he said.
Child abandonment fueling child labour
By Andrew Mkonda
Lilongwe, April 1, Mana: It has been hell on earth for Major Lyton and Yamikani Dyless. Sleeping on an empty stomach, going from one place to another in search of pieces of work in order to find food, clothing and school materials on their own has been a part of their lives.
This is what has been characterizing the lives of young Lyton, aged 11, and Dyless, aged 13, born from different poor and irresponsible fathers in the area of Traditional Authority Chitekwere in Lilongwe District.
“Since our mother (Teresa Alick, aged 30) got married to another man, our lives have never been the same. My four siblings and I lack a lot of things in our lives, and this has even caused us to stop going to school.
“We do almost everything on our own through pieces of work, as our stepfather too depend on pieces of work for us to eat on a particular day. We go and herd cattle, goat and work in different farms just for our survival,” said Dyless with tears in his eyes.
He says recently he, together with Lyton, walked for about 80 kilometres (from T/A Chitekwele to T/A Chadza) just to find pieces of work for their survival.
“We left our home and went to the area of T/A Chadza where we were employed to herd cattle. It was not easy at all because in most cases, we were herding the cattle in a thick forest bare footed and we were reporting back home very late without eating anything from morning to evening,” Dyless said.
After learning of this sad development, Lilongwe District Labour Office and other stakeholders teamed up to withdraw the two young boys from herding the cattle, describing it as child labour.
Lilongwe District Labour Officer Chiletso Mbewe has since singled out child abandonment and lack of support for the children as some of the factors fueling child labour in the district and the country at large.
“It is sad that many families, more especially in the rural areas, continue bearing many children that they cannot afford to take care of. This forces young children to go out and find pieces of work for their needs,” she said.
Malawi National Child Labour survey (2022) clearly shows that the vice continues to affect an estimated 2.1 million children, aged 5 to 17, representing a 38 percent of this age group.
These numbers clearly indicate that efforts in this regard need to be intensified and accelerated in order for the goal of child labour elimination to be reached in the nearest possible future.
The survey also revealed that child labour is higher among children from poor households and even among best-off households, as it shows that more than one in three children are in child labour.
In policy terms, this result suggests that a strategic response based on poverty reduction alone is unlikely to be effective in eliminating child labour.
The statistics further indicate that 72 percent of children, aged 5 to 17, works in agriculture sector, 23 percent in domestic sector and three percent are in wholesale.
In urban areas, less than half (46 percent) of those aged 5 to 17 work in agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, 11 percent are in wholesale and retail trade, 39 percent in domestic sector and four percent in other sectors.
Mbewe then urged parents and guardians to take care of their children by, among other things, providing for their needs such as food, clothing and good shelter so that they do not go out and work in hazardous places.
Said Mbewe: “Section 9 of the Childcare, Protection and Justice Act clearly states that where a parent or any other person who is legally liable to maintain a child or to contribute towards the maintenance of the child, neglects to maintain the child, neglects to maintain the child or to make the contribution, the following persons may apply against such person to the child justice court for a maintenance order of the child.”
She further said the Act also allows the child, the parent of the child, the guardian of the child, relatives of the child, a social welfare officer, a police officer, a teacher, a health officer, and any other appropriate person to apply against such persons to the children’s court for a child maintenance order.
She then disclosed that Lilongwe District Council has already formulated by-laws that will deal with all parents and guardians that allow their young children to work in hazardous places like estates, mines and factories.
“These children we have repatriated and withdrawn, walked on foot for a distance of about 80 kilometres [from T/A Chitekwele to T/A Chadza] just to find pieces of work. They have been working as herd boys at that age. This clearly shows that these children are not taken care of by their parents. It’s quite pathetic,” she said.
Gikilosi Phiri, aged 32, admitted that he is failing to take care of his stepchildren because he is not working and that he doesn’t have any stable business to depend on.
“I depend on pieces of work to feed my family members. As you can see here, even our house doesn’t have door cover and we sleep like that. It’s not deliberate that these young children go out to look for pieces of work, but it’s the situation we are in that is forcing them,” he said.
Phiri has since asked Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), churches and well-wishers to assist the family with essential items such as food, clothing, beddings and some cash for the family to start a small business.
However, Malawi News Agency also observed that the family doesn’t even have a toilet, a bathing room and even their dwelling house doesn’t have privacy since the house doesn’t have separate bedrooms.
We also observed that there is no child that goes to school due to lack of required school materials such as bags, exercise books and pens.
We further noted that although Phiri’s family is passing through such a difficult situation, his wife is again expectant and very soon the number of family members in the house will be increased, thereby worsening the situation.
Group Village Headman Chinyama in the area of T/A Chitekwele thanked the district labour office for withdrawing the young boys from herding the cattle, saying their future would have been completely destroyed if the office had not intervened.
“It is pathetic to see young children like these working in such hard conditions while their friends are at school,” he said.
Chinyama further thanked the council for coming up with by-laws which he said will assist to protect children from hard labour.
He then warned his subjects against exploiting young children, saying the tendency is counterproductive.
“Send children to school so that they become productive citizens in the future and take part in developing their areas and the country at large,” he advised.
Pink eye affects 12,000 people countrywide
By Beatrice Bangula
Blantyre, April 1, Mana: Statistics from Ministry of Health indicate that viral conjunctivitis, also known as Pink eye disease, has hit more than 12,000 people in the country.
Ministry of Health spokesperson Adrian Chikumbe told Malawi News Agency that so far the disease has reached nearly all the districts in Malawi, adding that Karonga still tops the list with Lilongwe coming second.
Chikumbe added that Ministry of Health was trying all it can to contain the disease whose signs and symptoms include redness of the eyes, itching, watery eyes and pain in the eyes, among others.
“The disease is self-limiting that it goes on its own without requiring antibiotics within seven to ten days. However, the ministry encourages people to immediately seek medical attention to treat symptoms and reduce suffering; antibiotic may be given to treat secondary infections,” he added.
Chikumbe added that Ministry of Health was conducting sensitization sessions with various groups to increase public awareness on how the disease is spread and how it can be prevented.
He added that health facilities across the country also provide treatment to cases and further promote hygiene and sanitation ways of preventing further transmission of the disease, saying hygiene is key in preventing about 52% of communicable diseases that include pink eye.
Meanwhile, Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN) Executive Director George Jobe has called for more sensitization activities on the dangers of pink eye, adding that the disease has no medication and that it cures on its own after some time.
“Pink eye is highly contagious and affects human activities which include productivity. People cannot go to work, learners cannot go to school and healthcare workers cannot provide healthcare services when they themselves have pink eye disease,” Jobe said.
Pink eye disease was first reported in Karonga District in February this year before spreading further to other districts in central region and later to southern region.
Farmers urged to embrace early maturing crops
By George Mponda
Karonga, March 31, Mana: Crops Officer for Karonga District Agriculture Development Office, Stocker Nundwe, has asked farmers in the district to plant early maturing crop varieties to lessen the impacts of weather unpredictability and flood disasters on their agriculture productivity.
Nundwe said this at Mwangulukulu Village in the area of Senior Chief Mwakaboko in Karonga on Friday during an agriculture field day organized by SeedCo.
Nundwe said Ministry of Agriculture wants three things for a farmer namely; food security, good nutrition and financial security.
He said the three can be achieved if farmers use early maturing seed that can withstand drought and suit the climate conditions of their area.
"This aligns with the government’s growing calls for farmers to practise climate smart agriculture, which includes planting early maturing crop varieties in our district which is hit with disasters annually," he said.
Agronomy Manager for SeedCo Malawi, James Mtiesa, appealed to farmers to select appropriate crop varieties based on their agro-ecological regions to maximise yields.
"It all starts with the right seed and on display today we had maize, soya and rice which mature early. Some crops do not need much rain and I can assure farmers that they will still get a bumper harvest even when grown on a small piece of land," said Mtiesa.
Some of the crops on display were Kalulu maize seed which matures in not more than 80 days and Signal 110 soya seed which matures in 104 days.
Mtiesa said farmers can harvest 50 bags and 28 bags per hectare of the maize and soya respectively.
“Nerica 4 rice seed matures in 100 days and can be grown everywhere since it does not need much water hauling in 32 bags from a hectare," he said.
Mtiesa stressed that by selecting appropriate early maturing varieties and diversifying crop choices, farmers can mitigate the risks associated with uncertain rainfall patterns and increase their chances of achieving a successful and bountiful harvest.
One of the farmers, Paliph Msukwa, said adopting hybrid seed varieties which mature early and are drought tolerant can be a solution to the problems faced by farmers in Karonga and help increase yields, food and nutrition security.
Mzimba children applaud NGO for rescuing them from child labour
By Joel Phiri
Mzimba, March 31, Mana: Some children from Traditional Authority (TA) Khosolo in Mzimba have commended Impact Centre for Economic and Development (ICEED) for rescuing them from child labour in the coffee and tea estates they were working in and offering them vocational training.
The children were speaking Saturday in Mzimba when ICEED, with funding from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), presented start-up tools to some of the 150 youths who completed a three months vocational training.
In an interview, 17-year-old James Longwe from Lunkhumba Village, TA Khosolo said he dropped out of school in Form One into one of the coffee estates in the district to escape poverty.
“Things were not rosy at home and I decided to look for a job to earn a living. I left school due to lack of financial support.
“When ICEED came looking for under aged boys and girls I was identified and offered a place at Buwe Technical College where I studied carpentry and joinery. I can now earn money in a conducive environment,” said Longwe.
Another rescued youth, Anile Banda, who dropped out of school in Standard Six due to poverty said she has worked at a coffee estate for two years.
“I left school in 2021 to look for work. Looking at where I come from, where we could sometimes sleep on empty stomach, I decided to leave school and find work to support myself and survive,” she said.
Banda studied tailoring and plans to launch her tailoring business.
ICEED Project Officer, Elvin Kalomba, said they are running a project called “Accelerating action in the elimination of child labour (ACCEL)” to rescue children from child labour and those at risk of child labour.
“Most of these children venture into child labour because of poverty in their families hence we thought by empowering them with vocational skills we will prevent them from being employed or engaged in child labour. They can start something of their own and make their own money,” said Kalomba.
Chief Labour Officer in the Ministry of Labour, Francis Kwenda, said the country faces a daunting task to end child labour because of poverty as most households struggle and as such send their children to work in estates.
“Currently child labour in Malawi stands at 38 percent, according to the 2015 National Statistical Office (NSO) survey. This is up from the 2002 survey which had child labour at 37 percent. Of these statistics, one percent of the children work in the agriculture sector,” said Kwenda.
He said the ministry is working with various partners such as ILO, tobacco industry players and other NGOs to end child labour.
Mzimba District Youth Officer, Yamikani Nyalugwe, applauded ICEED and ILO for empowering the youths with vocational skills which, he said, would help them become independent and self-reliant.
Inkosi Khosolo warned communities against offering children in estate saying he will punish every community member whose child or ward would be found working in estates.
Frequent blackouts infuriate Chitipa CSOs
By Aliko Munde
Chitipa, March 31, Mana: Civil Society Organizations (CSO) in Chitipa have expressed displeasure with Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) for frequent power outages in the district.
The CSOs say the power cuts have affected operations of various businesses and offices including health facilities.
Speaking during a full council meeting on Thursday, Chairperson for Chitipa CSO Network, Patrick Ziba, wondered why Chitipa experiences blackouts everyday despite ESCOM assuring the nation that things have changed.
Ziba said the residents are not happy with the tendency by ESCOM to switch off power every day.
“We are losing lives in our hospitals because of lack of electricity and also some of our businesses have suffered for the same.
“As a district we need to do something because the blackouts are out of hand. Our neighboring districts are enjoying electricity every day, why Chitipa?” Ziba asked.
District Commissioner for Chitipa, MacMillan Magomero, assured that during the forthcoming full council meeting he will summon ESCOM officials to answer as to why there are frequent blackouts in the district.
ESCOM Chief Public Relations Officer, Kitty Chingota, acknowledged that Chitipa does, sometimes, experience blackouts as is the case with other parts of the country.
She, however, said that it might not be entirely correct to say that blackouts are the order of the day in Chitipa.
Chingota said that there has, of late, been an improvement in stability of power supply to Chitipa after her institution intensified efforts to repair faults on the power line that supplies electricity to the district.
“Oftentimes, ESCOM faces challenges carrying out maintenance of this line to Chitipa due to resource constraints,” she said.
She said ESCOM has prioritized Karonga to Chitipa line for 100 percent maintenance.
Meanwhile, ESCOM has received switchgear from the Ministry of Energy, through Malawi Rural Electrification Programme (MAREP), to install on the Chitipa line to help in localizing the faults.
“ESCOM engineers recently split the Chitipa and Songwe lines by maintaining a bundle conductor that was strung parallel to the airport. This means Chitipa and Songwe lines are now on separate breakers. This has reduced faults on both these lines,” Chingota explained.
She said ESCOM engineers are designing new structures that can withstand weather elements of the area.
“Additionally, the alternative supply line to Chitipa is being considered through Nyika National Park to Nthalire,” said Chingota.
No work, no allowances: Karonga DOs warned
By George Mponda
Karonga, March 31, Mana: Acting District Commissioner for Karonga, Frank Mkandawire, has warned Designated Officers (DO) working under the Climate Smart-Enhanced Public Works Programme (CS-EPWP) against claiming allowances while not working on the ground.
Mkandawire made the sentiments Saturday in Chitipa at the end of a two-day review meeting for the programme’s third cycle attended by members of Karonga District Environment Sub-Committee (DESC) and DOs from 15 catchment areas.
"Officers are supposed to be on the ground supervising the project which aims to reduce risks associated with climate change and other disasters.
“We know that some of you are doing school which is not a bad thing but then you claim allowances for days which you did not work for; you will not receive that,” he said.
He expressed concern that some catchment areas lack supervision leading to shoddy work.
Mkandawire advised the DOs to exhibit firm leadership when dealing with extension workers and participants who are working under CS-EPWP in Karonga.
"We have heard reports that some of you are afraid to direct participants on how to do the work for fear of being bewitched. Leadership has no excuse; you just need to be courteous when dealing with participants and establish good communication channels and you will see the programme flourish in our district," he said.
President for the DOs, Webster Kanyimbo from Nyanja Catchment hailed the meeting for bringing out issues which will facilitate smooth implementation of the programme in Karonga.
"There are a number of issues which need to be addressed like the unavailablity of gadgets for proper documentation and late payments of participants wages which is also affecting the quality of work in the programme," Kanyimbo said.
CS-EPWP is implemented, in Karonga, by the National Local Governance Finance Committee with funding from the World Bank.
Over 13,000 participants are working on interventions which include construction of swales, contour marker ridging, caring for naturally regenerating trees, afforestation and river bank protection.
Water for People dress Mudi Catchment Area with trees
By Tikondane Vega
Blantyre, March 31, Mana: Water for People, in collaboration with stakeholders, on Saturday planted trees around Mudi Catchment Area in Blantyre as one way of increasing water levels that can be supplied to the community.
The trees were planted under Blantyre-Mulanje Water Fund, a deliberate source of fund established by the organization and other partners, to resource finance for water sustainability.
Speaking during the tree planting exercise, Chairperson for the fund steering committee, Dwight Kambuku, said they decided to plant trees in Mudi Catchment to protect water supply in the district.
“Trees are one of the most important aspects if we are to have clean and sustainable water. When planted in the right place, trees provide multiple benefits to people. It plays a critical role in capturing rainwater and reducing the risk of natural disasters such as floods.
“The catchment protection and restoration helps control siltation in Mudi Dam thereby reducing the cost of purifying water for a tenth of the city’s population,” said Kambuku.
Kambuku, who is also Chief Executive Officer for National Water Resources Authority (NWRA), added that the restoration of Mudi River has potential to reduce water tariffs since Blantyre Water Board’s (BWB) production costs will be lower due to good quality of water.
Water for People Director of Influence and Scale, Kate Harawa, said all trees that have been planted are indigenous in nature that can inhabit the environment without any human intervention.
Harawa expressed concern that lack of trees affects quantity and quality of water saying the trees planted swill ensure that water is available all the time to the public.
“This is the reason stakeholders are establishing Special Water Fund to ensure that there are resources for water sustainability by helping us come up with different interventions targeting concerned stakeholders such as the surrounding community,” she said.
BWB Director of Technical Services, Mavuto Chiipanthenga, commended Water for People and other partners saying such gesture has made Mudi catchment regain its lost glory.
Chiipanthenga said trees make water available all the time since they significantly increase water infiltration rate into soil and storage.
“When water is available the costs of treatment is always lower; that is why today we are saying our water production cost has slowly reduced. We ask other stakeholders to come and plant more trees,” he said.
Delegates to the exercise emphasized the need to monitor and caring for the trees planted.
Self Help Africa for durable WASH facilities
By Sylvester Kumwenda
Dowa, March 30, Mana: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Project Manager for Dowa Chifundo Mandala says WASH infrastructure must be resilient to natural disasters to ensure people still have access to portable water in case of emergencies.
He made the remarks Thursday during a district executive meeting when he presented the Self Help Africa WASH project progress report to the committee.
Mandala said one of the lessons learnt during project implementation was that when the district was hard hit by flash floods last year, there was loss of WASH infrastructure because some of the structures such as boreholes and the VIP latrines were not resilient enough.
“So, as an organisation, we found that there was a gap in terms of structural resilience. When we talk of resilience, we are talking of structures being able to withstand some harsh occurrences like flash floods which some of the structures failed to.
“For example, we had some boreholes which were submerged because of the floods, either because the location or the structure itself was not resilient enough to that natural disaster,” he said.
Mandala said loss of WASH infrastructure during floods also raises the risk of people contracting water borne diseases like Cholera due to loss of WASH facilities.
According to Mandala, it was also evident that some local structures managing WASH facilities were not aware of what to do in case of such emergencies.
“So, as an organisation, we put it as a recommendation that, together with the council, we can sit down and come up with more plans and designs which can be integrated in our construction works to make sure we are constructing durable WASH infrastructures resilient enough to natural disasters,” he said.
He said, this will ensure survivors have access to clean water during disasters and save finances to construct other new facilities.
Dowa District Water Officer, Cecilia Banda, concurred with Mandala saying the country is experiencing climate change whose impact are the high occurrences of floods and other disasters.
“It is, therefore, important to have durable structures which can reduce the loss of WASH facilities during these disasters,” she said.
Chakwera participates in the Way of the Cross in Lilongwe
By Elia Chibwe
Lilongwe, March 29, Mana: People from all corners of the country belonging to different Churches on Friday came together in participating the Way of the Cross as part of commemorating the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
President Dr Lazarus McCathy Chakwera joined the Christians in participating in the Way of the Cross procession from Capital Hotel round about through the Presidential Road Drive to Botanic Gardens in Lilongwe where the entire commemoration service took place.
The commemoration with the theme “Revive us again,” is observed during Easter celebrations, where Christians reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In his speech Chakwera urged all Malawians to make use of the sermon during the service on Good Friday, with the theme “Revive us again”, saying the advice given during the sermon will help in skill creativity and build a self-reliant Malawi.
Chakwera said there is need for citizens to dwell on the word of God, and consistently pray for the betterment of the country.
Chakwera also urged citizens to stand firm and have faith that God will provide ways to deal with challenges facing the country, including floods, diseases, and dry spells.
In his sermon, Apostle Stanly Ndovi thanked Chakwera for his humble spirit he expressed by participating and carrying a cross on the big walk to Botanical Garden.
“We cannot take it simple as we are celebrating the Way of the Cross to see that the president and the first lady joined us on the Way of the Cross, I know there is the purpose for the nation as Malawi is great Nation,” Ndovi said.
Chairperson of the Way of the Cross, Reverend Rangford Chokhotho applauded Chakwera for involving God in building the country’s development.
“President recognized that we can never build this nation without God’s involvement as Psalms 127:1 bible says unless the Lord build the house, the labour build in vain,” Chokhotho said.
The event was organized by Evangelical Association of Malawi and African Enterprise.
