By Agatha Kadzinje

Blantyre, November 11, Mana: Pamoza Social Enterprise Malawi has organized an arts festival called Mlowe Cultural Arts Festival at Mlowe Village, Rumphi District, scheduled for November 16 to 17, 2024.

The art festival will mainly focus on; Harnessing the Power of Local Culture to Address Mental Health Challenges and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Issues.

Pamoza Social Enterprise Malawi's founder, Peace Kalua, told Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Sunday that the motivation behind the festival is to open the Mlowe Community Center.

“The festival also aims to launch the community center in Mlowe, which will operate based on three pillars: creating employment, promoting environmental conservation, and raising awareness on mental health.” he said.  

Kalua added that the festival also aims to raise awareness about mental health issues and educate the public on other crosscutting social issues.

“These should not be sidelined,” he said, adding that the festival focuses on social issues after observing increased prevalence of child marriages, school dropouts, and associated wide range of gender based violence in the Mlowe area.

Kalua explained that the festival will primarily be a local arts contest, featuring local art from across the northern region of Malawi.

 “The groups will present their cultural artifacts and compete for prizes. The prizes will   include three goats and this is intended to empower them and provide sustainable funding for their groups,” he said.

Kalua encouraged people from across Malawi to attend and participate in the arts festival and was hoping to make the Mlowe Cultural Arts Festival an annual event with plans to rotate it to different areas within the district.

Clinical psychologist and festival organizer, Annabel Jaccard said the festival uses traditional Malawian arts and dances to communicate effectively to the people of Mlowe.

“Everything is related to art because we believe that through art, we can raise awareness of the pressing issues. Cultural and traditions have significant impact on people as they can easily be understood and can relate to the people,” she said.

Jaccard added that local counselors and psychologists will be present at the festival to provide guidance on mental health and GBV.

She emphasized the festival’s focus on GBV, noting that November coincides with the 15 Days of Activism Against GBV, in addition to the center's opening and celebration of local culture.

She urged the public to engage in open dialogue around mental health and GBV issues, saying the issues have higher potential of impacting on individual wellbeing and national development.

Jaccard also appealed to well-wishers and donors to support Pamoza Social Enterprise in bringing the Mlowe Cultural Arts Festival’s awareness on mental health and GBV across Malawi.

Activities at the festival will include traditional dances, wellbeing workshops, local music, poetry, theater, and more.