By Patience Harawa

Karonga, March 30, Mana: Lusubiro Community Care organization has distributed cash to 279 vulnerable households in Karonga who are struggling to meet their basic needs during the lean season.

Speaking on Saturday after the cash distribution exercise, Orphans and Vulnerable Officer for Lusubiro Community Care, Wisdom Kayange said each of the 279 households received K52,000 through the Integrated Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children and Youth (IVOC II) project.

Kayange said the project is targeting households facing extreme food and financial hardships including those looking after orphans and vulnerable children in the district.

He said by providing direct financial support, Lusubiro Community Care aims to empower families to purchase essential food items and meet urgent household needs, ensuring that no child goes to bed hungry.

“The lean season is a particularly difficult time for many families, and through this cash transfer initiative, we hope to bring relief to those who need it most. We believe that strengthening social protection mechanisms is key to reducing the vulnerabilities faced by orphaned children and their caregivers,” said Kayange

One of the beneficiaries, Grace Kumwenda commended Lusubilo Community care organization for the help which she said is a huge relief to many vulnerable households.

“I am deeply grateful for this support. The cash transfer will enable me to buy food and meet my basic needs. The support from Lusubiro Community Care has been a lifeline for my family and many other community members,” Kumwenda said.

In his remarks Group Village Head Kanyuka called for more social protection initiatives saying many members of the community are struggling to fend for their families as food prices continue to soar.

“This support is timely and has helped alleviate the suffering of many families in our community. We appreciate the efforts of Lusubiro Community Care and look forward for more similar interventions as they cost of living is unbearable for most families,” Kanyuka said.

By Richard Kagunda

Kasungu, 30, Mana: Duty bearers in Kasungu District have been advised to respect and observe people’s entitlements when executing their duties, saying good service delivery should be accompanied by respect for human dignity.

Deputy Director for Child Rights under Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC), Jeremiah Mpaso, said this on Friday in Kasungu District during a training the commission organized to raise awareness on entitlements for all.

“We thought it wise to reach out to duty bearers to remind them about the significance of respecting people’s rights because they are the service providers and when executing their duties, they need to do it responsibly in the sense that they do not have to violate entitlements for rights holders.

“A duty bearer has obligations and responsibilities about the realization of human rights. We expect them to be at the forefront in promoting human rights and even educate those who are ignorant about their rights.” Mpaso said.

He added: “Duty bearers should be reminded that they are there to serve the people and not otherwise. Therefore, they are obligated to respect, promote, as well as realize human rights and refrain from any form of violation.”

Mpaso also said some rights holders are ignorant about their rights hence they are unable to know and challenge violations.

District Social Welfare Officer for Kasungu, Ephraim Njikho commended MHRC for conducting the training, describing it as a timely reminder to service providers on the need to serve people with diligence.

“It is a wake-up call to all of us that we must respect the rights of the people we serve.

“We must refrain from exploiting the vulnerability of the people we serve to our advantage. We applaud the MHRC for deciding to bring this training here in Kasungu.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi provide a road map for equality and freedom of every individual to be served with respect and dignity.  

By Gracious Phiri

Kasungu, March 30, Mana: Kasungu District Council Social Welfare Officer, Ephraim Njikho, has expressed concern over lack of well-trained special needs teachers in primary schools, a development said to be hindering efforts towards achieving inclusive education in the district.

Njikho made the remarks Saturday following a joint monitoring visit for World Vision Malawi's Able to Thrive Project interventions at Mutchenda in the area of Senior Chief Chulu in Kasungu.

The project aims at improving the well-being of 4 300 children with disabilities by promoting access to quality and inclusive services for their cognitive, social, emotional and physical development.

According to Njikho, most primary schools lack special needs teachers, a situation that leads to a compromise on the provision of quality inclusive education in the district.

He therefore hailed World Vision Malawi for its intervention, saying Able to Thrive Project has already made a significant impact in promoting access to quality and inclusive education services for learners with disabilities.

"We are impressed with strides made under this project which has largely helped to take out obstacles that impeded children with disabilities from accessing education.

“However, we have observed that there is a shortage of special needs teachers in the schools, and this is among the bottlenecks that are slowing down the efforts being made,” Njikho said.

The Council's District's Education Management Information System Officer, Anthony Chipoka, acknowledged the challenge stating that the district has only 15 teachers that are trained with special needs skills.

He said: “With support from various partners, we have been able to introduce several initiatives to make sure that more teachers are equipped with special needs skills to reduce this gap.”

On her part, the charity’s Disability Inclusion Specialist, Chimwemwe Mungomo said the monitoring visit was organized to appreciate progress of the project and share ideas on areas to improve.

Through the Able to Thrive Project, World Vision Malawi is promoting inclusive education through the provision of assistive devices, establishing parent support groups and sign language clubs in schools and conducting referrals, among others.

The Project is being implemented in four districts of Mzimba North, Kasungu, Dowa and Ntchisi.

By Steve Chirombo

Dedza, March 29, Mana: In an effort to strengthen advocacy for the prevention of Intimate Partner Violence, the Pamodzi Kuthetsa Nkhanza consortium has organized a two-day engagement programme with the NGO-Gender Coordination Network (NGO-GCN).

The consortium, comprising the Women’s Legal Resources Centre (WOLREC), Girls Empowerment Network (GENET), and Human Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities (WAG), is discussing key strategies to enhance the prevention of violence against women and girls.

Speaking on Friday at Mountain View Lodge in Dedza, Caroline Mvalo, NGO-GCN chairperson for the Gender-Related Laws Permanent Committee, emphasized the need to review the 2006 Domestic Violence Act to ensure it remains relevant and responsive to current challenges.

“Essentially, we are looking at the advocacy part of it. This act provides for tenancy order, protection order as well as occupation order which go along in protecting women and men, boys and girls from Gender Based Violence (GBV),” she said.

According to Mvalo, participants are being taken through key gender-related laws in Malawi to strengthen their understanding of legal frameworks that protect women and girls.

She further said in terms of advocacy, they noted some gaps within the law and their convergence was to see how best together they would advocate for the review and also implementation of the provisions in the Act.

WAG Executive Director Stella Nkhonya expressed concern over the rising cases of Intimate Partner Violence in Malawi.

"It is disheartening to see so many cases of violence occurring within relationships," she said.

The advocacy meeting is supported by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

By Bazilio Chingoli

Ntcheu, March 29, Mana: Women from various Christian dominations in Ntcheu district gathered at Ntcheu Roman Catholic ground on Friday to commemorate this year's Women's World Day of Prayer (WWDP).

Speaking during the ceremony, chairperson of WWDP for Ntcheu district, Emily Vakusi, said it is necessary for women in the world to have time for reflection and discuss their anxieties to foster unity among themselves.

Vakusi added that women need to ask God for wisdom and guidance on how they can execute their responsibilities, as they are pillars for their families  and the nation's development.

Taking her part, WWDP central region coordinator Tracey Masi asked women to have exemplary behaviour.

"A good mother is a reason for a happy family and the nation at large, so women need to be loving, caring and faithful to their families in order to raise their children with good morals," she said.

This year's prayers are being held under the theme: ‘You are wonderfully made’, taken from the biblical scripture of Psalms chapter 129 verse 14.

By Beatrice Bangura

Blantyre, March 29, Mana:  National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) has expressed satisfaction with the progress of Climate Smart-Enhanced Public Works Programme (CS-EPWP) activities in Chilambalale and Linjemesi catchment areas under Traditional Authorities Kapeni and Makata in Blantyre.

This was disclosed Thursday during an inter-district exchange learning visit that included delegations from Lilongwe, Phalombe, and Thyolo.

Speaking during the tour, NLGFC Coordinator of Finance, Henry Hunga, said progress of CS-EPWP in the two catchment areas was impressive as catchment management committees showed a lot of commitment per the NLGFC ongoing assessments.

“We are impressed with what participating communities have done in the catchments. We will continue with the visits across the country,” Hunga added.

Acting Director of Agriculture Services at Thyolo District Council, Mphatso Kafuwa, commended communities at Chilambalale and Linjemesi catchment areas for successfully implementing climate smart agricultural activities and other environmental conservation initiatives under CS-EPWP.

“The two catchments have performed very well, especially in constructing swales, stone bands on top of planting trees. This will help in conserving the environment and help to prevent disasters that occur due to effects of climate change,” Kafuwa added.

Chairperson of Linjemesi catchment management committee at Traditional Authority Makata, Chrissy Yasin, expressed gratitude with the learning tour of the visiting team, saying this was clear testimony of her committee’s dedication in managing CS-EPWP at catchment level.

“We are thankful to Blantyre District Council and our visitors for sparing their time to visit this catchment. This is a special consideration and honour,” she added.

The CS-EPWP aims at enhancing climate resilience among communities through reforestation, sustainable land management, and other nature-based solutions, benefiting both the environment and the local communities.

By Andrew Mkonda

Lilongwe, March 29, Mana: Lilongwe District Commissioner Lawford Palani has thanked government for including Lilongwe district council into the Sustainable Agriculture Production Program II (SAPP II), describing it as a game changer for the agriculture sector.

Palani made the remarks Friday at Nathenje Residential Training Centre during sensitization meeting of SAPP II for the frontline staff workers in the district.

He said he was happy to see that over 40,000 households, which include persons with disabilities, will benefit from the programme in the district in order to ensure inclusivity and equity in agriculture extension service delivery.

“Let me call upon the Agriculture Extension Development Coordinators (AEDC) and Agriculture Extension Development Officers (AEDO) to take this program seriously by guiding farmers towards adopting sustainable and profitable farming practices. Your dedication, innovation and commitment will determine the success of this program in our district," he said.

In his remarks, Director of Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources for Lilongwe district, Ezra Mbendela, said if the program will be well implemented in the district, it will among other things alleviate the challenges faced by farmers and at the same time increase smallholder productivity and climate resilience through the adaption of climate -smart agriculture and improved extension services.

Mbendela said that Lilongwe District Agriculture Office has been facing enormous challenges in activity implementation due to financial hiccups as the district has been relying on Other Recurrent Transaction (ORT) as a source of funds for operations which has been erratic and small.

“That is why we cherish projects and programmes like SAPP II coming to our district as they enable us reach out to more farming households than what we do with normal envelope of ORT which is usually small and erratic.

“I call my team in agriculture a winning team, as they always dedicate themselves whenever they are given an assignment to do as long as they are well supported,” he said

One of the participants, Mphatso Mtambalika, who is also the AEDO for Nyanja Extension Planning Area (EPA), said she was happy with the programme as it will improve productivity for farmers as they will be taught new agricultural farming practices. 

The SAPP II was designed to support the upscaling of SAPP approaches while promoting market-oriented crops and livestock production systems in support of agricultural productivity and commercialization which is in line with pillar number one of Malawi 2063.

The programme has also a strong focus on women empowerment, climate resilience and household food and nutrition security, whilst enhancing the natural resources base, such as land and water of the rural smallholder farmers.