By Beatrice Bangula

Blantyre, September 18, Mana: Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) has commenced its lean season food distribution in Blantyre where thousands of residents gathered at Kamuzu Stadium to receive the much needed relief.

Speaking in an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana), DoDMA’s Director of Preparedness and Response, Reverend Moses Chimphepo, said the initiative follows a directive from President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera after his visit to the Lower Shire and other districts in the southern region.

“During the President’s visit, people raised concerns about food shortages and in response, he directed that DoDMA immediately begin distributing food,” Chimphepo said.

Laytton Nkata, Director of Administration for Blantyre City Council, described the hunger situation in Blantyre as ‘quite serious,’ noting that 50, 000 households will benefit from the food distribution.

“We’ve learned a lot from the Tropical Cyclone Freddy and with this cooperation between the council and DoDMA, we will be able to assist those affected,” he said.

One of the beneficiaries, a 70-year-old woman from Machinjiri, Vera Chiwaula whose farmland was destroyed by floods, expressed her gratitude for the support.

“I’m so happy with what the government has done, I usually buy 10kgs of flour to feed my children and grandchildren, having my crop field swept away by floods, it has been difficult to survive as such this 50kgs of maize will help us a lot,” she said.

DoDMA is distributing 50-kilogramme bags of maize to individuals, an effort prompted by the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) report, which indicated that around 5.7 million Malawians are expected to face food shortages this lean season.

By Mary Makhiringa

Balaka, September 18, Mana: At least 51, 800 households in Balaka district stand to benefit from the 2024 – 2025 lean season programme, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) has revealed.

Briefing the full council members on Wednesday, an official from DoDMA, Annie Mapulanga said following the El Nino impacts that the country faced, the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) report indicated that 233, 101 people which represents 51, 800 families do not have enough food to sustain themselves for a year in Balaka.

“We are responsible to respond to the food situation in the country. In Balaka, it will be a 50 kilogrammes of maize, which will be given for five months to households.

“We have secured resources for two months only for Balaka, which the World Food Programme (WFP) has sub granted Find Your Feet to help in the distribution of the relief food,” she said.

Mapaulanga added: “We could not wait to finish up the processes to all the five months considering that people are struggling with no food to eat, which is why we opted to start distributing even though we do not have the cover for all the five months.”

According to Mapulanga, all beneficiaries of the Social Cash Transfer will automatically be included in the programme because of their vulnerability.

Mapulanga pointed out that the maize was specifically to benefit a household and the community leaders are discouraged from asking beneficiaries to share the maize with anyone.

Member of Parliament for Balaka North, Tony Ngalande hailed government through the WFP for the timely assistance, saying Balaka is one dry area which makes it prone to disasters almost annually.

“Let me urge the implementing partner to consider distributing the relief maize at Group Village Head level than T/A because doing so will be simple as it will avoid missing out deserving people,” he said.

However, Ngalande bemoaned the tendency of sideling political leaders in the programme, saying they are equally instrumental in lobbying for such interventions in parliament.

Countrywide at least 5, 692, 112 people in 28 districts of Malawi are food insecure and require food assistance ranging from three months and the hardest hit requiring six months food assistance.

By Brighton Thengoliweta Chimsinde

Mchinji, September 18, Mana: Women’s Hope for Change (WHFC) a local non-governmental organization in Mchinji says business skills and management are essential in the fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV) that always deters women and teen-mothers to be prosperous in their lives.

WHFC Programs Officer Faith Chiwenda made the remarks on Tuesday after opening a two-day long business skills and management workshop organized by WHFC held at NICE Conference Hall at Mchinji Boma. 

Chiwenda said the workshop was among activities under their project called Ending Violence Against Women and Children (EVAWC) which is implemented with funding from Segal Family Foundation in America.

“Advocacy alone can’t end GBV, and that’s why we are empowering women with business skills and management. It has proven that women who have been abused are solely dependent on men.

“To curtail the dependency syndrome the project has funds to be shared to the women for them to sustain their small scale businesses,” Chiwenda said.

The Programs Officer said the project objective is to ensure that women are financially independent, self-reliant and prosperous in their lives.

She said initially, the project has earmarked 60 women from Mchinji Boma who are going to benefit from the training and business capital support.

“We have also engaged the district community development office to orient them on Village Savings and Loans (VSL) concept, importance of saving culture and investing their money in various investments. Among the 60 women, there are GBV survivors, teen-mothers, single mothers, change agents who were already plying their own small-scale businesses,” the programs officer said.

Speaking on the behalf of the participants, Emily Phiri of Robert 2 village, Traditional Authority Zulu in the district said by the end of the training they will be able sustain their businesses and VSLs.

Phiri then commended WHFC for organizing the training that has empowered them with knowledge and skills which would help them to support their families and pay school fees for their children.

Women’s Hope for Change (WHFC) is a non-governmental organization formed in 2008 and was formed by a group of women who had passion to fight for women and children’s rights with a special emphasis on a girl child.

By Pickson Chipeso

Lilongwe, September 18, Mana: Dyson Nthawanji, Communication Officer of DVV International, stated that the Integrated Adult Education Environmental Management project has been promoting sustainable community living.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana), he mentioned that, in addition to literacy, adults are learning critical skills such as environmental management which he said help communities understand how to manage the environment both at the community and household levels.

“We have been receiving positive feedback from communities because when we talk about adult education, we target individuals who did not attend school during their early years. They are pleased when they hear about environmental management because most Malawians depend on agriculture, which in turn relies on a healthy environment," Nthawanji said.

Nthawanji added that there are challenges the project faces, as some individuals or communities lack awareness or understanding of environmental issues.

"People rely on natural forests for their activities, such as charcoal burning and sales, which they view as a source of income. It takes significant effort to convince them about the importance of environmental management, but everyone has a responsibility to take care of the environment," he explained.

Environmental expert Maloto Chinkombero remarked that the project, which has been in place for over a year, focuses on encouraging tree planting and the care of existing trees. Despite the challenges, the initiative is seeing positive results.

"You can see that even though there are challenges, when you go to rural areas, people are growing tree seedlings and organizing community tree-planting activities. I must commend all stakeholders for implementing the project. We do face some difficulties, but we need to address these challenges," he said.

Chinkombero further emphasized that the environment is the backbone of every development project and that no human progress can occur without nature. He said Malawians must realize that achieving Vision 2063 is only possible if we take care of the environment, as everything relies on a healthy ecosystem.

"Whether we are aiming for progress in agriculture, technology, or infrastructure, we need a well-preserved environment. We must address the climate change crisis. Environmental conservation plays a key role in realizing Vision 2063 by promoting the availability of natural resources essential for achieving this vision," he said.

Chinkombero urged Malawians to find ways to control the nation's population as one approach to environmental conservation and the promotion of a sustainable future.

"As we approach 2063, the population may double or even triple compared to today. If we don't focus on population control, we will face more challenges because the growing population will continue to depend on the same environmental resources," he warned.

He encouraged Malawians to strike a balance between population growth and environmental resources to avoid further climate crises and achieve the goals of Vision 2063.

BY Chisomo Kambandanga

Nkhata Bay, September 18, Mana: Beneficiaries of Social Cash Transfer Program (SCTP) in Nkhata Bay are celebrating the program's transformative impact on their lives and economic resilience.

In an interview on Tuesday Botito Chitaya, 44, from Tayambapo cluster in the area of Group Village Head Kondawanga said before joining SCTP, he struggled to provide for his family of six.

"Previously I couldn't afford school necessities for my children, threatening their future. Now I can easily pay school fees for my form two child, Kondwani," he said.

"To mitigate potential economic shocks, I have diversified my income streams by investing in pig farming, selling fish and joined village banks to have access to loans," Chitaya added.

According to Chitaya, the capital base of all this is from usual transfers of MK52, 000.00 he receives and the once off lean season response payment of K170, 000.00 he had in the previous year.

Elesi Gama, 35, a single mother of four from Kachenga Cluster in the area of Group Village Head Chang’ombe praised the program for transforming her life and family.

“Before the program, I was struggling to make ends meet, with no domestic animal. Today I have 12 local chickens which I am able to sell and buy some needs for family, my children are able to eat the eggs for improved nutrition and I have just bought a goat at MK50 000.00 from my savings from village savings and loan groups,” Gama said.

Nkhata Bay Principal Social Welfare Officer responsible for Social Cash Transfer Wisdom Mwafulirwa said was impressed that beneficiaries in the district are diversifying income sources and joining savings groups.

“During pay days we always take time to talk to beneficiaries about goals of the program. I am glad to say as a district we are moving in the right direction as beneficiaries are now able to do multiple investments apart from just joining village savings banks, which is encouraging,” Mafulirwa said.

Currently 6,479 households are benefiting from the program in Nkhata Bay.

SCTP is Malawi Government’s Program being implemented across the country through the National Local Government Finance Committee with financial Support from Multi donor Trust Fund and World Bank