By Juma Chagoma

Phalombe, December 8, Mana: Phalombe District Council is geared to improve early childhood development programmes in the district through provision of quality modern Community-Based Care Centre (CBCC).

Speaking at the handover ceremony of Tithandizane Mulapo CBCC, Director of Planning and Development, Kelvin Harawa said the project aims at improving quality of education for early childhood development.

“This project accords children with psychosocial support in the process of their growth; so, as council we are pleased that the project has been welcomed by the community which gives total ownership in the running of affairs of the CBCC," said Harawa.

On his part, Phalombe District Council Chairperson, Agason Sompho said in keeping with modern trends, such infrastructure projects must incorporate installation of electricity before handing over to the community.

Sompho asked the community to take full ownership of the project by seriously safeguarding it to last long.

Senior Chief Jenala thanked government for the project as it will offer children an opportunity to learn under a conducive environment and assured the council that they will properly manage and take care of the project to last long.

Jenala added that they have already formulated by-laws on how to protect and take care of the facility.

One of the caregivers at Tithandizane Mulapo CBCC, Agness Godoke said the project will address the challenge of disruption of classes during the rainy season.

Godoke, however, appealed to development partners to join hands and introduce a feeding programme at the CBCC to reduce cases of absenteeism that come as a result of food insecurity in the community.

Tithandizane Mulapo CBCC which is located at Kasongo Village in Traditional Authority Jenala started in 2008 and currently has an enrollment of 116 learners of whom 64 are girls and 52 are boys.

The project was funded by the World Bank to a tune of K111 million through the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) funded projects.

By Promise Banda

Chiradzulu, December 8, Mana: Chairperson for Chiradzulu District Council, Patrick Chimtengo has urged people in the district to report cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV) to relevant authorities to curb the malpractice.

Chintengo made the appeal over the weekend during the launch of 16 Days of Gender Activism which took place at Goleka Catholic Primary School ground under the theme: "Unite to end violence against women and girls in Malawi: Towards Beijing +30".

He said as the country and the rest of the world join hands in fighting against GBV, everyone must take the initiative to end all forms of violence within their localities.

Chimtengo, who was the Guest of honour at the event, expressed worry that this year alone Chiradzulu has recorded 1,907 cases of GBV, most of which were in form of rape and forced marriage.

"Victims of GBV cannot effectively contribute to the development of the country. That is why it is our duty to report all forms of violence to relevant authorities so that we end the trends of GBV once and for all,” he said.

Chiradzulu District Council Gender Officer, Joseph Maseya observed that the launch was vital for sensitizing the community on ending GBV in the district.

“Our role as the gender office is to make sure that we end all forms of violence in our district, and these include GBV, intimate partner violence and sexual exploitation and abuse,” he said.

Chiradzulu Police Station representative, Sub-Inspector Tabitha Chipeta, emphasized that they will work vigilantly to make sure that the perpetrators of GBV were punished accordingly.

“We will make sure we go round all areas in the district arresting people involved in perpetrating child marriages and other forms of GBV,” she said.

One of the Chiradzulu Youth Organization (CYO) pioneers Brenda Chimange admitted that it is the role of the youth to be in the forefront in civic educating their fellow youths on the effects of GBV towards community development.

The function was graced by traditional leaders, government officials, various non-governmental organizations and community members.

It begun with a solidarity walk from Yasin Police Roadblock to Goleka Catholic Primary School ground where the launch took place.

By Benedicto Maguda

Blantyre, December 8, Mana:  Malawi Police Service (MPS) has said they are ready to provide maximum security as well as traffic patrols with the aim of reducing crime and road accidents during the 2024/25 Christmas and New Year festivities.

Speaking with Malawi News Agency (Mana) over the weekend, Deputy Police Public Relations Officer for Southwest Region, Beatrice Mikuwa, said they have put several measures to ensure that there is security for people as well as their property.

“We have put different strategies that we shall use to make sure that in our areas there is peace and order during the festive season. For example, we will deploy more officers in our townships and other places to provide security,” she said.

However, Mikuwa has urged people to take care of themselves especially by making sure that they have security in their homes when they are out of their homes.

“In time like this people usually go out to different places to enjoy themselves; like at the lake, they are supposed to make sure that there is someone to take care of their homes, we are also asking them not to post on social media their location; whereby others can take advantage to break their homes,” Mikuwa said.

She also advised motorists to avoid driving while drunk of which this has been contributing to the rise of accidents in the past festive seasons.

“Malawians should know that it is their responsibility to take care of themselves especially when they are driving, this time around we will not entertain drink and drive,” she said.

In the past years police and the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services has been conducting operations during festive season with the aim of reducing accidents.

The operations have been successful, contributing to a reduction in road accidents to 31, with nine fatalities during the 2023/24 festive period, compared to 56 accidents and 20 fatalities during the 2022/23 festive season.

By Patience Longwe and Martha Rukunya

Lilongwe, December 8, Mana: Vice President Dr. Michael Usi is today attending the wedding of his second-born daughter, Luthando Usi, who has tied the knot with Noel Kalonga in a colorful and spiritual ceremony at the Central Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church.

The wedding ceremony was attended by family, friends, and several dignitaries. The bride and groom exchanged vows in a service that highlighted the values of love, commitment, and the role of faith in marriage.

The SDA Church choir provided uplifting hymns, creating a spiritually enriching atmosphere. The officiating pastor delivered a sermon centered on the biblical principles of marriage, urging the couple to build their union on a foundation of mutual respect and trust in God.

After the church service, the celebration will continue at an elegant reception, at Edge Water Court gardens in area 47.

The occasion was marked by the Vice President's presence, celebrating a significant family milestone. The event reflected the importance of family values and the recognition of such milestones.

By: Steve Chirombo

Dedza, December 7, Mana: Ministry of Education on Friday said the handing over of a classroom block by Welthungerhilfe (WHH) at Chilanga Community Day Secondary School (CDSS), in Senior Chief Chauma’s area in Dedza district was a big catch.

Principal Planning Officer for the Central West Education Division, Andrews Yobe, stated that the development was welcome considering the diversity of the division and the high demand for education services in the area.

“Central West Division is a big division with 205 schools and the coming in of this school is a big thing to us. We have so many learners who are struggling to access education. And this additional school means more access to our learners in the division,” said Yobe.

He further added that it was impressive to receive such a blessing from WHH who were doing other things in the area but after being approached to address the challenges affecting the education sector, they came in to assist.

“They willingly accepted and assisted us with this beautiful structure which is a big relief to us as a ministry and also as a division,” he said.

On his part, Senior Chief Chauma, said seeing WHH providing primary school infrastructures, impressed him a lot as the future of children in his area was secured.

“The development here is because of the vision I have together with my communities. We believe in education and having seen that we only had a primary school here, we thought a CDSS was also ideal so that our children can easily move from one level to another,” said Senior Chief Chauma while calling for concerted efforts to care for the infrastructure.

WHH Project Coordinator, Khumbo Munthali, said their entry points into the area were primary schools bailing out almost ten under Chilanga Teachers Development Centre (TDC) and one under Kaphuka making it a total of eleven.

“For the Senior Chief, having seen our interventions in primary levels, he approached us if we could scale up. And as WHH, we sourced funds for the cause. We did this as we value the relationship that exists between us and the communities here,” said Munthali.

Dedza District Council Vice Chairperson, Councilor Joseph Kwenda, expressed gratitude at the development saying it has changed the face of the district.

“We hope our collaboration will continue as we look for more development initiatives such as these in other areas,” said Kwenda.

Apart from handing over a classroom block, teacher’s house and also provision of a solar system and desks at Chilanga CDSS, the organization also handed over the same to Kadzomba primary school apart from constructing Menstrual Hygiene Management facilities at Linga, Mkundi, and Msapuka primary schools, all to the tune of K250 million.

The works were made possible with assistance from Water for All, Selbs. Los, Kulturstiftung Annelie and Wilfred Stascheit in Germany.

By: Timothy Peter

Dedza, December 7, Mana: Communities in Dedza have expressed gratitude with the positive impact of the Food and Nutrition Security Programme (FNSP) that was being implemented by Self Help Africa (SHA) for ten years in the district.

On Friday, officials from Dedza district council, SHA, GIZ as well as the communities witnessed the grand closure of the programme at an event held at Group Village Head Mgawi of Senior Chief Tambala in the district.

Speaking at the event, one of the beneficiaries, Elida Lyford who has a backyard garden, commended the programme saying it has assisted her family grow healthier and afford different food groups including vegetables.

Concurring with Lyford, Senior Chief Tambala said the programme has improved lives of people in his area as it has helped them grow diversified food crops for their well-being.

The Senior Chief has since promised to encourage his subjects to continue putting into practice what they have learnt throughout the programme implementation period mainly in areas of food diversification for their nutritional growth.

Livelihood Programs Manager from SHA, Blessings Kambombo, expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of the programme in all the project implementation areas in the district.

"We have done significant work jointly with all our partners including the communities in improving nutrition in the district.

"We have seen that communities were committed as they have been practicing conservation agriculture as well as adopting food sanitation facilities to improve hygiene and has assisted a lot in achieving our objectives," he said.

Kambombo also said the programme has helped reduce cases of stunted growth in the district from 52 percent before it started in the last ten years to 42.3 percent at its closeout on Friday.

Apart from commending SHA for their efforts in improving people's lives in the district, Director of Planning and Development (DPD) for Dedza District Council, McPherson Mwakhwawa, said people in the district have acquired necessary knowledge and skills in as far as nutrition and hygiene are concerned.

"We are glad as government that the beneficiaries have used the knowledge gained from the programme to grow different vegetables at their backyard gardens that can boost their nutritional needs at household level," he said.

In her remarks, FNSP’s Team Leader, at GIZ, Dr Martina Kress, said she was impressed with the programme and has since asked the beneficiaries to continue using the knowledge and skills they have gained in changing their lives.

The programme was being implemented with funding from the German Cooperation through GIZ and it was aimed at improving nutrition, agriculture and targeted resilience interventions in areas of Traditional Authority Kasumbu, Chauma, Chilikumwendo and Tambala in Dedza.

By Happy Milanzie

Lilongwe, December 6, Mana: Dowa District Programs Officer for the National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE), Alinafe Chikakuda, has urged young people across the country to engage in politics.

Chikakuda made the remarks on Friday during a two-day training session at Mtsiliza in Lilongwe, where NICE encouraged young people to actively participate in all the country's initiatives at the grassroots level.

According to Chikakuda, nearly 50 percent of the country's population consists of young people, making it crucial to involve them in the nation's activities, saying this ensures that young people have a greater stake in the country's future.

He emphasized that the 2025 general elections are an important opportunity for the youth to participate and exercise their right to vote in choosing their leaders.

"Young people needs to express their interest in politics following that they occupy a large percentage of the country's population and they are also the leaders of today so they need to take part in everything that the country is doing including taking part in politics," she said.

Chikakuda added that it is very sad that young people are being utilized in unnecessary things like demonstrations instead of teaching them about good governance that can help to achieve the vision that this country has for Malawi 2063.

Meanwhile, chairperson for Chimbalame zone youth network, Samuel Michel Shumba, said a lot of young people fail to take part in politics just because of financial problems.

"It is very hard for young people to come into politics such that politics needs money so the non-governmental organizations including the government need to help the young people to get into politics," he said.

Shumba further urged young people to take initiative and not wait for the government or other stakeholders to help them. He emphasized that ambition must be developed individually, with each person taking responsibility for their own growth.