By Fostina Mkandawire

Salima, August 10, Mana: Story Workshop Educational Trust (SWET) says community volunteers are key in sensitising communities on behaviour change.

Speaking Wednesday during orientation of community volunteers in Salima, the project’s District Officer, Phyllis Chingana, said they would train 140 community volunteers on a counseling tool manual that would be used to sensitize communities on hygiene, nutrition and health issues.

She said volunteers from Senior Chief Mwanza and Khombedza were trained on data collection from households in their communities under their clusters.

According to Chingana, the data will be centred on hygiene, nutrition and agricultural issues whose information will be filled on a behaviour-tracking tool.

"The volunteers are already championing hygiene and nutrition in their communities. They are promoters and cluster leaders, therefore, we have taken advantage of their knowledge so that they can continue sensitizing their communities on issues affecting them," she explained.

SWET is implementing a “Community Connect” Project, aimed at reducing fatality rate and the spread of cholera and other waterborne diseases through community engagement and information-sharing in areas of Senior Chief Khombedza and Mwanza in Salima District.

"The project targets providing support on existing government efforts to address issues of good hygiene, nutrition, health, gender-based violence and prevention of diseases," Chingana said.

A volunteer from Kavanjilu Village Development Committee under Senior Chief Mwanza, Thokozani Katondo, said the orientation was timely as his area struggled with cholera cases, so, preventative measures have to be taken earlier now before rainy season approaches.

He said the advantage of the project is that it combines all aspects of human life to come up with messages for sensitizing communities.

The project targets 100,000 households in the district and is being implement in collaboration with different government agencies.