By Sheminah Nkhoma

Lilongwe, September 19, Mana: in a significant way to raise awareness for the coming General Elections, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has organised a fundraising Fun Run on September 23 in Lilongwe.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA), Chairperson for MISA Malawi Golden Matonga said the aim of having the Fun Run is to promote peaceful coexistence between people of different political backgrounds.

“The public should know that as much as we can have different political opinions we are all Malawians and elections should not divide us,” said Matonga.

He added that, as MISA Malawi they hope that the election will be conducted in a free and fair.

“This Fun Run will mark the launch of the Chapter’s activities on elections that is why we have opened it to all politicians, journalists, communications and public relations practitioners, electoral stakeholders and ordinary citizens/voters so that we can come together and work for better elections,” he said.

Matonga further added that, MISA Malawi is currently constructing a training centre and through the Fun Run they want to raise funds to go towards the completion of the centre.

“We aim to raise K30 million so that it can help us to complete the training centre at Mtolankhani House in Lilongwe,” he stated.

Minister of Lands Deus Gumba who is scheduled to be part of the event said, the Fun Run is important as it will help to disseminate information about the general election to the politicians and all citizens of the country.

“As we know media is the fourth arm of government and it plays a vital role in giving information, so coming in of this event it will help us as politicians from different parties to come together to ensure that the elections should be free and fair,” said Gumba.

The fun run will be held under the theme “Support media freedom: Claim your right to free speech and make the 2025 Elections free, fair and citizen-centred.

By Wongani Mkandawire

Nkhotakota, September 19, Mana: Umunthu Plus, a non-governmental organization has conducted training on Strengthening the capacity of council officers and other stakeholders on store management of relief items, in preparation for emergency disasters in Nkhotakota District.

Speaking to Malawi News Agency on Wednesday after a three-day session, Umunthu Plus Organization Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Lumbani Mvula explained that they aim to impart skills and knowledge to officers at the district level so that they should be aware and know how to handle items properly when disaster strikes.

Mvula added that they will also conduct the same training in Nkhatabay and Karonga and have mainly targeted front-line officers from the secretariat council.

He said this has been done because they are the ones who are greatly involved in handling stores and distribution of items when an emergency comes.

“These officers at the council are more like the first responders to disaster scenarios and as such it is of utmost importance that they have proper technical knowledge of important aspects of stores and items management for smooth operations of relief materials,” said Mvula.

District Disaster and Risk Management Officer for Nkhotakota district George Zibophe said such training is important and is coming at the right time hence it is important to have members well equipped for smooth responses.

Umunthu Plus conducted the training with financial and technical support from the World Food Programme.

By Richard Kagunda

Kasungu, September 19, Mana: Quality Assurance Officer for Chankhanga Education Zone in Kasungu District, Kelvin Chima says school feeding programmes are crucial in ensuring high school enrollment and class attendance in the face of food insecurity amongst some households in rural communities.

Chima said this on Wednesday when Mary's Meals launched a school feeding programme at Kadula Primary School in the area of Senior Chief Mwase in Kasungu.

"I am glad that the feeding programme in Chankhanga Zone has been extended to Kadula and four other primary schools. This initiative is vital to schools like this one in that, some of the learners here come from poor families that cannot provide food for their children.

"We are aware that most learners prefer going far away schools that have feeding programme leaving behind schools that are close to them but do not have the programme," Chima said.

He appealed to the community members in the area to show ownership of the initiative by taking good care of the stuff that Mary's Meals brought and participating in the programme activities.

Group Village Head Chinkhobwe expressed excitement with the commencement of the programme at the school, describing it as a step towards achieving good education outcomes on the part of learners.

"We have been looking for a programme like this one at our school. We expect learners to perform to their best now that they will no longer complain about being hungry while in class," he said.

School Feeding Manager for Mary's Meals (Malawi), Jacob Khumalo said his organization is expanding the programme by adopting more schools to reach out to more learners.

"Currently in Malawi, we are reaching out to over 1 million learners but our aim for the expansion is to reach out to 1.4 million.

"In Kasungu we had 16 schools but now we have added six more. We aim to end hunger and promote education, especially in lower classes in primary schools," Khumalo said.

The school feeding programme by Mary's Meals in Malawi started in 2002 with 200 learners.

By Vincent Khonje

Mchinji, September 19, Mana: As the Climate Smart Public Works Programme (CSEPWP) transitions into a continuous mode of implementation, participants have geared up for the implementation by doing community contribution activities.

Initially, CSEPWP was implemented in a partially planned three cycles of 24 days with breaks in between but now councils will continuously implement four phases of 30 days adding to 120 days.

A visit to some of the 25 catchments in the district, on Wednesday, revealed that participants have done community contribution activities which is a requirement in the programme before they work on the 30 paid days.

According to the designated Desk Officer for Katchato Catchment, Kephas Chakhumbula, people were enthusiastic to do the self-development works for free before starting paid activities under the programme.

“There are several activities under community contribution like road maintenance and rehabilitation and tree nursery establishment that they are doing here,” said Chakhumbula.

As part of community contribution, the participants can do road maintenance and rehabilitation, establish nurseries for tree or vetiver grass, and also make manure.

Mchinji CSEPWP Desk Officer Rhoda Njikho said CSEPWP has progressed well in the district with the catchments’ community contribution works being implemented.

“The participants worked for 10 days as community contribution and this will be preceded by paid 30 days.

“Participants will prioritise on construction of soil, water harvesting structures and tree planting during the continuous implementation of CSEPWP,” Njikho said.

CSEPWP is a component of the Social Support for Resilient Livelihood Programme (SSRLP Tidzidalire) a government programme implemented through NLGFC and supported by the World Bank and the Social Protection Multi-Donor Trust Fund.

By Zenak Matekenya

Dedza, September 19, Mana: Dedza Station Executive Committee (SEC) Chairperson Peter Msukwa has hailed Dedza Police for reducing crime rates by 12 percent in 2024 saying its sharing boundaries with Mozambique comes with complications of cross-border crimes.

He said this on Wednesday following a SEC meeting which brought together police officers, community policing members as well as traditional and faith leaders to intensify crime prevention measures in the district.

Msukwa observed attributes such as strategic planning, coordination and community engagement among those that have helped the police to counter theft, child trafficking and other crimes.

"A bigger portion of the district shares boundaries with Mozambique. Police deal with crimes that can be influenced and delicate because of these boundaries. News of reduced crime is therefore worth celebrating,” he said.

Officer-In-Charge for Dedza Police Station Dr. Gift Chiundira said effective crime prevention, trust and public safety are possible because of a good working relationship between police and communities.

He hailed Senior Chief Chilikumwedo who mobilized money through a football bonanza in consultation with the District Commissioner’s office to buy two motorbikes to assist mobility in crime prevention.

In his remarks, Senior Chief Chilikumwendo said leaders have a task to identify problems faced by communities and find solutions.

Meanwhile, people in the district have commended increased police visibility at the Boma and enforcement of the speed limit along the M1 Road using speed traps.

SEC is composed of district police station officer in charge, chiefs, faith leaders and local people to ensure quality provision of security in a district.

By Andrew Mkonda

Dowa, September 19, Mana: Ministry of Education has hailed the National Planning Commission (NPC) for introducing MW2063 comic book in primary school which will assist in changing the mindset of learners at a tender age.

Secretary for Education Dr. Mangani Katundu made the remarks Wednesday at Mponela II primary school in Dowa during the launch of the MW2063 Comic book for primary school learners.

“As educators, we know that there are different ways you can reach out to different groups in a community. For children, the use of comic books is one of the best ways in which you can influence, attract interest and maintain the interest of the children.

“So as the country, we thought that this journey of MW2063 is not just for us, but also for the generation that is still in primary school,” he said.

Katundu then urged development partners to join hands with the government in reaching out to different groups of people so that the country attains its vision.

NPC Director General Dr Thomas Munthali said they thought of coming up with a comic book in different languages so that young ones can start understanding and embracing the MW2063 vision at a tender age.

Munthali then asked parents and teachers to take a leading role in making children understand the translation of MW2063 as illustrated in the comic book.

“Let me take this opportunity to request our development partners to assist us in producing more copies so that we reach out to all 6,000 primary schools across the country.

“We plan to give out 100 copies to each school, but we have only produced 10, 000 copies, which is not enough at all,” he said.

UNICEF Country Representative Shadreck Omol said UNICEF is committed to partner with government in making sure that learners in primary school understand and get involved in the development aspirations of the country.

“I am so happy to see young children citing some of the enablers in the MW2063 blueprint through their poems, songs and drama, that’s what we want,” he said.

Omol further said UNICEF will continue working hand in hand with NPC and Ministry of Education in making sure that the books reach out to every school across the country.

Speaking in a separate interview, Head-girl for Mponela II primary school Evelyn Liyisoni thanked NPC for the initiative saying it will go a long way in changing the mindset of young ones after reading the book.

NPC and the Ministry of Education developed the MW2063 comic book for primary school learners in 2022.

By Pempho Nkhoma

Blantyre, September 19, Mana: Poetry Association of Malawi (PAM) has reaffirmed its commitment to revamp the poetry industry in the country and help poets benefit from their art.

PAM President, Robert Chiwamba told Malawi News Agency (MANA) on Thursday that currently, the poetry industry is not in a stable state.

“Poetry is in bad shape, this is because of the economic environment as people are struggling to make ends meet and artists concentrate on earning a living through economic activities,” he said.

Chiwamba said PAM will continue promoting the art by connecting its members to opportunities and speaking on artists’ behalf in forums.

“The greatest work of the association is to network poets so that they should work jointly in improving their crafts, collaborate with organizations to run competitions, connect young poets with established ones and work with writer clubs in universities to improve poetry,” he said.

He admitted that it is hard for poets to make a living out of their art citing that technology has brought change on the market.

“Since Compact Disks (CD) phased out due to technology, poets have not found a way of packaging and selling their art. As a result, most of them have not seen the benefits of their skills,” he added.

He therefore urged government to intervene and come up with policies that would enable poets to capitalize on the high number of followers and subscribers that they have online to make money.

“This can partly be solved if and when the Malawi government discusses with platforms such as YouTube for monetization guidelines,” he said.

One of the renowned poets, Hardson Chamasowa said the poetry industry in Malawi is not where it is supposed to be due to lack of a platform to expose talent.

“To revive our industry we need popular poetry events such as Chitsinda Cha Ndakatulo and the Land of Poets Festival and ensure that they are held regularly and grow in scale,” he said.

However, Chamasowa expressed optimism that there is an opportunity for poets to make money from their art by utilizing the Internet.

“We can still make money through the internet. We need to develop an official PAM website, which can serve as a platform for poets to showcase and monetize their work. This should have secure payment systems like bank transfers and mobile wallets, ensuring poets are compensated whenever their poems are downloaded,” Chamasowa explained.

A fan who used to patronize poetry shows, Andrew Jonas from Machinjiri in Blantyre said in an interview that poetry has become unpopular since they do not organize shows regularly.

PAM brings together people or groups involved in promoting poetry in Malawi to preserve Malawian culture, educate, and entertain through poetry.