Village banking casts glimmer of hope in Machinga

By Elias Banda
Traditional music echoed as big speakers produced loud sound effects and women were clad in traditional chitenje regalia as the excitement was over pouring. And it seemed everybody failed to resist the temptation to dance.  This is how the event marking the ‘share out’ as it is called by the community could be described at Nkata Village in Machinga, where 41 village banking members mostly women, were sharing their bank shares. The members were from two groups and as their constitutions dictate, the banking group should not exceed 25 members.

GVH Nkunda presenting shares to one  of the members

The event takes place twice every year when   members unveil the total amount accumulated through shares and each member receives the dividend according to individual contribution. Each year, when the share out event comes into effect, there is always a new figure unveiled much higher than the previous one. Last year, the group shared out K259, 000 (about $681).
And this year 2013,  Nkata Village Bank accumulated K320,000 (about $842) and was publicly shared  at the  ceremony witnessed by chiefs and hundreds of village members. Before the sharing ceremony, Group Village Head Nkunda said that the event was a landmark activity which was set to reduce poverty and change the community in his area and appealed for more groups to be formed. He told the gathering that village banking had improved women esteem as it empowered them economically. He said that the dependency on marriage as means of survival has been reduced because women were becoming self reliant. He also commended ADRA Malawi for facilitating the establishment of village banking systems in his area.

women carrying gifts ready to exchange

Gedion Kachidowo, Government extension worker in the area echoed the chiefs’ remarks and said that through village banking, food security in the area has improved because instead of selling the food crops, people utilize the shares to buy domestic needs while maintaining the harvests for consumption. He said that the local banking system has improved the culture of saving.
Ndamilire Manesi, who got K26, 000 (about $68) and the largest share, was overwhelmed with joy and said she would use the money to meet her family needs. She said part of the money would be used for buying iron sheets for the house that she is building. She said that her life has changed since she joined the group in August 2012 because she was now economically self reliant and was able to sent her 3 children to school. She said she would save more in the next phase so that she would finish building the house.
Ndamilire also hinted that in wider village context, the village savings and loaning system has reduced prostitution and cheating among married women because they could now easily meet their needs.

According to Dyson Katete, Bank facilitator, their group has big plans. The immediate plan was to buy a maize mill that would help them reduce poverty as long lasting solution. He hinted that their expectation was to raise more than K500, 000 (about $1, 315)  by the end of this year. 

It was really difficult to resist temptation to dance

Apart from shares, village bank members raised K13, 000 (about $34) as an emergency fund in case one of the members fell sick or had a funeral. Apart from cash, members also exchanged gifts such plastic pails, cups and containers to empower each other materially.
ADRA Malawi through the Action for Social Program has built the capacity of bank members and in Machinga District, the program is supporting 9 functioning village banking groups.
The Action for Social Change Program is being supported by Denmark to bring about individual and society change in Machinga, Mulanje, Mzimba/Mzuzu and Lilongwe.

ADRA Malawi heightens KM activities

By Elias Banda
ADRA Malawi management has amplified its quest for setting up the knowledge management systems within the organization structures. Recently ADRA Malawi hosted the regional Action for Social Change (ASC) Program regional workshop at the Lake Shore District of Mangochi involving Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Sudan and Malawi.
The 5-day workshop, facilitated by Denmark was a follow up of the initial knowledge management workshop held in Lilongwe in November, 2012.  One of the objectives of the workshop was for participating countries to share best practices and learn from each other.

KM session in progress at Nkopola Lodge

During the workshop, countries made presentations on their progress on KM activities and ADRA Rwanda seemed way ahead with already established electronic systems of knowledge sharing. And Zimbabwe, which has just joined the grouping, is yet to set the KM systems.
ADRA Malawi staff enjoyed the management buy-in for knowledge management by the presence of ADRA Malawi Country Director Claudio Sandoval and his Deputy Micheal Usi. Speaking during the official opening of the workshop, Claudio urged participants to utilize the opportunity to explore more ways of enhancing knowledge sharing for the organizations.

Participants enjoying boat ride on L.Malawi

Meanwhile, ADRA Malawi has already hatched KM plans which include planed project managers meetings and annual staff meetings as knowledge sharing platforms and also banking on the opportunity that ADRA Malawi has increased its internet accessibility and provided gadgets such cameras and computers to staff.
Plans are underway to set up a working KM task force which would ensure that knowledge is created and shared across the organization.
After the workshop,  participants got a rare treat during boat riding adventure to an island on Lake Malawi before enjoying a special dinner later in the evening.

65 adult learners graduate in Salima

ADRA Malawi through the Tsogolo Labwino Project has facilitated capacity building of 65 adult learners who are now able to read and write. The graduates received certificates at a colorful ceremony held at Traditional Authority Kambwiri in Salima District.
According to Shadreck Bandawo, Tsogolo Labwino Community Development Coordinator, the number of graduates was a big success considering that many students left the formal education 30 years ago, but were still eager to advance their skills  . He however bemoaned the low number of male students who were only 2 out of 65.
Speaking during the function, Traditional Authority kambwiri urged people in his area to enroll in adult school classes. He advised graduates to use the skills acquired meaningfully especially for the development of the area.

Graduates displaying their certificates

The graduating class started learning in July 2012 with the initial enrollment of 136 students and only 8 were men. The oldest graduate was Selina Eliya 70, who shared her joy when she received her certificate.
For women the reading and writing skills would help them raise their self esteem and give them the opportunity to participate or elected in decision making positions in community based organization structures that have high male domination.
Tsogolo Labwino Project is being supported by Australia to improve the quality of life for people of Salima. 

Kang’oma ADMARC comes back to life

By James Masauko

The Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) revived its operations at Kan’goma after a series of community advocacy  meetings in traditional Authority Tsabango in Lilongwe bringing back smiles on people’s faces.  The corporation stopped selling maize and seeds at Kang’oma  for several years and since then, the centre was used for selling subsidized fertilizer which was done once in a year.

Happy community at Kang'oma trading centre

Meanwhile, people walked 15 kilometers to join long queues at Area 23 ADMARC Office and on bad day, they could return home without buying maize. At the heat of maize shortage especially in January and February the issue was deeply felt in the community and it triggered discussions to find a lasting solution.

Kan'goma ADMARC Building

Community structures such as the advocacy, Area Development and the clergy committees organized meetings at deferent intervals and resolved to meet the Senior Chief Tsabango and the Member of Parliament for the area Honorable Rabin Lowe for an interface meeting with ADMARC General Manager at Malangalanga in Lilongwe.
The community    later resolved to write a letter to ADMARC bearing all the people’s concerns. A few weeks later the response was positive and Kang’oma ADMARC received 100 bags of maize and 15 bags of rice. However, the maize was rationed at K10kg per person so that at least every one could access to the staple food.
Lilongwe ADMARC promised the community at Tsabango that the supply maize and rice would continue in the subsequent months.
ADRA Malawi through the Action for Social Change Program has strengthened the capacity of community based groups to be able to advocate for better services and improved quality of life.
The Action for Social Change Program is being supported by Denmark to bring about individual and society change in Mulanje, Machinga, Lilongwe and Mzimba.

Elephants or people, who is important?

Elias Banda
“Who is important, elephants or people?”  this question is widely asked by people of  Mangamba village community in Traditional Authority Liwonde in Machinga District. The question has often been asked during interface meetings between the village community  and Machinga District officials in the wake of elephant attacks in the area.

a male elephant at Liwonde National Park

Elephants are reportedly on the loose breaking from the eastern edge of Liwonde National Park porous fence, destroyed crops and leaving people without food. The elephant invasion which locals described as frequently, has forced villagers to shift from their homes and camp around their corn fields to protect the little crops left. Villagers bit drums and blow whistles to scare away the elephants.

people have shifted into temporary shelters to guard their fields

"It appears the government places more value on animals that us" remarked one woman as others clapped hands in support.Many fields have been destroyed and the food deficit months are expected to increase. Villagers also said the National Park would not compensate destroyed crops.
In May 2012,   a 56 year old man died while trying to chase elephants that invaded his field, provoking community anger against the National Park officials.  In March this year, two people died from elephant attacks in separate incidents. 
Chiefs in the area claim that the problem of elephants has gone beyond control because the Wild Life

A destroyed maize field by elephants

Department erected a poor quality wire that could be easily pulled down by the animals. The claim has been denied by National Park officials who hinted that the wire had been destroyed by the poachers.
In 2012, ADRA Malawi facilitated community dialogue between the locals and the Natural Resource Management Committee to find a lasting solution on the matter.  An interface meeting with Park officials later resolved that government would put up a new fence in the affected areas but 12 months have elapsed since the promise was pronounced.
Speaking in an interview, Timothy Maseko, Liwonde Park Manager said the Park has sourced all the equipment for the fencing project and that the company to lead in the fence construction has been identified.  He said this would mean that construction of the fence would start any time.
Mr Maseko said that the community population boom around the park has forced people to expand their
fields close to the edge of Park fence forcing elephants to scamper for crops in the nearby fields.
Liwonde National Park has over 900 elephants and the porous fence wire that has been destroyed stretch up to 25 km making it easy for elephants to enter and exit the Park any time.

Swedish partners impressed with TOT Project

By Stanley Mpasa

The visit by ADRA Sweden Programs Director Per Boling and Hans Sandberg, formerly of Atlas Copco to Malawi highly inspired the community at Group village Tambala, one of the targeted village communities by the ADRA Malawi Trainer of Trainers Project (TOT) in Mulanje District.

 The visitors expressed excitement   by testimonies and successes of community volunteers who are reaching out to the community with HIV/AIDS messages and linking the affected to service providing centers for counseling, testing, anti-retroviral therapy and psychosocial support.

Per interacting with one of the TOT volunteers

The volunteers narrated that some customs in the area still pose a threat to the fight against HIV/AIDS because they are deeply rooted. Common among the harmful cultural practices was sexual cleansing, were by a widow is forced to have sex with a man in the village to chase bad sprits that might haunt the household in the event of death of the husband.  Many people who practice this custom are at risk of contracting HIV.  The volunteers are however sensitizing community members on the dangers of this custom and are breaking the silence. Recently a man who could not be named revealed how he was secretly hired and sexually cleansed 20 widowed women in the village.  Strangely, when he went for HIV test, he came out positive. He stopped the practice after being counseled by TOT volunteers and he is now helping them to advocate for change.

Fallace Kachingwe, TOT supervisor addressing the gathering 

The visitors were also impressed how the volunteers were coping with transport challenges to visit their clients by forming a village bank to help them meet operational needs.  The bank that started in 2012 has raised over K40, 000 about ($95) through chicken rearing and the money would be used to support volunteers to easily reach their clients.


The visitors were accompanied by ADRA Malawi TOT Project Manager Stanley Mpasa and ADRA Malawi Country Director Claudio Sandoval.

ADRA Sweden is supporting 2000 households in Group Village Tambala alone to bring about individual and society change through the fight against HIV/AIDS.

World Water Day: challenges and ADRA Malawi response

Compiled by Elias Banda
The World Water Day fell on Friday, March 22 and in Malawi the event marking the commemoration took place in Lilongwe. The event was characterized by songs, dances and speeches, all reflecting on the years’ theme; the International Year of Water Cooperation.
 The water security is challenged by the fact that Malawi is considered a water stressed country with less than 1, 700 m3 of fresh water per person. Only 2% of Malawians have access to piped water and 70% of these households are located in cities, far away from rural areas. Diarrhea , usually caused by water born diseases, accounts for 11% of deaths of children under five, according to the USAID - Malawi water and sanitation profile.

A woman drawing safe water from borehole

 Drawing drinking water from the river

ADRA Malawi is responding to this huge challenge by drilling boreholes to the water challenged communities in Salima District.  In January 2013, ADRA Malawi through the Tsogolo Labwino Project handed over four boreholes worthy K10 million (about $24, 000) to village communities in Traditional Authority Kamwbiri in the district.
Salima District Commissioner Ali Phiri was quoted in the local media thanking ADRA Malawi for the donation and he prayed for continued relationship with the Malawi Government.
ADRA Malawi Country Director Claudio Sandoval told the gathering that providing safe and potable water was one of ADRA Malawi’s priorities.  Tsogolo Labwino is being supported by the Australian Government ADRA Australia and the boreholes would assist 1500 people.
In Lilongwe 21 boreholes were drilled by the African Development Bank (ADB) through Lilongwe District Council  in 21 village communities of Traditional Authority Tsabango after ADRA Malawi collaborated with community based groups (CBGs) in the area to advocate for the provision of safe water. ADRA Malawi, through the Action for Social Change Program (ASC) earlier conducted the needs assessment in the area and discovered that water was one of the immediate needs, as people drunk from open wells and rivers, making them vulnerable to water borne diseases and at the same time, the water sources were shared with animals.
ADRA Malawi built the capacity of the community to advocate for the safe water in the area. ADRA Malawi also facilitated formation of advocacy committees in the area which approached the Lilongwe District Council for the provision of safe water.
After a series of meetings with Lilongwe District officials, it was agreed that each targeted village to contribute K15, 000 (about $36) as a precondition for drilling the boreholes.  ADRA Malawi sensitized communities to make the contributions and in November 2012, boreholes were drilled in 21 villages.
A recent assessment conducted by ADRA Malawi revealed a sharp decline of diarrhea cases and that women spent less time to access water.   The Action for Social Change Program is being supported by Denmark to bring about individual and society change in Lilongwe, Mulanje, Machinga and Mzuzu.