ADRA Malawi Today

Post titleGroundnuts, soybeans can replace tobacco –LL farmers

2012-01-31T02:45:00.000-08:00

By Baxter Chilombo -Food Security Facilitator, Lilongwe

ADRA Malawi conducted series of meetings in Traditional Authority Tsabango in Lilongwe to find lasting solutions to challenges farmers face in the wake of low tobacco prices during the previous marketing seasons.

Tobacco is the main cash crop in the area and lower sales have left many farmers helpless, a situation that called for diversity and reduced dependency on the crop as it is now facing anti-smoking campaign in Malawi and globally. As a consequence, the future of tobacco is uncertain and farmers needed a possible replacement.

Farmers planning activities during one of the meetings.

A tobacco farmer, Mr Phiri who has depended on the crop for over 15 years could not believe the sudden slump on the sales in the previous marketing seasons and expressed fear of increased poverty if farmers do not diversify.

ADRA Malawi through the Action for Social Change program mobilised 360 farming households to discuss alternative crops to replace tobacco. During the discussions several crops were analysed looking into consideration all possibilities in terms of production and marketing and famers settled on groundnuts and soybeans as possible replacements.

Farmers said the climate is conducive for soybeans and groundnuts and that they have high market value.

Women participation in the discussion was encouraging

This growing season many farmers have grown these crops and ADRA Malawi is linking farmers to agri-business companies and organisations for market accessibilities.

ADRA Malawi has already facilitated formation of 18 market oriented interest groups in the area, each with 20 members to organize small scale farmers and lobby for good prices and conduct market research among other objectives.

ADRA Malawi is also building the capacity of the interest groups in development and agribusiness. The groups are also mentored and encouraged to take farming as a business.
“For decades, we have been growing for sale, marketing strategies have not been given any close attention and we ended up selling our produce at low prices. Its high time we started thinking of producing for business and select crops that we know better have potential for market and above all we grow as a group’, advised Mr Phiri, a member of Njobvu Interest Group.
One of the group members concurred with Mr. Phiri, saying that producing for business can help farmers realise their dreams.
“One thing that I have noted is that venturing into agri-based business cannot be done single handed. It needs all of us to work together because there is no way we can satisfy a market with produce from a few farmers’, noted Mr. Thutambala, a member of Chiyingira Interest Group.
Farmer representatives from different interest groups meet on monthly rotational basis to discuss issues of their concerns. In December, farmer representatives went to a Seed Company (Seed Co) to lobby for inputs and they succeeded securing them.

The Action for Social Change Program is being funded by Denmark.

ADRA Malawi holds annul staff meeting

2012-01-24T11:45:00.000-08:00

Chikondi Madikiza-Madumuse – Communications &Advocacy Officer

ADRA Malawi organised a one day staff meeting on 23rd January in Blantyre for the year 2012. Even though Blantyre drizzled for four days, the weather did not dampen the spirit of staff members.

The meeting aimed at building the relationships among staff members. In his opening remarks acting County Director for ADRA Malawi Michael Usi said ADRA has come a long way and every staff member is of integral importance to the organization.
“This is an important meeting for ADRA Malawi and every member of staff should know that he/she is important to this organization and ADRA is called ADRA because staff members form part of its citizenship,” said Usi.
He urged staff members to be open- minded and explore other and new ways of making ADRA a better working place for everyone.
During the meeting several questions were presented to the staff members in groups so that members would have a better understanding of ADRA’s goal and vision. Discussions of these questions would enable staff members to be on the same footing as regards to ADRA’s vision. The staff members were grouped according to their level of authority to allow them discuss freely.

Mr Usi addressing ADRA staff

ADRA staff members felt the meeting would help strengthen team work and also build up relationships among staff since the meeting offered a rare opportunity for ADRA staff from different projects to interact.
Staff members spoke openly of issues of concern and of particular interest was on how staff members weighed their sense of belonging in ADRA Malawi – Did they regard themselves as part of of ADRA Malawi or aliens in the organization?

Mr Zande and other ADRA staff members

It was interesting and encouraging that most staff members felt they were the rightly placed members of the organization.
During the meeting the Acting Country Director also congratulated one of the Project Managers Mr. Francis Zande on his effort to come up with a proposal that has seen a project emanate in Mwanza District to respond to the climate change challenge.
“I would like to ask you to come with proposals or concept notes so that ADRA has more projects coming. Francis has done us pride. He wrote a proposal and we are receiving funding and people have been employed because of this,” Usi said.
On the other hand management accepted that there has been a shortfall in the department of Human Resources where ADRA does not have a permanent officer at present but pledged that the issue is being looked into and soon the vacancy would be filled.
At the end, members of staff echoed that the meeting was relevant and said it would be more meaningful if what was discussed would be implemented.

A cross section of ADRA staff during the meeting

Presently ADRA has four projects and one program, Tsogola Labwino (TL) Project operating in Salima; Trainers of Trainers in HIV (TOT) operating in Mangochi, Mulanje, Phalombe, Blantyre; Enhanced Livelihood through Gender Empowerment (ELGE) project operating in Mulanje; Enhanced Community Resilient (ECRP) Project operating in Mwanza, lastly Action For Social Change Program operating in Mulanje , Machinga, Lilongwe and Mzuzu.

ADRA Malawi, partners break barriers of discrimination in Lilongwe

2012-01-13T05:28:00.000-08:00

By James Masauko and Elias Banda

Five hundred people have undergone HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT) procedures in Traditional Authority Tsabango in Lilongwe after a series of meetings organized by ADRA Malawi aimed at breaking barriers of stigma and discrimination. The campaign was conducted ahead of the World AIDS Day that fell on December 1.

ADRA Malawi through the Action for Social Change Program earlier conducted the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) in the area which revealed gruesome forms of discrimination for those living with HIV.

The PRA exposed facts that people living with HIV could not be allowed to share their kitchen utensils and food. HIV positive people were also excluded on list of people legible for government fertilizer subsidy program fear that they might die soon.


TA Tsabango addressing people

condom demonstration during one of the meetings

In some cases, hand shaking with those suspected to be HIV positive was avoided as people feared they might contract the virus. The community notion on HIV positive people made it difficult for people to disclose their status for fear that they might not be easily accepted by the society.

The high level of discrimination in the area forced Lilongwe District Council to chose Traditional Authority Tsabango as venue for 2011 World AIDS Day commemoration.

ADRA Malawi conducted a series of meetings in 25 group village communities emphasizing on the need to end discrimination and stigma. ADRA worked in collaboration with the Lilongwe District AIDS coordinators and other partners to lobby for the establishment of 7 HCT centers where 500 people were voluntarily tested.

Already, the campaign is bearing fruits and apart from the increased number of people going for HCT in the area, the number of support groups for people living with HIV has risen from 1 to 5. A local chief testified that membership in the support groups has increased to 30 members from 10 in Chimutu Thapasa village community.

ADRA facilitaes dialogue on elephants attacks

2012-01-12T20:32:00.000-08:00

By Justine Kumadzulo and Elias Banda

Horrors of elephant attacks have reached alarming proportions in the areas of Group Village Nthundu and Mangamba in Machinga District. Hungry elephants are on the loose from Liwonde National Park, terrorizing people from the nearby villages and destroying crops.

Last year, the vicious elephants invaded maize fields and destroyed crops, affecting 670 families. Group Village Headman Nthundu said maize and bananas in the river banks were razed down, forcing people to survive on mangoes.
There is a sustained fear among villagers that continued elephant attacks would threaten the food security situation in the area if a lasting solution is not found.

A Wildlife official addressing chiefs

The elephants have broken the National Park confinement wire and found their way out into the villages. Chiefs say elephants can cover a distance of 20 kilometers before returning to the National Park. The broken wire has not fully replaced despite complaints of frequent elephant attacks.

GVH Nthundu presenting his concerns

Attempts have been made previously by the Village Natural Resource Committee (VNRC) and the Park officials to resolve the matter but none had since materialized.

Recently, ADRA Malawi through the Action for Social Change Program (ASC) facilitated an interface meeting between Parks and Wildlife (PW) Officials and affected chiefs to find a lasting solution on the matter. The chiefs used the forum to present their concerns to the Wildlife officials. Chiefs complained that affected families have not been compensated by government. PW officials bemoaned continued poaching activity in the National Park by the villagers and called on local authorities to sensitize their subjects on the malpractice.

According to PW Regional Manager Mr. Nyanyale, compensation would be done on extreme cases. He assured the chiefs that the confinement wire would be replaced and urged them to guard it from poachers.

One chief who declined to be named said the meeting was fruitful and for the first time, chiefs could meet face to face with wildlife officials. “ I can now see light at the end of the tunnel, I am confident the matter will be solved” he said.

Part of the audience during the meeting

The Machinga District Agricultural Development Officer who also attended the meeting advised that poaching could be reduced if people kept more domestic animals such goats, chicken and pigs.

The Action for Social Change Program is covering 60 village communities in the area and many of them have been affected by elephant attacks. The Program with funds from Denmark is facilitating advocacy activities with community based groups in Traditional Authority Liwonde and kawinga in Machinga.

ADRA Malawi intensifies campaign against GBV

2011-12-22T20:36:00.000-08:00

Certificate presentation at the function

Over one thousand people gathered at Chisitu School Ground in Mulanje on Friday December 16, to participate in activities marking the end of 16 days of gender activism for 2011. The event was spiced by dances, drama, testimonies and speeches, all depicting gender based violence.
Under the theme ‘From peace in the home, to peace in the world’ men and women sung songs against acts of violence that have destabilized peace in the homes, leading increased divorce cases and poverty.
Speaking at the function organized by ADRA Malawi through the Enhanced Livelihood through Gender Empowerment Project (ELIGE), Traditional Authority Chikumbu who was Guest of Honor bemoaned the rising gender related violence cases in her area and called on men and women to take full responsibility to end violence. She said women and children become victims of gender based violence.

Simbota captured during the function

During the function, a drama show depicted how violence occur in the homes and the misery it brings. The drama also revealed a strong connection between gender related violence and HIV/AIDS, that divorced wives become desperate for husbands and the need for voluntary counseling and testing are often ignored.
During testimonies, sexual cleansing was mentioned as one of the outstanding forms of violence against women still existing, despite calls to abolish some cultural harmful practices. The cleansing is done in secret especially when the husband has died and a man is hired to have sex with the bereaved wife as a means of chasing bad spirits in the wake of the husband’s death. If the bereaved wife refuses to do the ritual, the belief suggests that she would be victimized by evil spirits that would bring calamities in the home.
Speaking to the gathering at the function Makweche Simbota 36, who had been hired to do the ritual revealed that he had sexually cleansed 22 women in her village and was paid 1500 Malawi Kwacha ( about $9) for each activity. He said there were a few women he did not charge any money because he naturally loved them. However, he said that some of the women he cleansed died. Simbota expressed remorse and regret in his speech that he was involved in such activities.

Reacting to the testimony Traditional Authority Chikumbu thanked Simbota for being brave and open and appealed to all men and women involved in such practices to stop or face consequences if discovered. She however advised Simbota to go for HIV test.

A training session in progress for couples and chiefs

Another testimony came from Estere Baloni who told the gathering that she was married for 13 years and has 5 children. She was sexually abused by her husband for several years and later he divorced her. She said she was struggling to feed and send the children to school. A few months after divorce, one of her daughters, Mary,   left her for unknown destination. The message was sent to her husband to help find her where about but he did not pay attention. Mary was found three years later working in a bar at Lunchenza and she doubled as a prostitute and was found pregnant at the same time. She was later taken back to her mother.
Speaking earlier, Andiyesa Mhango, ADRA Enhanced Livelihood through Gender Empowerment Project Manager   said her project has intensified the campaign against gender based violence by engaging couples in health and family matters to reduce violence. During the function, 21 participants received certificates after undergoing a two –week long workshop as peer trainers. Participants included couples and chiefs. The trained couples are expected to train other couples and build their capacity to promote and uphold family values.
Andiyesa said that her project is targeting girls and young women to support them with primary and secondary education opportunities.
ADRA is also empowering women with economic activities through Village Savings and Loan so that they can be self reliant other than depending on marriage as a means of survival.

ADRA donates ambulance bicycles

2011-12-06T05:50:00.001-08:00

Written by Stanely Mpasa

As a direct response to the village transport challenges, and long distances covered to get to the health centers, ADRA Malawi has donated 12 ambulance bicycles to different communities in Chikwawa and Mulanje districts. The donations were made through the Train the Trainer Project (TOT).

from left: Ps Eliya, GVH Naluso, Stanly Mpasa and Ps Msuka during the presentation ceremony.

In Chikwawa four ambulances were donated to Malikopo and Nduna Village communities to serve a population of 2000 people. People in the two villages travel a distance of 16 kilometers to get to the nearest health center. The bicycle presentation ceremony was colorful and highly attended by traditional leaders and community members.

In Mulanje, 4 bicycles were donated to 8 support groups at Chisitu to assist 1700 people. The other 4 ambulances went to Naluso Village community and the HIV/AIDS Ministries of the Seventh- Day Adventist Church received the donation on behalf of the community. The TOT project collaborates well with the church Department in the area. The church program reaches out to 17 SDA churches and a church community population of 69, 400.

A man lying confortably on an ambulance bicycle

Receiving the donation Health Ministries Department Director Pastor Eliya commended ADRA for supporting the needy. He said the donation would go a long way in reducing the time taken to ferry the patients to the health center.

Speaking earlier, Group Village Head Naluso thanked ADRA for the gift and pledged to put them ambulances to good use. He said the donation would reduce cases of patients dying before getting to the health centre due to poor transportation. The Government Ministry of health was represented by Falece Kachingwe who thanked ADRA and the SDA Church for complementing government efforts through HIV/AIDS programs in Mulanje District.

Fighting HIV/AIDS stigma

2011-10-06T05:28:00.000-07:00

Reported by: James Masauko
Written by: Krystle Praestiin

Speaking out against stigma & discrimination

HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination viciously attaches itself to People Living with HIV/AIDS causing added grief and pain. Stigma and discrimination are rooted in misunderstanding and a lack of knowledge and it manifests itself in many ways including: being denied care during sickness, social exclusion, people being afraid to shake hands or share kitchen utensils, and even being denied employment.

ADRA Malawi through advocacy initiatives and strong partnerships is continuing the fight against HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination- an issue that became vastly apparent to ADRA staff during numerous community dialogue sessions held in July.

A crowd gathers to watch a Drama protraying HIV/AIDs issues

We are partnering with key community leaders such as: the District Health Office, the District Assembly, Area Development Committees, Village Development Committees, and health experts to raise awareness on issues like stigma, to address knowledge gaps and to promote the rights of People Living with HIV/AIDS.

Currently, we are working in 25 Group Village Heads (GVHs) divided into 7 zones and have been conducting community meetings, traditional dances, dramas, talks and video screenings. Our messages are about HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS prevention, the importance of testing, and disclosing a person’s status, as well as, the effects of stigma and human rights. We also have brought mobile HIV testing “clinics” to the communities far from local health facilities.

Mobile HIV testing Clinic

With these messages, ADRA Malawi wants people to no longer fear getting HIV tests or fear telling people they are HIV positive because fearing these two things is preventing people from getting help and it is also fuelling the spread of HIV.

In addition, our main aim is to reverse stories like the one about a woman from Group Village Head Chambala, who after 2 months of Anti-Retroviral Treatments was forced to stop because she was too sick to collect them herself, and no family member or friend was willing to collect them for her. Their misconceptions, stigma and fears prevented them from caring for their own family.

Group Counselling session

Sadly, this is just one story of many. Through awareness raising, knowledge gap bridging and human rights promotion ADRA Malawi wants to encourage people to fight stigma by respecting the rights and needs of people living with HIV/AIDS.

The good news is that since the commencement of these activities many people are now aware of HIV/AIDS issues including stigma and discrimination. We hope an impact will be realised as we go on working with different CBGs and stakeholders.

Goats are changing lives

2011-10-03T05:28:00.000-07:00

Written by Krystle Praestiin, ADRA Malawi Intern

Emily with one of her goats

When Emily and her four children met ADRA Malawi’s WEP2 (Women Empowerment Project Phase 2) staff she had just left her abusive husband after a violent clash caused her to miscarriage.

At the time the now completed WEP2 project was implementing a goat bank program. Emily was identified by her community as a woman in need of help so she received one goat from ADRA. (Goats in Malawi are very valuable because they provide families with security and income as they continue to reproduce.)

Emily also became an active member of other programs that ADRA was introducing to her village including: joining a Village Savings and Loans (VSL) group, Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) class and an energy saving stoves making group.

Since her involvement Emily has reared several goats and currently has five. Emily plans to sell a few of her goats to help her put iron sheets on her newly built house- for which she sold 2 goats. Her involvement in the VSL group and her ability to sell goats has helped her provide her family with basic needs like: clothing, school fees, school stationary, hygiene products and food.

Emily with her familiy outside her new home

Being part of the VSL group has also provided her with income to start a small business selling drinks which also contributes to her ability to take care of her family and aging mother. Emily hopes that as ADRA continues working in her village through its new project (Enhanced Livelihoods through Gender Empowerment) that she will be able to receive some business management training so she can develop a more viable business in the future.

Emily is a role model to her community. Through her hard work in rearing goats and actively participating in development activities she shows people the benefits that come from her involvement.

At home her family has confidence in her ability to care for them and they are proud of her achievements. They are also encouraged to work hard because they have learnt that hard work makes anything possible. Emily is no longer afraid and worried because she knows where to go to get money for help. Emily also looks at life differently because all that she has learnt has given her a hope for the future.

Emily & her goats

Learning to read, write and do basic sums for example, has increased her confidence and skill levels. Emily can now read basic sentences, keep records for her business and of her transactions in the VSL groups. Her involvement in Functional Adult Literacy Classes has taught her the value of education and she does all she can to encourage her children to continue in their studies because she wants them to have a chance at succeeding in life

Her education has also allowed her to become a trainer of trainers for other women interested in being involved in VSL groups, this will ensure that more women like her will be able to benefit from this program well after ADRA Malawi has left. It is our hope that stories like hers will become common place.

REFLECT training for ADRA staff starts bearing fruits in Mzuzu

2011-09-30T02:58:00.000-07:00

Hetherwick Manda, HIV/AIDS & Media Facilitator, Mzuzu/Mzimba District

ADRA Malawi recently conducted a REFLECT Training Workshop for staff members involved in the Action for Social Change, Danida funded project. The aim of the training was to equip members of staff with skills and knowledge on how to manage REFLECT Circles in their respective districts.

At the end of the workshop participants were required to use the skills gained in their catchment areas to establish REFLECT circles. In Mzuzu the Civil Society Facilitator organized a series of meetings to sensitize community members, relevant stakeholders, and Traditional leaders about the importance of having a REFLECT Circle in their communities.

After several successful meetings, we are happy to report that in Mzuzu /Mzimba District five REFLECT circles have been established with committees and appointed REFLECT Circle Facilitators (3 male and 2 female). These circles are formed in the following GVHs: GVH Kaithazi (with 2 circles) and in GVH Kadambo Kanyinji, GVH Msafili Chavula and GVH Zakeyu Nkhambule (with 1 circle each).

Plans are at an advanced stage for the training of the circle facilitators who will be responsible for the day to day running of these circles. The good news is that these circles have already started meeting despite that facilitator are not yet trained. This is a clear indication that these communities are very keen and have an interest in actively participating in these circles and the development of their areas.

There is a new business in town

2011-09-29T05:50:00.000-07:00

Written by Krystle Praestiin, ADRA Malawi Intern

Rose Feza- entrepreneur

Meet Rose Feza she is a single mother of five children and a successful entrepreneur who had a vision for developing an energy saving stove business. Now her vision is selling like water in a desert.

Before she started her business Rose was finding it difficult to survive on piece works because it wasn’t providing a stable income. So when ADRA Malawi came to her village offering trainings in how to make energy saving stoves Rose jumped at the chance to learn.

Equipped with this new knowledge and access to funds from her village savings and loans group Rose started making energy savings stoves with other women in her village to sell to her neighbours and surrounding communities.

Rose discovered that demand for energy savings stoves is high because it is a new innovation to Malawi and it is very popular due to its many benefits such as: reducing the amount of firewood needed to cook a meal, which in turn reduces the amount of time women spend collecting firewood allowing them more time to do other things.

As a result, Rose is able to sell all the stoves that she manages to make within a week (usually 10), in just one day. She has even found that sometimes demand is often higher than she is able supply.

The success of her business has allowed Rose has make plans for the future of her business. Her visions are:

An energy saving stove made by Rose

1.    To open a little store at the local market where people can buy and place orders for stoves. This means that she will have a larger customer base and she won’t lose customers if she has run out of stoves.
2.    To start up an ‘energy saving stoves” guild with other ladies in her village who were also trained. This will ensure that the quality of the stoves is maintained and will give her village the reputation of providing the best quality stoves in the whole district.
3.    To scale up her production to 15 stoves a week by hiring someone to help her make the stoves.

Since starting her business Rose can pay for her girls to continue their education in high school. She has also grown in confidence and skill and is now training other people on how to make energy saving stoves. This has provided her with another avenue for receiving income because she can charge money for her training services.

Another benefit that has come out from being trained in energy saving stoves making is that she is able to transfer these skills to her daughters, who are already starting to help her in their spare time. By passing on her knowledge she is providing her girls with viable skills to continue earning an income that will support their own future families.

Rose and her daughter with their tools

It is inspiring to meet someone who seizes an opportunity with great enthusiasm and turns it into something that can greatly benefit her family. It is also great to see that by providing Rose with a skill she can now make plans for her future because she is not worried out merely surviving the day.

All it took to transform this woman’s life and her family’s life was firstly her determination to make the best of an opportunity and finally an opportunity to learn a new marketable skill.

It is stories like this that encourages ADRA Malawi to continue providing communities with opportunities for education and training, in order to open doors to brighter futures.

VSL groups give money lenders the boot

2011-09-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

Written by Krystle Praestiin, ADRA Malawi Intern

Money Lenders- those two words can stir up very different thoughts for different people. When you combine money lenders and the poor, depending on the organisation, there is little confidence that they are there in the best interest of their clients. This is largely due to various terms and conditions like high interest rates that see the poorer clients giving more than they receive. However, often borrowing money from money lenders is the only option for people to invest in starting or running small businesses.

Enter Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs). ADRA Malawi has been facilitating the formation of Village Savings and Loans (VSL) groups and training these groups to learn the concept of saving and loaning. In brief group members come up with their own rules to govern the group’s function such as the interest rate for loans and the maximum amount of shares a member can buy at each meeting. The act of buying shares and using that pool of money to give out loans provides its members with an alternative option for accessing loans. The best part of this is that interest on loans is paid back into the group’s savings box and this money is shared at the end of the year among its members according to each members share value. This means that each member gains rather than loses money in the process of borrowing.

The Village of Chilungulo has two thriving VSL groups with 25 members in each group. Since the establishment of these groups money lenders have had a very difficult time getting people to apply for loans. Before the VSL groups they received applications for loans at a total of 80,000MKW (USD$480). The last time they visited Chilungulo village they only managed a total of 19,000MKW (USD$114) and this was even after throwing in free fertiliser and three months interest free.

The reason for this lack of interest in loans from money lenders is that people now have a better alternative. They see the value in VSL groups because they are encouraged to save and they receive good returns for their investments. VSL groups have allowed members of the Chilungulo VSL groups to pay for their children’s school fees, start small businesses and make improvements to their houses (e.g. iron sheets and pit latrines). VSL groups are contributing greatly to the development of communities and improvements in people’s lives.

Growing Trees without Water

2011-09-19T02:10:00.000-07:00

Written by Krystle Praestiin, ADRA Malawi intern

It might sound like an impossible task to grow trees without water but in practice it is proving to be very possible. ADRA Malawi is partnering with Nationwide Quiz Programme, Sustainable Environment Projects to spread this technique throughout Malawi, within its target areas. The aim is to combat deforestation and to curb the impact of climate change.

Stems Sprout with no water

So how does it all work? The planting technique is called “Truncheon” and it involves using the branches/stems (truncheons) of indigenous trees, like Mlombwa trees and planting them during the dry season in 30cm deep pits of soft soil. A diagonal cut is made to the top of the stem where it will ooze red sap; this is done to prevent the rotting of the stem as it grows. The next step is to not water the plant and to regularly check sprouting. Each year 15-25 new shoots grow at a rate of 1 meter.

Stems grow 1 meter in length each year- this stem was planted in August

This technique is proving to be very effective and communities are in awe that trees can grow without water. The “Truncheon” method provides many benefits to communities, firstly there is very little effort needed in planting and taking care of the stems, carbon dioxide is stored more effectively improving the effects of climate change, the most barren land can be ‘dressed’ up, the water table rises and soil fertility increases this improves crop production and even allows for boreholes to be sunk. The “Truncheon” method also means that trees grow quicker and are better able to replace those cut for firewood, providing a more sustainable source of wood for communities that rely on wood for many daily functions.

Mr. Benjamin Chirwa

Mr. Benjamin Chirwa, the implementer of this innovative programme is very passionate about this method and is excited to partner with ADRA Malawi who will use its communication channels of TV and radio to educate people about the value and importance of the “Truncheon” method. Community groups that ADRA Malawi works with will also be trained to use this method.

ADRA Malawi chairs LILONGWE CIVIL Society Network (LICSONET)

2011-09-12T06:06:00.000-07:00

Written by Chikondi Madumuse, Advocacy Officer & Ted Nyekanyeka, M&E /Research Coordinator

Background

Civil Society Organizations in Lilongwe felt the need to come together and form a network that would enable them to raise their profile and create a platform to promote networking and information sharing among CSOs and other stakeholders in Lilongwe. There was a felt need for these organizations to interact and have a common understanding of developmental issues being raised in the district. The network would also offer appropriate representation at various development forums within and outside the district.

In some cases CSOs working in the district have not had a chance to showcase their activities and raise the challenges of project beneficiaries. Therefore, the network would promote and market CSOs activities through joint planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects in the district. The network will also play an advocacy role and carry out advocacy activities or projects in the district, which are beneficial to member organizations and the communities they serve. Furthermore, the network would interface with Local Government, Donors, other CSOs and International agencies for promotion of good governance and human rights. Through its interface with the district council the network will lobby with local Government in enhancing service delivery in the areas of health, food security, environment and other key areas to improve welfare of communities.

The network would also develop and maintain database of all CSOs in the district.
In order to achieve its objectives the grouping came up with a constitution. This constitution would enable the network to operate in a systematic manner.

The network was officially launched on 24th August, 2011 at Lingadzi Inn in Lilongwe. ADRA Malawi was elected as the chair of the network for a one year term. Other CSOs elected in the executive committee are Mai Khanda Trust (Vice Chair), Circle for Integrated Community Development CICOD (Secretary), Care International-Malawi (Vice secretary), Console Homes (Treasurer) and Community Members are;
Landirani trust, DAPP Malawi, Self Help Africa, Family Planning Association of Malawi and CYCA. In total the network consists of over 20 CSOs including International and local CSOs.

ADRA has been supporting the revamping of the network through the Action for Social Change Programme which among other things is focusing on strengthening the capacity of civil society networks in advocacy. The programme is being funded by DANIDA under the strategy for Danish support to civil society in developing countries.

Speaking after the elections, ADRA’s M&E /Research Coordinator, Ted Nyekanyeka said, “ADRA is committed to this endeavor and would work towards making the network a vibrant one. ADRA appreciates the trust that members of the network have placed on us. We would like to assure the network that our commitment to the network activities will continue and we are encouraging members to fully support this network. We hope this network will bear fruits that will promote and strengthen our capacities as civil society organizations as well as promote interaction among us. If we work together we’ll produce strong voices for the marginalized.”

MISCONCEPTIONS STILL RAMPANT DESPITE HIGH HIV/AIDS MESSAGES

2011-09-12T01:07:00.000-07:00

Reported by Hetherwick Manda, HIV/AIDS and Media Facilitator, Mzuzu

This story is about Christina Kaluwa one of the founding members of Nkhorongo PLHIV (People Living with HIV) Support group, from GVH Mdilira Tembo. It is a story that emphasizes the continued need for the support of PLHIV through education, training and access to ARV (Anti-Retro Viral) treatments.
Ms. Kaluwa had heard from one of her daughters living in South Africa, that with the Global Financial Meltdown ARVs will be very scarce and Malawi will not be spared from this problem. Upon hearing this she decided to stop taking ARVs on a daily basis, as advised by the hospital, and instead started taking them at two week intervals so that, in her reasoning, her body could build “resistance” before the drugs became scarce. Christina also felt that because she had been taking the ARVs consistently since the year 2000 that her body had enough ARVs to make her well again, and therefore she could soon stop taking them.

During one of her Group’s Therapy meetings she shared her decision with the other members. Her fellow members were worried for her and together with the Chairperson of the group Mr. Stuart Mhango, told her she was risking her life and that she should follow the advice of the hospital and continue taking the ARVs regularly.

The advice had been given too late and on the 23rd of July 2011, Christina Kaluwa tragically passed away.
Although HIV/AIDS messages have been promoted since 1985 when the first HIV Cases were diagnosed in Malawi, misconceptions of this kind are rampant throughout the country. ADRA Malawi is working with PLHIV support groups like Nkhorongo PLHIV support group, to address these misconceptions and to provide education and trainings. Through the new project Action for Social Change ADRA Malawi will scale up their support and will also train these groups in communication for social change approaches, so that they can advocate to the responsible bodies/groups for the provision of their needs - such as accessibility to ARV treatments at local clinics.

ADRA Malawi therefore hopes to prevent and reduce the amount of deaths like that of Ms. Kaluwa through the development of greater knowledge on the issues of HIV/AIDS and the empowerment of groups to support each other through successful advocacy for their rights and needs.

Literacy and Peace- Commemorating World Literacy Day

2011-09-09T03:10:00.000-07:00

Written by Krystle Praestiin

She stood nervously in front of the microphone, paper in hand, smiled politely at the guests of honour and began reading her story. A year ago this would not have been possible for Ms. Banda*, sure she was able to speak but never did she dream of being able to write a story and then read it perfectly before a large crowd of people, her voice booming confidently through the speaker system. She told of her literacy journey, how she attended Adult Literacy classes and about her new found confidence in being able to read and write and perform basic sums. Ms. Banda’s simple act of reading directly from her hand written notes was a perfect symbol of the transforming power that being literate is having in the lives of many adults in Malawi.

Yesterday, ADRA Malawi attended the commemoration of World Literacy Day in Phalombe District. This year’s theme “Literacy and Peace” saturated the large school ground at which the program was being held. Coordinated by ActionAid in partnership with UNESCO it featured speeches written and read by women who were once illiterate, dances, music and dramas promoting the importance of literacy, and speeches by the guests of honour- District Commissioner Emmanuel Banda, Principle Secretary for the Ministry of Education John Bisika and Executive Director of UNESCO Malawi, Dr.Mkandawire.

This year’s theme Literacy and Peace represents the importance of literacy in upholding human rights and creating greater understanding and appreciation for issues concerning development. In a statement made by the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova she states that, “Lasting peace is founded on a respect for human rights and social justice. Literacy, the foundation of all education and lifelong learning, is one of these rights. [It] is a prerequisite for peace because it carries multiple benefits, cutting across human, cultural, social, political and economic spheres.” (Quote taken from: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002113/211318e.pdf Literacy for Peace pdf, pg.1).

Of the 13 million people living in Malawi, 4.6 million are illiterate. The District of Phalombe has the highest illiteracy rate of the country with 38% of the 360,000 people living in Phalombe being illiterate. Giving greater significance for the location at which the program was held. The program aimed to promote to the local community and leaders, of which at least 800 were in attendance, the importance of literacy and to show how beneficial being literate is to improving livelihoods. It was also as an opportunity to express publicly, Malawi’s commitment to reducing the illiteracy rate by 50% by 2015.

So far “3,021 students are enrolled in adult literacy classes, [in Phalombe] and this year 239 students graduated from the program (it is estimated that there are 8000 classes country wide),” says the District Commissioner Emmanuel Banda, “[if Malawi continues to increase adult literacy classes] using the REFLECT approach it will also assist children in school through the encouragement of their parents, who will see the importance of education. Literacy will also help to increase participation in and understanding of development issues, such as family planning [which will improve people’s livelihoods].”

ADRA Malawi has this year adopted the REFLECT approach to literacy in its Action for Social Change (AFSC) programme, Danida/ADRA Denmark and its Enhance Livelihood through Gender Empowerment (ELGE) project, SMC/SIDA/ADRA Sweden. Throughout the world the approach has proven to be highly effective compared to the Functional Adult Literacy approach which tends to be more academic, because it is practical and relevant, as it combines discussions of relevant community development and social issues with reading, writing and basic mathematical skills. For example, during a class the students might choose to discuss and learn about how to improve farming. Students will then discuss this topic and learn to read and write words that are associated to this topic and to perform calculations (where applicable). As the classes continue to meet the topics will keep progressing until each student is able to read, write and perform basic calculations fluently.

ADRA Malawi is currently training REFLECT circle facilitators who will be responsible for facilitating REFLECT circle classes. AFSC programme has established 34 circles in 34 Group Village Heads and ELGE project has established 19 circles in 19 villages. Through this approach ADRA Malawi hopes to contribute to an increase in adult literacy and empowerment and ultimately improve the livelihoods of many community members.

In his closing speech the Principle Secretary for the Ministry of Education said, “Let us all unite during this year’s theme of Literacy and Peace [to stamp out illiteracy in Malawi].” Together with Non-Government Organisations like ActionAid, ADRA Malawi is committed to improving literacy and peace through all its programmes/projects.

* not real name for privacy

Snap Shots of Success:

2011-08-01T00:38:00.000-07:00

Compiled by ADRA ASC staff
Written by Krystle Praestiin

Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) are being embraced with enthusiastic, open arms. Women who have struggled hard to contribute to their family beyond household chores and cooking meals are now able to support their family by contributing money. Their new ability to purchase things like steel roofing for their homes or to pay for school fees, has brought them self-respect and the respect from their husbands, children and community.

VSLA provides women with an opportunity to learn how to save and loan money. Women form their own groups and develop their own constitution to govern the terms, such as interest rates and minimum amounts of shares that can be bought. As women buy shares, takeout and repay loans, the pool of savings starts to increase. At the end of every year the money is divided up between the women, according to the amount of shares each woman has bought.

Mrs Magnet Mulunguzi is 23 years old and has four children. In 2010 she became a member of the Chimwambizi VSLA women’s group. When she first joined the group, she was able to draw out a loan of 4,000 Kwacha ($26 USD). This made it possible for her to buy some farm inputs, which she used in irrigation farming (maize). After harvesting and selling the green maize, she was able to buy some more shares – after 9 months she saved 12,000 Kwacha ($78 USD), more than she has ever seen in her lifetime. Mrs. Mulunguzi used part of this money to pay for her daughters schooling (she is in form 2) and the other part she used to buy household needs, such as soap and salt.

“Ndzaidandaula ikadzatha ADRA-(I will never forget ADRA),” says Mrs. Mulunguzi.

ADRA Malawi has helped the group through capacity building in terms of training and providing resources such as a VSLA cash box and also regular supervision.

The Essence of Development

2011-07-25T04:53:00.000-07:00

Written by: Sara Thompson (Sara is from Avondale College, Australia and did work experience with us for three weeks)

Development is a great word to throw around – it’s a favourite of politicians and NGO workers alike. Everyone seems to be talking about development now days. As an International Poverty and Development Studies (IPDS) student at Avondale College, I knew plenty about development. But coming to ADRA Malawi to see field work in person brought my understanding of development from head knowledge to a first-hand experience.

The ADRA Australia project in Salima, Malawi, was just one of those amazing first-hand experiences. We headed out towards Suzi village in the truck, with Mercy, an ADRA Malawi staff member; Krystle, an ADRA Malawi intern completing her final year before heading home to Australia; and our driver, Godfrey, who did his best to keep us in relative comfort despite the bumpy dirt tracks. I was filled in about the project as we bumped along.

The Suzi village was one of the villages that had received a borehole as a result of fundraising in Australia, thanks to the Krystle Clear waters project. However, despite having received the bore, the pump had been disabled until the community showed they had learnt their lessons about health and sanitation by cleaning up their homes. Our task – to see how well they’d implemented their training, award prizes for the most sanitary and healthy living areas, and determine how soon we could open the bore.

The checklist – each household needed a pit latrine, a rubbish pit, a kitchen, a dish rack to keep eating utensils on, a smeared house and solid floor, and a bathing area. Through the village we went, checking off items on the list as we came through. This was development first-hand – these people lived in conditions that would be unheard of back home in Australia. A few small children started crying when they saw us and ran to hide. I asked Mercy why – she told me that it was because the children had never been outside this village, and had never seen white people before. They were scared by the colour of our skin!

The conditions were sad, but not hopeless. Thanks to ADRA’s community programs, those in villages such as Suzi are learning health and sanitation skills, despite their living conditions. And they were improving. The homes with the greatest improvements since the last visit were rewarded with prizes such as buckets and containers for water, brooms, and soap. When we left, it was with a hope that it wouldn’t be long before the sanitation of the village would be improved and the bore could be opened, giving life-giving clean water to all.

Our next stop was to a village where a savings and loans bank had been started by 14 women in the community. At each meeting, they would look over the books, pay back some of the money towards their loans, and encourage each other with songs and dances. By contributing a certain amount into the ‘bank’ – a locked wooden box, kept safe by one of the members – individuals could borrow money for improvements or investments, such as metal sheeting for their houses or starting small businesses to raise an income. They would gradually pay back their loan, plus interest, and another member would be allowed to take out a loan and the cycle would start again. It was wonderful to see this process in action, and hear stories about how helpful the savings and loans bank was to the community. The women also decided on their own initiative to set aside a certain amount to buy necessities, such as soap, to be shared throughout the group, and to contribute to other essential projects that would benefit the entire community. This was development in action, and it was great to see just what education and empowerment can do!

These experiences reinforced the essence of development in my mind – offering those in need a hand up, not a hand out. By helping to enable these people to help themselves out of poverty, we can help individuals understand and improve their own standards of living, without fostering dependence by merely giving them the things they need. Teaching people how to improve their lives, and helping them get access to the tools they need, is what development is all about.

Development. It’s not an empty word. It’s active, it’s essential, and it’s happening everywhere, thanks to projects that ADRA and other NGOs are implementing around the world.

Next time you get a drink of clean water, think of those for whom this would be a luxury – and of the things you can do to make developments like this a reality.

Communities for Change

2011-07-21T04:07:00.000-07:00

Compiled by: Yankho Konyani
Written by: Sara Thompson

ADRA Malawi has seen some incredible changes due to the implementation of the Communications for Social Change Program (CFSC), and the community-based groups that have followed. The CFSC Program aims to help communities come together for a common goal, to assess the needs of that community, and to engage with the right sources in order to see their goals become realised. This program has helped to empower community members to become a force for change in their own local areas.

Some community-based groups have raised the area of HIV/AIDS as an issue of concern. In some areas, activities have changed from discussions to formal advocacy activities, and many of these activities have fuelled a desire for action. At the Kochilira site, a tremendous change in the area of HIV/AIDS has been brought about through the CFSC training. ADRA Community Development Facilitators helped facilitate the establishment of the Kochilira Network (KONET+) support group for those living with HIV/AIDS, to discuss common issues. The issue addressed was the incomplete implementation of Antiretroviral Treatments (ART) in all health facilities in Mchnji was a key advocacy issue discussed by this community group. During one of the community dialogue sessions, those living with HIV/AIDS brought up the poor accessibility to Antiretroviral drugs (ARV) because of the long distances these patients have to walk for access on a monthly basis to Mchinji District Hospital and Kapiri Rural Hospital. However, there are other rural hospitals in their area which would be far more accessible, if ARV could be obtained there.

The community group first approached stakeholders about the issue of making ARV accessible. When this had no effect, a petition was signed by the group village head, the traditional authority, and all those on Antiretroviral Treatments, in order to raise awareness of the problem and to urge leaders to action. It was submitted to the district communities, who influenced the District Health Office (DHO) to act on the issue, and strive to make ARV more accessible to those living in rural communities.

With an Antiretroviral unit established in September 2010 at Kochilira Rural Hospital in Mchinji District, the fight for treatment has finally been won. Communities who have previously been disadvantaged in the area of ART now have more accessible treatment options available to them, thanks to the effort made by the Kochilira community. This change was made possible due to ADRA’s CFSC program, which enabled those involved to confront the issues tactfully and persistently. As a result, those affected by HIV/AIDS in this area now have access to treatment, and those involved in the campaign have been empowered to stand up for the certain issues in their area, and for the change they wish to see.

Nutrition brings in the money

2011-07-13T01:52:00.002-07:00

Story by: Mercy Chakoma
Food Security & Nutrition Officer, TL Project

Employment is becoming scarcer in Malawi. Many people are trying their best to utilize the resources available to them, such as small home garden crops, to help generate income for their households. When soya bean seeds were distributed in Tsogolo Labwino Project impact areas, the beneficiaries were happy to access free seed but worried about its limited popularity. Even though they were told that they would receive trainings in how to grow and produce various products they could not believe that soya could so useful in improving their livelihoods.

When the nutrition trainings began not many people participated, choosing to instead continue with their daily household chores. This was discouraging. However, since then people have started to realize the benefits of using different crops and learning different recipes. Tadala Juma is one of those people receiving great benefits from soya beans.

Tadala was struggling to help her husband provide for their family. She therefore, decided to utilize two recipes that she learnt from the nutrition trainings: soya milk and soya coffee. Acting swiftly, she started making soya milk which was selling at 50 kwacha, half the price of cow’s milk. She also sold the coffee at the same price. Tadala marketed and sold her soya milk to tea room owners who also increased their profit base. After one month of producing these products, she raised 48, 000 kwacha.

Tadala then bought a piece of land at 15,000 kwacha and used the remaining money to buy basic needs for her baby and to pay school fees for her son who is in form 1.

Tadala is very thankful to ADRA through Tsogolo Labwino project and said, “the good future (which is what Tsogolo Labwino means) would be realized long after the project but I am already enjoying the good future whilst the project is still operating.”

Through her obvious success Tadala was elected by her community to be a community facilitator for nutrition. Through her new role she is able to encouraging her fellow women to use soya and to make and sell various products. Her influence and success is helping other women provide for their families and to improve their livelihoods.

The success of this project can be seen through the sharing and implementation of knowledge, knowledge that is providing people with income to improve their livelihoods.

A simple soya bean can make a big difference.

Money can grow...

2011-07-01T01:36:00.000-07:00

By Chikondi Madikiza-Madumuse – Communications and Advocacy Officer

The introduction of Village Savings and Loans (VS&L) looks to be a strategy that would enable Malawians especially those from the rural communities to have savings of their own and potentially to invest in small scale business or other investments ideal to them.

Last year, ADRA Malawi introduced this concept to some communities in the district of Mulanje. Mulanje is an area adorned with coffee and tea plantations and crowned by Mulanje Mountain and the Sapitwa peak. Yet, despite its beauty Mulanje is also densely populated; leaving a lot of people with only small pieces of land, while its adornments, the tea and coffee estates and land and wildlife conservation areas occupy most of the arable land.

Since Malawi’s main income generator is agriculture, the small pieces of land have made it difficult to make ends meet for the communities. At the end of the day they find that they do not have enough income to save after selling their produce. With the money they earn they cannot open a bank account; they resort to keeping the money at home and as problems arise the money is used before they can invest it.

But this is slowly changing. VS&L has brought in a different dimension in the attitude of villagers towards money; they realize they can save and make investments with the little that they have. All they need is a group, a cash box with three locks and keys and agreement within their group on the minimum cost of a share.

One group that was formed last year with ADRA Malawi’s efforts is singing praises for VS&L and more groups are emerging. The outcomes are overwhelming.

Secretary for the Sitigonja (literally meaning we won’t give up)VS & L group in Group Village Headman Manyumba, Stella Banda, says she had never received or owned Mk 6, 000 as her own before, but VS&L has allowed her to see and have that much money. The group comprising of 25 women saved their money for 9 months, at the end of these nine months, the members invested up to Mk 103, 360.

Ms. Banda says, “It was unbelievable; the first person – one with more shares- received Mk 10, 000. I received Mk 5, 800 and I was able to pay school fees for my three children two are in form two and one is in form four. One of our friends managed to renovate her kiosk with this money. We are happy that ADRA brought this idea. As I am speaking people are forming their own groups there are over ten groups in this area. Thanks to the training we received from ADRA Malawi we are also able to help other groups organize themselves to begin VS&L."

ADRA’s technical Officer on Food Security and Livelihood Mrs. Elsie Mwimba, says the response from communities has been overwhelming. “More groups were formed, more than we had planned and could physically handle, so instead of stopping these new groups we encouraged the groups that we had trained to share their knowledge with the self organized groups for VS&L," she said.

Apart from Mulanje, ADRA has also introduced this concept in Neno District and intends to do the same in other target areas like Lilongwe, Machinga and Mzuzu.

The popularity of these groups because of the contribution VS&L makes to improved livelihoods has resulted in groups spreading beyond ADRA’s target areas.

Behind the Scenes of Water for All

2011-07-01T01:08:00.000-07:00

written by Krystle Praestiin

Monday afternoon we arrived at our first borehole site drilled by ADRA Malawi. I had developed a basic plan for what shots I wanted to collect but I knew that plans on paper aren't always easily achieved in real life. So even though I was excited about this opportunity to film a very pertinent issue affecting many lives in Malawi, I was not sure what we would find. I was worried that we wouldn't meet any women drawing water, especially because at this particular village people were expecting us to arrive on Tuesday.

However, what struck me throughout the whole filming trip was that at every part of the day you could always find women and children using water for various purposes, such as washing clothes and drawing water for drinking, cooking or cleaning. It sure made our filming easier and reminded me of the integral role water plays in all our lives. I was also able to see that it was much easier for women with a borehole to collect water, particularly if one was near their homes, compared to the women who had to walk several meters/kilometres for water from a river, shallow well or stream.

After filming the borehole and its users, we arrived at a village where the people have been drawing water from an unprotected, shallow well. My first thoughts were - "I can't believe people actually drink this water." Some unprotected shallow wells are able to at least provide clear looking water, but this shallow well provided the community of 100 households with muddy soup. Filtering the water requires boiling, cooling, and then pouring the water through a towel into a clay pot. Unfortunately, this process isn't enough to prevent them from contracting water borne diseases like cholera and diahorrea. No one should have to drink that water. And just to top it off, upon further inspection we discovered that on one side of the well was a colony of frogs.

The best part of seeing this shallow well was knowing that in a few weeks time, this community would be receiving a borehole from ADRA Australia and the funds donated by individuals and organisations in Australia from REGEN, COMOS, Avondale College Church and Sanitarium.

Before we left - in true African style - the women and children danced and sang a song of thanks to ADRA for a future without the need of drawing water from the shallow well. It was a wonderful experience, knowing that a big difference would be made in their lives from the soon coming borehole.

Tuesday saw us walking three kilometres away from a borehole to a village where, due to such a distance from the borehole, the community is forced to collect water from a river. Before we left for our walk I drank water from my water bottle, quickly deciding that I would not take it on my journey. I think that decision came from guilt for having such easy access to clean water. It was hot, and the distance seemed to run further away from us the more we walked.

We arrived at the village, where we walked a bit further to reach the river, the main water source for this village. The bank leading down to the river was steep and slippery - to think that women do this in the rain with heavy buckets on their heads! I could barely do it in the dry with just a pen and a folder to carry. As we filmed, I learned from our guide that during the rainy season the river becomes "fierce", rising in volume and speed. At times people from the village have found human bones and clothes washed down from villages further up stream. Not many of us can say we find such things in our drinking water or experience life or death when getting a drink.

When filming was completed for that day, we faced the long walk back to the car and clean water. Water was much needed, as our long journey back saw us all getting very thirsty. I tried not to talk often in an attempt to maintain moisture inside my body. The whole party was very parched by the time we arrived back at the car where my large water bottle of iced water welcomed us all. I cannot imagine having to walk to a river in the hot sun to collect water, and then wait for it to boil and cool before I could drink it. Yet this journey of my own helped me to experience the reality of many communities in Malawi.

On Wednesday we filmed our main actress. We had hoped to film her during the very early morning just as the sun was rising. To do this we got up at 3 am and began our journey to the village, although as it turned out, even as the sun was rising there was not enough light to get a good picture on camera. Sadly our commitment did not show on the water documentary, but despite the lack of footage, it was a good chance to see the village coming alive- from the burst of flames at various households, to the women, bucket in hand, walking in the early morning grey to collect their first bucket of water. At the river we also saw many of the activities that get preformed besides collecting water, such as washing clothes, cleaning food, washing hair and (much to one ladies enthusiasm for being on camera) other body parts (note: this was not actually filmed, and her privacy was somewhat maintained), all of this just within the same area that women were collecting drinking water.

To get somewhat clean water, women will dig out small holes in the river, creating a kind of well, however as we learned from many people that we interviewed the only way to combat water borne diseases is through a borehole which provides protected and clean water.

Our last day of filming was to collect any shots we had missed. Overall, the filming trip was a big learning experience, and it was amazing to see the difference that a borehole can make. Whenever we interviewed people with a borehole, at the end they would always request a borehole for neighbouring communities who did not have access to one. They saw the difference a borehole made and wanted others to share in it.

Currently, ADRA Malawi is drilling six boreholes, three of which were made possible through the support and donations of the individuals/groups and organisations within Australia. Tsogolo Labwino’s Project Manager Francis Zande says, "we are considered to be heroes by these communities. Instead of the planned three we are now drilling six. This is a great thing!"

To watch the water documentary video go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q71j6YUlMLM and see what a big difference you are making and can continue to make to people in need of clean water.

If you are interested in donating go to:
http://www.adra.org.au/support/donate.htm and donate to Krystle Clear Waters Project (Malawi).

Bicycle Ambulance to the Rescue

2011-06-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

Shadreck Bandawo, Institutional Strength Coordinator, Tsogolo Labwino Project

It was a very hot, sunny midday when I passed a man in his early 70s lying on a roughly made pole stretcher, cushioned only by a thin line of grass. He was being carried to the health center, nearly 30 kilometers away, over the heads of four men who looked tired and hungry.

Patrick Zakaria was the name of the man being carried to the health center. When he fell sick with asthma his community came together and made the stretcher hoping that he would be able to make the long distance in time.

To their great fortune, along the way they passed through one of ADRA Malawi’s impact areas, Namgogoda Kumanga Umodzi (KU) under Group Village Headman Chaseta. When members of the KU saw this group of people struggling with the stretcher they quickly informed their KU leaders of the need. Immediately the Bicycle Ambulance was brought to the group and Mr. Zakaria was transferred from the stretcher to the Bicycle Ambulance.

A sense of relief developed on the faces of the stretcher carriers, the wife of the old man and the other companions. The rest of the journey was a lot easier and quicker and Mr. Zakaria made it to the health care center in good time. To symbolize the end of troubles and as per custom the stretcher was dismantled and broken into pieces.

Early this year the Kumanga Umodzi (KU) group wrote a proposal to ADRA Malawi addressing issues that affected their community, especially sudden sicknesses and long distances to Health Clinics. In their proposal they asked for a Bicycle Ambulance to ease their mode of transport to the nearest health centre situated 15 kilometres away from their village. Thanks to the funding received from ADRA Australia, ADRA Malawi was able to provide this community and 18 other communities with a much needed Bicycle Ambulance.

Patrick Zakaria, from a neighbouring village would not have received the help he required without the support of ADRA Australia and ADRA Malawi. Bicycle Ambulances are a vital form of transport that saves lives.

MACDONALD has a garden

2011-06-24T01:35:00.000-07:00

Story by: Mercy Chakoma, Food Security & Nutrition Officer

Elephants are animals that make most people appreciate nature. However, for Macdonald Nyamayasauka who lives in Mkwatire village, Salima, elephants are what destroyed his crops.

In search of food elephants often wonder into people’s fields, especially during the times when food is scarce in the bush. Unfortunately, some people have even lost their lives to elephants during these “food raids”. It is hard to stop a hungry elephant and this is how Macdonald lost half of his maize crop last season. What he was left with was not enough to feed his wife and three children.

However, all was not lost for Macdonald when he found himself among several beneficiaries receiving cassava cuttings and trainings in improved farming from the Tsogolo Labwino project, funded by AusAid through ADRA Australia.

Macdonald received 2 bundles of cassava that eventually multiplied to 1 acre. To avoid elephant attacks on his field he planted his crops closer to his home in a homestead garden. Later he also received 2 bundles of sweet potato vines of which he planted in the homestead garden as well. After applying all his acquired knowledge and skills, the success of his homestead garden has relieved him from fears that he would not be able to feed his family.

These crops have not only provided food but have also provided him with income. With this extra money he can now buy basic needs such as soap, milling and salt. It was easy to see the joy this has brought him.

In the future Macdonald hopes to expand his garden even at the cost of coming across elephants. He is encouraging his fellow farmers not to give up but to keep trying other means of protecting their fields like making noise and lighting fires to scare the elephants. He also thanks ADRA for their help and wishes the same to extend to other needy people in different areas.

Commemorating World Meteorological day

2011-04-04T05:04:00.000-07:00

Written by: Chikondi Madikiza-Madumuse

The sun was brilliantly bright, pupils in green and white uniforms, women in light blue chitenjes, and more than half of the audience in white T-shirts, each displaying the message, ‘Climate for you ’.

This was the outlook in Mulanje District, Chisitu, where the Department of Meteorology services were being held in celebration of World Meteorological Day which falls on March 23.

This was a day of sensitizing, educating, entertaining and informing the communities in Mulanje about Climate Change. Traditional dances, poetry recitals, songs, drama and speeches depicted the importance of good environmental management and generated enthusiastic support and smiles on the faces of those watching and listening.

Pupils in primary school right up to the District Commissioner, all spoke of the impact of climate change which is currently being felt throughout the country, particularly in Mulanje where recent floods have resulted in the loss of lives and property as well as injury to several people.
In his remarks during the celebrations, the District Commissioner for Malanje, Kris Ngulube said Mulanje is one of the districts that has been heavily affected by climate change resulting in weather pattern changes and floods.

“Deforestation in this area has lead to floods. The mountain is bare, the lower grounds are bare, and there is no way water can infiltrate into the soil”, he said.

Deforestation in Mulanje is fuelled by land challenges, most land is being used for tea and coffee estates, this leaves the community with small pieces of land, and for some the only choice they have is to cut down trees near or on the sidelines of Mt. Mulanje to secure land. As a result of this, the bare land permits fast flowing water to gush from Mt. Mulanje and rivers which surge into floods.

However, the deforestation in Mulanje doesn’t just affect Mulanje. In his remarks Deputy Director for Meteorological Services in Malawi, Mr. Munthali said, “Malawians need to understand that actions in Mulanje not only affect this area but other areas as well.

For instance, if Mulanje does not have vegetation cover, the waters from Mulanje Rivers feed into the Shire river, later the Shire river overflows and you find that people from the Lower Shire are affected by floods every year”.

Youth taking lead action

Another memorable part of the commemoration was the participation of the, youth from Chisitu Primary schools.

Mr Munthali, expressed the importance of their involvement, he said, “If we invest information in the youth today, it will help us mitigate the impact of climate change tomorrow. That is why today we have involved them. As they grow they will grow with knowledge that our own actions can negatively affect climate and this can be catastrophic.

Most of these young people have seen the effects of climate change. Their homes have been carried away and some do not manage to get to school because bridges have been carried away, so it is very real for them.”

One of the youth who was involved in the activities, said young people should start realizing the importance of planting trees.

“If one cuts down one tree, ten trees should be planted to replace that one,” said Chipiliro Longwe.

During the day young people prepared songs, dances, drama, placards and poems to sensitize the communities on the impact of climate change with the aim of inciting community involvement in environmental management.

ADRA Malawi applauded for its efforts in fighting climate change:

ADRA Malawi’s presence at the ceremony through its Project Women Empowerment was greatly appreciated and their efforts in environmental management have helped to further the fight against climate change.

Some of the activities include planting more than 25,000 trees in the Kumponda Village and encouraging communities to use energy saving stoves. These stoves reduce deforestation by only using half the amount of firewood compared to normal firewood stoves. 400 community members have been trained through the ADRA Malawi project, on how to construct and use the stoves.

Furthermore, ADRA Malawi through its Program Action For Social Change (ASC) involved the Meteorological Department in its media program to inform the nation about climate change, its effects and the way forward.

Partnerships for a successful program

2011-03-23T07:16:00.000-07:00

By Elias Banda

The ADRA Action for Social Change Program (ASC) roll out got an overwhelming reception by the District Executive Committees (DECs) of the four selected districts that the program is being implemented in.

DEC meetings were organized in the three districts to sensitize governmental and non- governmental stakeholders on the program approach.

District officials in Machinga, Mulanje and Mzimba echoed the same view that the ASC program was the right approach to bring change in the targeted communities and pledged to support the planned activities. The Lilongwe DEC meeting has been scheduled to take place in April.

During presentations in Machinga and Mulanje, ADRA Malawi Programs Director Michael Usi said the program would use the ADRA media programs to advocate for positive change. These programs known as Zatonse and Tikuferanji will include both radio and television and will be broadcasted with the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation. He challenged DEC members to use the media platforms whenever they have pertinent developmental issues to be advocated for.

Before proceeding with DEC meeting in Mzimba, program staff sought audience with chief Ntwalo Jere III at his Headquarters to brief him about the program. The chief commended ADRA for the program and asked ADRA to scale up its activities in the rural areas.

With funds from Denmark, the nine-year program aims at strengthening a vibrant locally rooted civil society in Malawi which can be a dynamic actor in social, political and economical development process in areas of HIV /AIDS, food security and livelihood. The program will also focus on communication for social change processes, networking and partnership strengthening to bring about social change.

Throughout the program, it is hoped that targeted communities will be empowered through strengthened capacity, to advocate for change within their communities.

Each programmatic theme has its own targets. Under the HIV /AIDS domain, the program seeks to ensure that community based groups (CBGs) are ably engaged in HIV /AIDS activities and have improved ability to represent and express group interest with community, state and private market actors, at least by the end of the program period.

In its’ livelihood activities, the program will engage targeted community groups in sustainable livelihood and food security in order for them to have improved ability to represent group interests and interaction with community, state and private market actors.

Advocacy issues will be presented by targeted communities to relevant stakeholders that they identify, through the use of both local and national media platforms that will include more citizen voices, diverse views and perspectives of the most vulnerable and marginalized.

ADRA Malawi will work to strengthen its ability to effectively play its’ role as a civil society actor both nationally and internationally in order to advocate for the needs and rights of marginalized groups.

Through this program Action for Social Change, ADRA Malawi intends to facilitate the growth of vibrant and active communities who are empowered to pursue development for their community.

ADRA Malawi in tree planting drive

2011-02-16T04:46:00.000-08:00

By Elias Banda

On the 3rd of February 1200 trees were planted by Kumponda Village community in Mulanje at a tree planting ceremony organised by the Women Empowerment Phase 2 (WEP2) project.
The purpose of the event was to raise the awareness of climate change issues and to avert its effects, particularly in the Thanguzi River catchment which has been marred by mass deforestation.

Throughout the ADRA WEP2 Project several communities in Mulanje have been involved in planting trees and discussions on issues of climate change. For this ceremony the project purchased mahogany tree seedlings and collaborated with the Forestry Department for the planting event.

Speaking at the ceremony, Village Head Kumponda stated that 20 years earlier the Thanguzi River bank had, had an abundance of trees, but an increase in human activities have caused the destruction of its natural resources. He said the Thanguzi River is now characterised by deep gullies due to soil erosion and this in turn has affected the surrounding maize fields.

Group Village Head Robeni echoed Kumponda’s remarks and said that the impact of climate change has been tangible and heavily felt, including the reoccurring dry spells.

Earlier in the day, a drama performance challenged the superstitious beliefs of people who believed that the erratic rains were being caused by an act of witchcraft. This belief has often resulted in beatings of people who are accused of possessing powers to prevent the rains. A village chief in another village for example, was threatened with death when a group of people armed with clubs and knives descended on him last year believing that he was responsible for the delayed rains.

Other practices such as chiefs forcing their community members to eat hot chilli powder to bring on rains were also dispelled. Traditional Authority Chikumbu said in an interview that she was shocked to learn of these practices and implored people to learn the true causes and effects of climate change.

Elena Kululanga, the climate change scientist who was present at the function lead the way in addressing such misconceptions saying that climate change was caused by the growing industrialisation in both developed and developing countries. She also stated that industries sending large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere affect rainfall patterns but so too do communities such as the ones around the Thanguzi River. This is because they cut down trees, trees that aid in the absorption of the accumulated carbon in the atmosphere. She advised that communities should adopt methods that could reduce the effects of climate change such as tree planting and using energy saving stoves.

At the function, women demonstrated the use of energy saving stoves as one of the ways to reduce the impact of climate change. According to Thaose Malikita, who has been using the stove since October last year, the cooking device is more effective because it uses few sticks of firewood compared to the three-stone open fires. She said unlike the traditional method of cooking, the stove does not produce smoke and chances of getting smoke related infections are reduced.

Village Head Chilungulo said the adoption of energy saving stoves in her village is high because people have discovered that the new cooking method is faster and versatile. She said that last year her village produced 230 stoves and some have even been sold in the nearby village.
Chilungulo Village was piloted in energy saving stove making under the WEP2 Project in partnership with Mulanje Renewable Energy Agency (MUREA) and lessons learnt have been replicated in nine of the twenty project villages.

Vincent Gondwe, MUREA Program Coordinator for Mulanje and Phalombe districts said the partnership with ADRA Malawi has been fruitful and that communities have benefited tremendously. He said the use of energy saving stoves have changed peoples’ lives in many ways including the reduction of rape cases. He said women were raped while looking for firewood in distant bushes. He said the adoption of the stoves by the community has increased people’s interest to participate in sustainable natural resource management activities.

Women Empowerment Project Manager Andiyesa Mhango said the adoption of energy saving stoves has reduced the time women took to look for firewood. She said the saved time would be used for other meaningful development activities including women participation in development activities.

THINKING GREEN IN NKANDO, MULANJE

2010-12-13T01:14:00.000-08:00

Compiled by: Stanley Mpasa.
District Coordinator.

After years of service delivery, ADRA is now moving towards empowering the communities to strengthen their self sufficiency. The Communities, through the various CBGs, are trained in various areas and access information on a variety of subjects through channels like Community Dialogue Sessions, Theatre for Development and Mass Media. This information opens their eyes to their rights and the issues taking place around them. This makes them better placed to recognize issues that are adversely affecting their daily lives and empower them to look for ways of solving the problems themselves instead of waiting for outside help. They are made aware of the various avenues open to them and how to use them to achieve their goals. This shift in strategy was received with reservations at the beginning but now seems to have taken hold. The people now appreciate the importance of this strategy and are responding positively.

In Nkando, Mulanje, the story is no different. Two Farmers’ Clubs, Tadala and Mulambe, of GVH Muriya, through their discussions, recognized that there was more to the low yields being realized from their fields than met the eye. Their discussions and consultations showed that a big part of the reason was the loss of top soil that was making the fields less fertile. They also realized that merely replacing the fertility through the recommended methods like applying compost manure would not be very effective as the loss of soil would continue. It was, therefore, crucial to address the root cause of the soil loss. They determined that this was caused by the large volumes of rain water that is flowing down through their fields without being controlled as there is very scant vegetation to hold the soil together and to slow down the water. This made them realize that the lasting solution lay in the replacement of the trees that had been cut down so wantonly.

The two Farmers’ Clubs, through the area’s AEDEC and the ADRA CDF approached the area’s Forestry Officer and presented their problem. He agreed to help them raise seedlings using seeds that would be collected locally and also show them how the trees should be planted and how they should be cared for. After the seed collection had started, they realized that the quality was not very good and the ADRA CDF suggested that the ADRA District Office get in touch with Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust, which has experts that deal with the conservation of nature around the mountain, for help. The Trust was approached through the Forestry Office, Mr. Kayembe, who agreed to help despite Nkando being outside their impact area. He agreed to our request to give basic training on nursery management to the farmers and to provide some tree seeds of the types that are suitable for the Nkando area. To our delight, he added that he would also donate some planting tubes and give us more seed than we had asked for.

A meeting with the farmers was organized on 18th August, 2010, inorder to discuss in detail what the farmers’ aims were and how they planned to run both the nurseries and the forests. The farmers explained what they were aiming for and how they planned to achieve it. In the end they were advised on what type of trees they needed to plant and how they can raise them in the nursery. They were also advised that they need to manage the forests through community participation to strengthen the sense of ownership. It was also mentioned that the farmers needed to plant some of the trees, especially those with high medicinal value like moringa, around their homes. Most importantly, the farmers were advised to take farming activities as business where they should always aim to get a return for everything they do. The farmers were also commended for deciding to replace the vegetation in their communities as, apart from solving the erosion and fertility problems, the activity would also help in the fight against climate change. This meeting was attended Juliet Pandwe, Director of Community Social Rights Advocates of Zambia, who was visiting MMCT to learn how her Organisation can help the Zambians replace the vegetation had had been destroyed. A second meeting was arranged 1st September, where a demonstration was held on how to fill the planting tubes with soil and how to plant the seeds correctly as the planting differs according to the type of seed. They were also taught how to take care of the plants during their growth in the nursery.

The seeds were successfully planted and the plants are now ready for planting out in the field as can be seen in the photographs attached. MMCT offered to come again to advise the farmers on how to plant the seedlings out in the field and give them a few tips on field management. It is also very encouraging to see that four nurseries have been established using the seed and planting pots that were donated by MMCT and it is hoped that when planting out is completed, significant areas will be covered.

The people of Muriya are very grateful for the great assistance that has been given and they hope this relationship will continue for a long time to come.

Note: photos for this blog were obtained from the following sites:
photo 1: Moringa plant: http://gbgm-umc.org/health/aidsafrica/photos/moringa.jpg
photo 2: Seedlings: http://www.re-char.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/offset1.jpg
photo 3: Drawing: http://www.kaieteur.uk.com/images/itemImages/Kaieteur-Tree-Planting-Fund-%C2%A35-Gift-Donation-.JPG

Celebrating Bicycle Ambulances

2010-11-28T23:06:00.000-08:00

By Krystle Praestiin

Golden Village in Mulanje has a population of around 3000 people; they live between 15 to 20 kilometers from the nearest District Hospital and recently suffered the loss of three community members because they were unable to get them to the hospital in time. Imagine their excitement when an ADRA vehicle carrying two newly donated Bicycle Ambulances from ADRA Portugal, came to gift them with these potentially life-saving bicycles.

Women, men and children gathered around the Bicycle Ambulances as they were being assembled, excitement and wonder on their faces. The women’s exuberant singing filled the air as they sang songs thanking ADRA Portugal for providing funds to have these two Bicycle Ambulances donated to their village. It was an uplifting experience to be a part of. Each community member, with their broad smiles and joyful dancing now had hope that unnecessary deaths could be prevented with the extra time these Bicycle Ambulances would provide.

To express their gratitude a man with very good English wrote the following letter on behalf of the Golden Village Chief and community members, to thank ADRA Portugal for their donation.

Dear friends of Portugal,
On behalf of Golden Village Citizens I wish to thank all the friends of Portugal who have sent us these two bicycles and trolleys. We were suffering seriously and dying without reaching our nearby hospitals because we were lacking trolleys. So please send our sincere greetings to all friends of Portugal ADRA.
Sincerely Yours,
Chief of Golden Village of Mulanje District

The bicycles were handed over to a Bicycle Ambulance management and maintenance committee of 10 people. On the committee was the brother of a man who had recently died from measles because he was unable to get to the hospital in time. This brother is the Vice Chairman of the group and together with his fellow committee members is committed to maintain and manage these bicycles to the best of their abilities. The committee has already set up procedures for managing the Bicycle Ambulances, deciding to charge each community member a fee of 10 kwacha a month (less than $1 US), this money will then be used to make repairs to the bicycles. Log books of when and by whom the bicycle is used will be kept to ensure that the bicycle is used appropriately and is not damaged. The treasurer and another member of the committee will be in charge of keeping the Bicycle Ambulances while they are not being used.

Thanks to the donation of ADRA Portugal, ADRA Malawi was able to provide a very valuable resource to the people of Golden Village, a resource that will help save lives. The donations of ADRA Portugal will also see the provision of eight more Bicycle Ambulances to other villages under the Women Empowerment Project2 (WEP2) which is funded by Sida, through ADRA Sweden.

District commissioner hails ADRA study on sunflower

2010-11-26T12:59:00.000-08:00

By Sangwani Mwafulirwa

The District Commissioner for Mulanje, Mr Jack Ngulube has commended ADRA Malawi for a successful study of the value chain of sunflowers. He said the results will help to put in place proper mechanisms to help famers get more income for their work.

Speaking during a value chain study dissemination workshop, held in the district on November 12, 2010, the district commissioner said sunflowers were one of the crops identified in the district development plan which needed to be promoted.

“You have presented a very realistic picture to us. Our programming will be realistic because we will have a real picture of the potential benefits of adding value to sunflowers. Let me thank you for the study as it will contribute to the development of our district,” he said.

The district commissioner said value chain adding was the only way that could improve income for farmers, most of whom are growing on a small holder scale.

“We are glad that the study was done in Mulanje. The District development plan also looked at ways to improve income for farmers, and sunflower is one of the crops to be promoted,” he explained.

He said the challenge was how to assist farmers to change their mindset of using traditional methods of farming to adopt new ones that can help them adopt new techniques that will help produce optimal yields even without increasing the acreage.

The meeting was attended by various stakeholders in the sunflower industry in Mulanje including: the ministry of agriculture, Bvumbwe Research Station, Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC), farmer associations, agro-dealers, farmers and other NGOs.

Also in attendance were journalists from the national public broadcaster, Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (both television and radio), the biggest private national radio station, Zodiak Broadcasting Station, Blantyre Newspapers and Nation Publications.

In her remarks during opening of the workshop, Project Manager for Resilience and Capacity Building for HIV/Aids Households (RECAB), Mrs Thoko Mwapasa said ADRA Malawi did a rapid analysis of the cash crops in the district that they wanted to develop.

“We settled for sunflower because of the opportunity it offers as a cash crop of generating employment and improving the income of farmers,” she said.

She also added that the stakeholders workshop was organized not only to disseminate the results of the study but to also create a platform where all players in the value chain come together to discuss and map out a way forward in addressing the key issues in the value chain in order to develop the industry. She urged participants to look at this as an opportunity to work closer together and form innovative partnerships that will develop the subsector and attract investors into Mulanje district as well as into the sunflower production industry as a whole of the economic growth and development of the country.

Presenting the findings, lead consultant, Tonderai Manoto said sunflower was of strategic importance as it was taking advantage of existing labour and other value-adding initiatives by National Association of Smallholder Farmers (NASFAM) and One Village One Product (OVOP).
According to him there was potential to increase average harvest from the current 500kg per hectare to 2500kg if farmers were encouraged to use dressed seed which is already available from Chitedze and Bvumbwe Research Stations unlike recycling.

“We can increase harvest without increasing acreage by using treated seeds but the problem is that farmers think seeds from the shop are expensive unlike recycled seeds which they just pick anywhere for free.

“Farmers are foregoing a lot of income by recycling seeds. We can achieve high yields by reworking the husbandry practices for the smallholder farmers,” he said.

Manoto also said there was an opportunity to realise more income for farmers by adding value to the sunflower whereby they would extract cooking oil by themselves and then use the residue to make seed cakes which can also be sold.

“There is a big urban market for cooking oil which we cannot satisfy. There are so many imported brands in the shops with very high prices. If farmers get organized they can extract their own cooking oil from sunflowers and sell them easily because a market already exists,” he explained.

In his contribution during plenary, Crops Officer for Mulanje District under the Ministry of Agriculture, Wilfred Ugeni said the cost of the production of sunflowers was lower than other cash crops but what was lacking was that policy makers have not given it much attention as with other cash crops like tobacco and cotton.

He said extension workers have a responsibility to educate the farmers about the potential income that could be realised from sunflowers, to support them in getting organized and to help them identify good markets for their harvest.

ADRA Malawi is implementing the RECAB project in partnership with ADRA Denmark with financial support from DANIDA. The aim of the project is to improve resilience ad capacity among vulnerable and poor household affected by HIV/AIDS through improved food availability and income, improved health and increased knowledge and learning capacity for communities to take charge of community development.

Full report of the study can be provided upon request by writing to info@adramw.org

The Start of a New Decade

2010-11-22T05:23:00.000-08:00

By Sangwani Mwafulirwa

With the support of ADRA Malawi under its Women Empowerment project, the women group of Village Headwoman Chilingulo in T/A Chikumbu in Mulanje conducted a double celebration. It was a celebration of Mother’s Day and International Rural Women’s Day which has coincided with the launch of the African Women’s Decade in Kenya. Led by T/A Chikumbu, the women outlined what they wanted to achieve in their area of environmental conservation, education, gender equality and women empowerment.

According to the Group Village Headwoman Chilingulo, some children have been facing challenges to attain secondary education let alone tertiary training because their parents or guardians were too poor to afford school fees and their upkeep.

She said this has contributed to early marriages amongst girls who find nothing to do after completion of primary school education which is free. As for boys, they go and work in tea plantations in an attempt to make ends meet.

To avert this, the village head said they have set up a special fund that will help all needy children who have been selected to government secondary school so that they do not fail to pursue their studies because of the two usual challenges; school fees, examination fees and uniform.

“Even those that will go to tertiary schools will be supported. We are very much interested in having nurses from our areas and we will make sure that by 2020 there are five nurses from this area working at the hospital,” she explained.

To achieve all this, each family will be contributing money or harvest, to be sold and the money will be administered by a committee. According to the village head, so far the households have already contributed a gallon of pigeon peas for selling.

The Chilungulo head has also taken a stern stance against early marriages by imposing a ban. Any parent who will consent to early marriage will be summoned to her court where if guilty, will be fined a goat and the child be sent back to school.

On women empowerment, they plan to engage in income generating activities whose proceeds will be saved in a village savings group.

“We want to have easy access to capital other than rely on micro-lending institutions whose conditions sometimes leave us poorer than before. We will borrow amongst ourselves at flexible conditions and low interest,” she explained during the launch.

To conserve the environment, the women will have already planted a nursery of natural tree seedlings which they will plant in uncultivated areas and also a village managed forest so that they get firewood easily.

The village head said women will also be encouraged to attend adult literacy classes so that by 2020 no one will need to use a thumb when voting or signing after receiving a subsidised fertiliser coupon.

Supporting her junior’s initiatives, T/A Chikumbu urged men in the area to support the women by providing them space to work and participate. She said she will see to it that some traditional practices that perpetuate gender inequality and hinder women participation in development work are abolished.

Under its WEP project, ADRA Malawi is working with women in the area to empower them to be economically independent through engaging them in income generating activities and by teaching them about their rights and how best to claim them.

It is through the training and support provided by ADRA Malawi in the WEP 2 project (Funded by ADRA Sweden), that women’s groups like this one have been able to mobilise themselves to initiate development initiatives within their own communities. It is inspiring to see women taking actions that will have a positive and lasting impact for women, girls, men and boys, for today and into the future.

When water means life

2010-10-18T05:41:00.000-07:00

Story by: Sangwani Mwafulirwa

If water is life then he who gives water gives life. Since creation no form of life has existed without water, from human beings to the smallest of all living creatures, their existence depends on having access to water. Yet access to water will mean something very different for someone who gets water at the turn of a tap at home compared to someone like Chrisy Kilowe from Luwanja Village in Mulanje.

Chrisy has spent her 40-year life in Luwanja Village and the biggest challenge for her has been collecting water. Everyday she treks two kilometres to the neighbouring village where she draws water from an unprotected shallow well. A task which presents several dangers, dangers Chrisy is well aware of, having almost lost her unborn daughter of six months to diarrhoea last year.
However, Chrisy Kilowe is not alone. Her whole community faces many of the same challenges. The rainy season is particularly hard because all the mud and filth from uphill washes into the well. Households with no money to buy water treating chemicals have no option but to do their best with the dirty water, which poses severe health risks.

Thankfully, these problems will now be the tale of the past because an organisation, Water for All, has come to the rescue of the people by sinking a borehole in the village.

Water for All is an organisation founded by Atlas Copco employees in Sweden. Their aim is to provide clean and potable water to drought-prone areas of the world by drilling and digging water boreholes.

Water for All came to know of the problems in Luwanja Village through ADRA which has been implementing a three-year Women Empowerment Project (WEP) in the area.
According to WEP manager, Andiyesa Mhango the project was teaching people in the area about entrepreneurship, Rights Based Approaches and nutrition. Access to water has become another pressing issue for the project, because most women are being affected by limited access to clean and drinkable water.

“Water is a crucial component to women empowerment. Challenges of fetching water are robbing women of their vital time, time they could spend towards development of their communities and households.

“That is why we approached Water for All through ADRA Sweden. [Thanks to their support] we will be drilling in two more villages where they are facing the same problems,” says Mrs Mhango.
For women in particular, a borehole reduces the long journeys needed to collect water, journeys that start at 3 am every morning and that must be walked six times a day. It means that now women and their families do not get sick from diahorrea and other water borne diseases. A borehole gives communities more time and improved health to work on activities that develop their households and community.

The borehole for Luwanja village was handed over on Friday October 1, 2010 at a function which was attended by the Traditional Authority Chikumbu. She expressed her gratitude to Water for All and emphasised the need for communities to make bigger efforts towards improving the hygiene and sanitation around their homes, for example through the construction of pit latrines. These steps combined with clean water will make a greater impact on people’s health.

The Senior Environmental Health Officer for Mulanje Mr. Issac Jumma, stated that “only six out of 1o households in the village had sanitary facilities, which poses a huge threat to communities, especially through the coming rainy season.”

The crowd cheered in acceptance of this message, showing their commitment to improving the health and sanitation of their community. Already, as by requirement, the village has set up a water source committee to manage and maintain the borehole. The committee is responsible for collecting monthly contributions from the community to put towards the maintenance fund. A fence has also been constructed around the borehole to keep domestic animals away and people are being urged to guard the water source, to prevent theft of vital parts from the borehole.

In conclusion, the people’s joy and happiness could not be hidden. Their songs expressed it while their dancing demonstrated it. The event was a celebration of the gift of life provided to Village Luwanja, by Water for All, Sweden.

Rwanda, Malawi ADRA staff hone skills in capacity building

2010-10-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

What is an organisation? This is the question that set the tone for the one-week training workshop on capacity building and strategy development organised for Adventist Development and Development Agency (ADRA) staff at Sport View Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda.

The training, which ran from 20 to 25th September, 2010, drew participants from ADRA Rwanda and Malawi offices and was organised with an aim of equipping the staff with skills and knowledge on how they can help communities attain their development needs and aspirations. The workshop was possible due to the DANIDA support received through ADRA Denmark.
Facilitated by a consultant from Uganda, Kwiri Topher, participants, who were mainly programme staff, were taken through the process of understanding organisations, needs and gaps identifications, development of capacity building plans.
According to Topher, capacity programmes could be effective and achieve better results, if implementers understood the behaviour and mechanics of organisational development. Like human beings, he said, organisations have stages in their development cycle.
“organisations like human beings are born, do grow, become old and die, get born again or resurrect. In some cases they even become child parents. If you know the stage the organisation is at a time, it will be easy to identify the capacity gaps you need to fill,” he said.
According to the facilitator, some rush into implementing capacity programmes basing on what they perceive could be the capacity gaps of the community-based groups but there is need to follow a process that is participatory and systematic in identifying the needs.
If an organisation is in its infancy stage capacity needs will be more as it needs extra support to grow. If matured it can help others and when its ageing it will need to be supported also. If you understand these stages then you can easily identify the needed capacity needs, he said.
Apart from understanding of organisations, the training covered developing of capacity building plans, capacity building strategy development, framework for strategy development and formulating action plans.
The meeting also provided an opportunity where the two countries could share experiences and knowledge, challenges and successes on capacity building activities they have had with community-based groups.
Emma Jakobo, manager for Lets Fight Aids in Malawi (LEFAM) project presented on what has been done to build capacity of community-based groups which ADRA Malawi has been working with under the project and also activities done in preparation for implementation of the Action for Social Change programme.
She said some of the activities ADRA Malawi had already accomplished included training of groups in advocacy and communication for social change. This will prepare them to be part of a vibrant civil society that will be able to engage with stakeholders and duty bearers in order to achieve their development aspirations.
Patrick Mphaka, programme manager for Action for Social Change programme in Rwanda presented on the country’s experience on capacity building initiatives with local communities. He also highlighted some of the capacity gaps identified during a baseline survey done in September 2010.
On the third day, participants split into two groups and visited two districts where in rural setting of Rwanda to put into practice what they learnt in the workshop. It was quite an exciting moment meandering through the hills in Rwanda, beautifully carpeted by tea plantains.
The scenery was no different to the tea plantations of Malawi and it was no surprise that the experiences from the meetings gave the Malawi participants a nostalgic experience of the interactions with communities back home.
There was evident enthusiasm and commitment of the communities to develop their area and attain better living standards. Warm welcome for visitors and, were it not for the rains, one women group of women comprising wives of soldiers, police officers and prisoners, had organised traditional dances in Karongi, a district west of Rwanda.
Gender equality was in practice, women participated equally and eloquently in the discussions and decisions makings. The groups visited included school management committees, parents and teachers associations and women income generating groups.
The field visits affirmed the assertion that capacity building is more than just providing training and material resources. Sometimes one just needs to provide information, linkages. The women group in Karongi was weaving baskets but did not know where to sell them.
Back to the workshop in Kigali participants developed draft capacity-building plans and strategies on how they could address the problems identified from the field trips.
Commenting about the workshop, Agness Ingabire, a communication facilitator with ADRA Rwanda, said it was an eye-opener to her because of the systematic approach used to identify the capacity gaps and come up with interventions to address the.
“The mix of classroom and field visits has given me a new experience to deal with the problems in the community. Sometimes we jump steps and come up with interventions that do not address the real issues and the challenges persist. The communities we visited have the same problem as in my duty station, this has been my practical experience and I will directly apply to this knowledge to my work,” she said.
In his closing remarks, country director for ADRA Rwanda thanked the participants for availing themselves and urged them to put into practice what they had learnt because that was the ultimate goal of the workshop.
It is important to understand that God has a purpose with your work. Your work in fulfilling God’s purpose in your life will be complete with the information given here, he said.

Author: Sangwani MWAFULIRWA, Advocacy Officer - ADRA Malawi

Bicycle Ambulance peddle to the rescue

2010-10-04T07:16:00.000-07:00

Story by: Andiyesa Mahango
Complied and Edited by Krystle Praestiin

People in Golden village will not forget the grief that struck the village on the 28th of August 2010 due to the death of Musano Gata aged 30 from measles.

That evening, upon hearing of Ms. Gata’s worsening illness her relatives ran up and down the streets of Golden Village searching for transport to the District Hospital, located 17 kilometers away from her home. Their efforts found that the community’s bicycle ambulance, which also serves four neighboring villages, was in Kadewere Village, four kilometers away. Their solution was to construct an improvised stretcher made from bamboo and walk the distance to the hospital. On the journey to the hospital however, Ms Gata’s condition deteriorated rapidly and before she made it to the hospital she died.

Ms Gata’s story is a heartbreaking reality for many people living in communities situated long distances from health facilities that do not have a readily available form of transport like and ambulance bicycle.

ADRA Malawi with the support of private donors who have donated to the ADRA International gift catalogue, “Bicycle Ambulances for Malawi,” are working together to provide communities with this much needed form of transport. The Bicycle Ambulance project will enable selected communities to have a permanent means of transportation for sick and injured people that need access to health facilities.

In Zambia, the Bicycle Ambulance project implemented in 2009 was found to increase access to health facilities significantly. 86% of trips to health facilities on Bicycle Ambulances were found to be lifesaving.

Currently, ADRA Malawi has only been able to obtain 36 bicycle ambulances. This means we still need 50 more bicycles to reach our target of 90. So we need your help, to achieve this goal and together we can contribute to saving the lives of many community members by increasing a person’s timely access to health facilities.

Go to http://giftcatalog.adra.org/search/gift_search/malawi to support this project.

note: photo obtained from http://www.treehugger.com/namibia-bicycle-ambulance.jpg - it is an example of the type of bicycle ambulances that will be used here in Malawi.

Irrigating towards a better life

2010-10-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

Story by: David Nyirongo
Compiled and Edited by: Krystle Praestiin

A new irrigation system provided by ADRA Malawi in June has brought hope to the Gangitsa/Chikwita Farmers Club in Tchenga village.

In August 2009, a group of seven farmers, four women and three men, all above the age of 35 joined together to start farming maize. They decided to use irrigation farming as this would produce higher harvest yields. However, since they did not own their own irrigation equipment the group needed to borrow a treadle pump and delivery pump from other farmers. The cost for hiring this equipment each day amounted to 200 kwacha ($1.30 USD). A price that may not sound great to some people, but when you are living in poverty and trying to break free from it, this is a great price to pay every day.

Their drive to provide for their families and to move out of their poverty led them to ADRA Malawi. Through the ADRA Denmark supported project RECAB, the group was assisted with one treadle pump, one sprayer and 100 grams of onion seed.

‘We used to borrow a treadle pump, delivery pipe and spraying machine at a cost, but thanks to ADRA Malawi, RECAB project, we are now no longer borrowing these equipments’, said Grace Davide, who is the chairperson for the group.

Today, if you were to visit this group you would find a lady or a man vigorously stepping up and down on their new treadle pump (the latest and most useful exercise machine to hit the market). The treadle pump is connected to a long plastic tube which winds its way past river, shrub and rock before it reaches the lush green fields of maize and onions that are daily nourished with water.

ADRA Malawi is also contributing to the group’s development by providing capacity building in modern irrigation technologies. One member from the group has been trained in modern irrigation technologies such as canalization, correct plant spacing and management of crops. This group member is then responsible for training the other group members.

The group has developed a plot of 0.2 hectares and with this crop they are determined to move away from being “hunger families,” to being “food secured families”. So far the group has been able to provide enough food for their families through the adoption of this new equipment and knowledge that ADRA Malawi has given with them.

Each individual has even developed their own kitchen gardens for their homes and some members belong to a newly formed Producer Group Enterprise (PGE) which is assisting the group to develop their farming into a business. Two members from the group were sent to Lilongwe and Blantyre to source potential markets for their produce.

This story is an example of the empowerment and hope ADRA Malawi strives to achieve through the sharing of knowledge and the provision of vital equipment to give a group of committed individuals a kick start in achieving their development.

TOT Refresher Training Meeting

2010-09-01T01:43:00.000-07:00

May 27th, 2010 final day of a three day meeting

Author: Krystle Praestiin

It was the final day of the refresher training course for Trainers of Trainers (TOTs). 28 TOTs were participating in the refresher trainings and it was evident from the moment I walked into the room that each TOT was eager to refresh their knowledge and skills in HIV/AIDS counseling.

TOTs are appointed as leaders who are then responsible for training counselors within their local areas. The majority of TOTs are key religious leaders both Adventist and Non-Adventist, health professionals, teachers or other influential community leaders. Each year they are expected to train a minimum of 10 HIV/AIDS volunteer counselors, these counselors will then provide pre and post-HIV/AIDS test counseling, which includes teaching people about nutrition and providing referrals that link people with the health and social services they need.

Throughout the course of the meetings I got a chance to speak with some of the TOTs. It was rewarding to learn from them how important being a TOT was for themselves, their families and their communities.

Ethel Madondolo, as been a TOT for two years previously she had just been working as a counselor. In the past two years she has trained 20 volunteer counselors in Blantyre. She told me that she has enjoyed learning new skills and knowledge about counseling, nutrition and Human Rights. All that she has learnt has also benefited her children as she is able to communicate to them information about HIV/AIDS and the importance of being safe in today’s society. Ethel says that the biggest impact she has made to her community has been to teach them about nutrition and how to use local products that can be easily obtained such as beans, peanuts and locally grown vegetables. Those who have listened to what she says have started making positive changes to improve their health and better their lives.

Abdulrahaman Sadat Kika Gama was another TOT that I spoke to. He has been a trainer since 2007 in the District of Phalombe and up until now he has trained 30 volunteer counselors. One of the best parts about being a TOT for him was interacting with and training counselors, as well as interacting with various Community Based Organisations (CBOs) and NGOs (Non-Government Organisations). The information that he has learnt, like Ethel, has helped him in the “administration of his family,” as he tries to teach them about the right ways to go. His training and knowledge has also helped him teach his students about HIV/AIDS, as he is a teacher by profession.

Abdulrahaman, together with a team of people was even involved in coordinating a self-funded HIV/AIDS campaign in Phalombe. The members of TOTIC each contributed their own funds, raising a total of KW 9,580, which was used to independently run the event that was held on the 19th of May 2010. The purpose of the campaign was to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and to promote HIV/AIDS counseling and testing. On the day they offered HIV testing and counseling to 73 clients- 56 were women and 17 were men out of whom, 5 were found to be HIV positive: 1 man and 4 women. This is a great example of what can happen when people are empowered with skills and knowledge.

The topics of yesterday’s meeting focused on community participation, self-awareness, and stress management and the theology of the suffering and HIV/AIDS and how it relates to the church.

The most inspiring part of the meetings for everyone, not just me, was the presentation on HIV/AIDS and the church. Pastor Petersen Kamanga passionately encouraged TOTs most of whom were church leaders, to show love and compassion to members in the church and people outside the church that have been infected/affect by HIV/AIDS. He expressed the point that no longer can church leaders pretend that church members are immune to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, in fact in Malawi 20% of the Seventh-day Adventist congregation are HIV positive. Giving the example of Jesus healing a leper, he stated that we must represent Jesus Christ, who never withdrew from people in need of His healing, love and compassion. It is therefore, our duty to love and support people with HIV/AIDS and if we are busy fulfilling this duty there will be no time to judge or condemn others.

It was a successful three day refresher training course and each TOT left feeling even more inspired and equipped to train the next 10 volunteer counselors.

The rain slept on the roofs

2010-08-19T05:28:00.000-07:00

Author: Michael Usi

For what one would call literal translation of my vernacular Chichewa , I would say ‘the rain slept on the roofs’ .It rained throughout the night and the following morning I was on a trip with Mrs. Thoko Mwapasa, Project Manager for RECAB (Resilience and Capacity Building) to Lisungwi, one of the project catchment areas. We started off in the rains to the site.

The field visit was aimed at assessing the crop situation in the drought stricken villages, monitoring the progress of the PD Hearth approach of restoring and maintain body weights of the under five children, to learn more on the ADRA/Government and World Vision Task Force for the Looming Hunger and appraising the Savings and Loan Committees.

On the way and more when we got to Lisungwi, the manager decided that we also should look at the progress of the Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) Activity.

I was impressed with the enthusiasm and fact based evidence of the progress of the initiatives. It was also apparent by just driving around that 2010 will be a very bad year for maize harvest in this area.

It was however heart fulfilling seeing in reality what I read in project reports unfolding. It was like watching a movie after reading a script.

Now a special moment arrived! The project manager started quizzing the FAL class students on spellings. The old ages and looks of the students were enough evidence t o believe that they would not pass the spelling quiz that Thoko had just planned. I was not very sure how the mood would be if they kept failing the spelling quiz. One by one they spelled their names right. It was r abe ka (Rabecca), then ro zi b e Ke ne si ( Rozibe Kenesi). I was impressed and wished Thoko had stopped the quiz at least to end on a good note. Then it was the turn of a lady with shy and timid looks. As if that was not enough, she had the longest name to spell. I wished she had a shorter name at least for this quizz! Immediately my primary standard 2 school time parachuted in my mind. I remembered how my teacher Mrs Damalekani spoiled my day.

It all started with us on the front seats being asked to spell when, what, which, where. My turn had not come till my time came.They all did well and enjoyed hand clapping. I was ready to spell why since that was the only word remaining on the list that was supposed to be memorised. To my surprise, my teacher asked me to spell under!!!! Everybody in the class sympathised with me. I looked at the teacher and do not remember to have been seeing her. I was in my own world. She repeated as if she knew that I thought she had made a mistake for indeed that is what I thought. ‘Spell under’. I just had to confirm my failure by spelling it out.

Now goes Asiyazawo to the blackboard. Beaming with confidence, she picked the piece of chalk, looked at nobody and went writing Asiyazawo. She stopped when she finished writing the name. As she walked back to her seat, everybody was either laughing, smiling, looking, shaking heads or admiring Asiyazawo. She did it. Coincidentally her name means ‘not minding your business’. I did mind her business of capability to spell her long name. She was toast of the day and indeed of the visit!

The women cited need to read the bible and sing church hymnals as main motivation for interest in FAL classes. I was impresses! Indeed where there is a will there is a way! Greetings to Asiyazawo and the class!

Functional Adult Literacy Education brings joy

2010-07-07T05:21:00.000-07:00

..... Woman promoted after attending adult education

Author: Andiyesa Mhango
Women Empowerment Project Phase 2 (WEP2), ADRA Sweden, Sida

One of the most memorable moments in life for 27 year old Elena Benala, was when she was promoted at her work place, NASFAM, (an association for small holder farmers, Mulanje Branch) from a Warehouse Grader to Instructor. Elena is one of the many girls here in Mulanje, who did not have a chance to attend school due to poverty. However, once she started attending the functional adult literacy program in her village, initiated by Women Empowerment Project in 2008, her competencies were easily noticed. Her employer in particular could see Elena’s growing interest learning how to read and write. This brought on her promotion from paprika grader to instructor.
The changes in her life became so radical when her reading and writing skills combined well with her job and thus she was recommended to the company management by her supervisor, Alex Tembani for a promotion. Mr Tembani said he was surprised one day when instead of using her thumb to sign on the payment voucher, Elena could now sign her name with a pen. He also said that the grading job does not require any formal qualifications while being an instructor requires some basics such reading, counting and writing.
Her new position means that instead of grading crops, she is now responsible for instructing others and verifying the packaging of seeds. Though her salary is confidential, Elena said she is now earning enough to help feed her twin children and send them to school.
The promotion of Elena has ignited hopes among young women to enrol with adult literacy program. Elena is now proud to mention that Women Empowerment Project has contributed to the quality of her life through the adult literacy program in her village of Sitolo.

Above Left: Elena displaying writing skill in front of her kitchen and opposite is the NASFAM Warehouse where she works.

When voices speak out, change takes place.

2010-07-07T05:08:00.000-07:00

Author: Belinda Chimombo – Creative Assistant for LEFAM Bridge Project, ADRA Denmark, DANIDA

When we agreed to address the issue of alcohol abuse on our weekly radio program, Zatonse, little did we know the effects and impact it would bring. Zatonse is a weekly interactive advocacy program which is aired on Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) radio once every Sunday. This program discusses issues pertaining to health, human rights, food security, nutrition, gender and women empowerment, capacity building, water and sanitation and other relevant issues affecting the nation.

For some time the media and nation at large have been discussing the issue of alcohol abuse which is largely affecting our young people. Some media reports have indicated that several youth have died due to alcohol abuse, while others experience severe stomach swelling and the vomiting up of blood. The main reason for the severity of the alcohol problem is that, the alcohol sold in 30ml sachets are readily available and very cheap to buy, some only costing MK 10.00, which is less than 1 US dollar.

ADRA Malawi, concerned by the impact of alcohol abuse particularly by young people, dared to address the hazardous consequences of alcohol abuse. However, before airing the debate, we addressed the issue to relevant stakeholders such as: the Trade and Industry Ministry, the Malawi Bureau of Standards, the Consumer Association of Malawi, our City Assembly, the Ministry of Health (through the central hospitals), youth and members of the community who we felt had a role to play in discussing this issue and coming up with possible solutions.

For three weeks in June ADRA Malawi discussed and debated this issue on radio, focusing particularly on spirit sachets which have flooded the country and cheaply in public places or unauthorized places for selling alcoholic drinks, enticing even children to have easy access to them.

The first week we received feed back from our listeners, and conducted focus group discussion with the youth and community members, on how they felt about the issue and what they thought could be done.

In the second week we engaged a Medical Doctor and a delegate from Consumer Association of Malawi (CAMA). The Medical Doctor sensitized the listeners on the effects of excessive alcohol consumption, especially concerning spirits, which has a higher alcohol percentage. The representative of CAMA spoke about the role they play in guarding consumer rights.

Much as we had tried to involve these stakeholders in our second program, one pertinent stakeholder, the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) refused to be involved, even though many listeners indicated that the MBS should be considered responsible for the flooding of the sachets into Malawi. This is because they are in charge of qualifying the quality and standards of any product in Malawi.
Although the MBS had refused to take part in the second program, pressure was mounting on them and after the second radio program, news broke that they had closed one of the unregistered manufactures. After testing, the Malawi Bureau of Standards had discovered that the manufacturing company had been using ethanol, a product of petrol or mentholated spirits, not ideal for human consumption. This was a very positive outcome for ADRA Malawi and the nation.

Apart from the closure of the factory, ADRA Malawi also noticed that key stakeholders were starting to treat this issue with greater interest. Actions initiated as a result of their interest include, the public sensitization of consumer and producer rights, both on radio and television and parliamentary discussions on the passing of a law to force punishment on those that are producing and selling these alcoholic beverages to minors. If it is passed the law will also make it illegal for minors to consume alcohol and for unlicensed places to be selling alcohol.

ADRA Malawi became the initiator of change. This success acts as an encouragement to everyone that when voices speak out, change will take place.

ADRA Malawi participates in Enditnow Campaign ... End violence against women and girls

2010-05-26T05:56:00.000-07:00

Author: Chikondi Madumuse & Krystle Praestiin

Event: EnditNow, Mulumulu Mission Campus, Muapasa, Chiolo District

Violence against women is an issue that if traced, could span the time of history. Due to their vulnerability women and girls have been the main victims of gender based violence. It wears many masks, often silent but always merciless and in some circumstances condoned and taken as part of life.

With this in mind, the Seventh Day Adventist church through its department of Women Ministries and Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) set up a campaign to end this malpractice titled, “EnditNow”. Together with the South Malawi Field Offices and ADRA Malawi, an afternoon campaign was organised on the Malamulo Mission Campus; one of the oldest and biggest sites of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Malawi. The site contains a Hospital, Nursing school, Health Science School, Secondary School, Primary Schools and Publishing house among others.

In Malawi Dorcas women are known for their hospitality and helping the needy, and on this day the Dorcas women took charge. Unified chants accompanied the group of marching women as they descended from a small hill onto the football field, the stage of the campaign. Some women held placards with messages like: “Stop Violence against Children and Women”, “Say No to Violence and Abuse” and “Adventist Women Say No to Violence”. These messages were also reflected in their chants.

Following their march several speakers began dispelling misconceptions about violence against women. They spoke with determination and conviction that Violence against women must end. Pastor Lubani, of Malamulo Mission stated that as followers of Jesus Christ we need to base our arguments against violence towards women on the Bible. He said that “man and woman were created equal and should complement each other.” He quoted from Genesis 2 verse 18 “The Lord said, ‘It is not good for man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him,” and stated that this verse has been misinterpreted because the verse does not undermine women but rather puts women at an equal level to man. It also states that women are vital in helping a man to execute his duties properly.

Echoing this message was the representative from the Ministry of Women and Gender. She stated that gender based violence negates the performance of women and girls, socially, economically and even spiritually. And that gender based violence has not spared church goers. Abusers and those abused are still in the church.

To conclude the speeches a representative from ADRA, Andiyesa Mhango, project manger for the Women Empowerment project in Mulanje, illustrated the various initiatives that have been implemented to curb gender based violence and explained that despite these interventions incidences are still high in Malawi. This can be easily seen just by following media outlets like the radio and newspapers. The issue of gender violence is therefore, a very real and very big problem that also affects members of the church. “It’s high time we take a stand to end violence in Malawi,” said Mhango.

The campaign to enditnow was an opportunity for the Seventh-day Adventist Church and ADRA Malawi to publicly take a stand against gender violence and to express God’s compassion and concern for victims of violence. The finale of the campaign was the signing of a petition that will be sent to the United Nations. The petition represents a commitment to ending violence. Those who signed the petition on the day were declaring their commitment to do what they can to end violence and to speak against it.

It is the aim of the Seventh-day Adventist church to obtain at least 1,000,000 signatures on their enditnow petition. It is their way of showing that Adventists have taken a stand to fight one of the greatest evils of our time and to enhance the livelihoods of women and children around the world.

ADRA Malawi has made a commitment to draw people to sign the petition as one way of voicing out its stand against gender violence. In signing the petition we are joining hands with people all around the world, to uphold love and respect amongst every human being regardless of gender.

Show your commitment to stamping out violence against women and girls by signing the enditnow petition. Visit http://www.enditnow.org/ to sign the petition and to join hands with people around the world who are committed to ending gender violence.

However, don’t just stop there do what you can to put your commitment into action- speak to your neighbours about it, be aware of anyone who may be abused and support them or donate to ADRA projects that work to put an end to gender violence.

Total Recall from dependancy

2010-05-19T07:33:00.000-07:00

Author: Mercy Chakoma (Food security & Nutrition Officer)

Tsogolo Labwino Project funded by AUSAID through ADRA Australia (Salima District, Malawi)

Sometimes life begins at 40. At least this is what Metrina Mkumpha agrees to be true, she feels like a fresh college graduate, as finally, at the age of 49 she is able to handle her own money and run a small business, thanks to the support she received from the Tsogolo Labwino project’s Village Savings and Loans initiative.

Before her introduction to the Savings and Loans group Metrina Mkumpha as per tradition, hoped to become a respect elder in her village after spending 30 years in marriage. During this time she had become fully reliant on her husbands provision for basic house hold needs and the needs of their 8 children. She had no concept of one day playing the role of household head for her family.

Metrina could smell the sweetness of good fortune with the many children she had born. However, roses started to mix with thorns when her husband developed a drinking problem and later married another woman from a nearby village. Her husband spent most of the time with his new wife, leaving her alone and with little to no assistance, she couldn’t even get help from her children who had all married and moved to distant villages.

Hard times forced Metrina to learn how to participate in group activities. She joined women in a neighboring village who were assisting each other through round robin, fortnight contributions for two members at a time. With this arrangement she received K3,000 after two months, in a group of 10 women. Although this provided some welcomed relief she had to wait for long periods of time before the benefits could be realized.

When the Tsogolo Labwino project introduced the Savings and Loans initiative to the Chisangalalo women’s group, Metrina promptly joined. Upon joining the group Metrina was elected the groups chairperson. To ensure her total commitment she quit the first group, as per the requirements of the Savings and Loans group constitution.

Within three months of her time in the Savings and Loans group Metrina has bought K2000 in shares which has entitled her access to loans. Metrina says that the current initiative allows her to save whilst having regular access to loans when needed. If the amount for the loan is not enough, she will get back her shares with interest after 12 months which is double the benefit from the previous single saving group.

Already she has borrowed three loans. The first two loans Metrina used to start up a baking business before changing to tomato vending in April. The reason for her change was because she realized that the baking business did not attract many customers in the harvesting season as people have a wide variety of food to eat such as, cassava, sweet potato and green maize.

Metrina expects to buy more shares in the coming months through her business. She also dreams of roofing her house with corrugated iron sheets one day. She is very sure to achieve this dream because as chairperson of this savings and loans group and also a committee member of Kumanga Umodzi committee she has to be exemplary.

Metrina encourages all women to work hard, including women who have husbands because from her personal experience she saw the struggle that comes from trying to earn a living for one self when the man is no longer around. She has also found that men sometimes are more motivated to stay with women who contribute financially to their family other than just through household chores.

Have you guessed the conclusion to her ordeal?

The husband wants to come back home and is often found pestering their marriage counselors to reconcile them because he can now see Metrina’s potential in contributing to their household.

Metrina Mkumpha (in white blouse) selling tomatoes at her home stead.

Tsogolo Labwino (Towards a Brighter Future)

2010-05-13T07:04:00.000-07:00

Author: Krystle Praestiin

A cool breeze caresses my face as I sit under a clump of mature mango trees, listening to the rhythmic beating of African drums and women’s feet as they dance around the drummers, chanting songs that reflect the joy that comes from the lessons and activities that ADRA Malawi has been involving them in. Even the babies can’t escape the celebrations, strapped firmly to their mother’s backs their heads bop to the sway of their mother’s dancing. I laugh as the tiniest of babies sleeps soundly on its mothers back as she bounces up and down, seemingly unaware of the significance of today’s event, yet inadvertently, actively involved. It is truly a community event; even the chickens have come to the open day of the Tsogolo Labwino project (funded by AusAid through ADRA Australia), in the small village of Mndola in the Salima District.

The purpose of the open day is for the community to show case the project's community driven activities to the members of the community, village leaders, government officials and other interested NGOs, through songs, dramas, speeches and demonstrations under the theme “Extension that Works with Partnerships can Make a Difference”.

By far the most interesting part of this open day has been walking around the village to see the demonstrations of various activities, that ADRA trained leaders from groups called Kumanga Umodzi (Building Togetherness) have been involved in. Activities displayed included: homestead gardening, manure making, water point management, and food preservation, food processing techniques (e.g. alternative uses of Soya beans), Saving & Loans groups (S&L), Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) mobile clinic for HIV and Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) classes. At each station one of the Kumanga Umodzi leaders would explain what they had been taught and the process they had been trained in to, for example, make their garden or their manure, this was followed by a question and answer time for spectators who wished for more information about various aspects of the activities.

Even though I could not understand what was being said as they were all speaking Chichewa (seriously need to start learning this language), I could understand the smiles and the gleam of pride in their eyes. For these Kumanga Umodzi leaders each activity represents an opportunity for a better more empowered life, not just for them but for their families and their community as a whole. The gardens represent a more sustainable source of food, the food processing techniques represent a chance to improve their diets and to start a small business to support their family, and the Functional Adult Literacy classes represent greater choices and opportunities in a life that once offered only one.

When I spoke with the VCT mobile clinic volunteer (34 year old Mr Amon Chimphepo, father of four children and also an ADRA community facilitator for the village) he said that because of the readily available tests and information being presented to them people have learnt the importance of knowing their HIV/AIDS status. It is in the knowing that they can start receiving Anti Retroviral (ARV) treatments; treatments that help them live longer and healthier lives, lives that can save their children from being orphaned. However, he laments that despite people coming for voluntary testing and counseling they have a problem in accessing Anti Retroviral drugs which are found at the government hospital 30 km from the village. This impedes many people who do not have the energy to travel the distance every month to acquire the much sought after medication. Mr Chimphepo was trained by a government run project called Management Science for Health together with a lady assistant and was provided with a testing kit for the community. ADRA's role has been to encouraged him to reach out to as many house holds in the community through the provision of a push bike and diverse skills in leadership and group management. Since the project began in July 2009, he has tested more than 300 people for HIV/AIDS and today he tested 4 more people. He is very proud of the role he plays in the development of his community and so grateful for the encouragement that ADRA has given him to provide this much needed service.

Today, I saw what hope looks like and I saw how important it is to empower communities with knowledge and opportunities to create for themselves a better future. Seeing the activities and speaking with the people was so uplifting and encouraging. It is great to know what I am a part of and if I had not been too shy, I would have joined the dancing circle and celebrated with them.

Note the ff:

FAL- Functional Adult Literacy

S&L- Savings and Loans

KU- Kumanga Umodzi (Building Togetherness)

VCT – Voluntary Counseling and Testing

Second anniversary of ADRA Malawi Today

2010-05-07T01:11:00.000-07:00

May 6, marks the second anniversary of ADRA Malawi Today. During the two years of existence, www.adramalawi.blogspot.com published 101 stories, and had, on average, over 5 different visitors a day in a total of 3748 visitors during the 24 months.
During the last year, the top 5 countries reading ADRA Malawi Today where: United States of America (528), Malawi (415), United Kingdom (169), Australia (85), and South Africa (81); during the last 12 months, 105 different countries were recorded as visitors of ADRA Malawi Today.
We have received contributions from several members of staff from ADRA Malawi and our visiting partners, providing their impressions of the day to day of ADRA Malawi’s work at the community level.
Zikomo Kwambiri (thank you very much in Chichewa) for your interest.

District Executive Committee (DEC) meeting in Mzuzu

2010-04-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

By: Emma Jakobo - Project Manager

ADRA Malawi is re-establishing activities with the northern part of the country, working with the city assembly as a partner. Working with new approaches in its implementation process and as CS which is a new concept in development the initial stage to win the would be partners’ confidence is a well understood presentation on what is intended to be done so that advocacy and partnership is achieved.
It is for this cause that a DEC meeting was planned and organised for stakeholders to be briefed on ADRA Malawi’s intentions for the City Assembly. Communication and advocacy are the core activities of the project in the region using Communication For Social Change (CFSC) approach followed by some capacity building and service delivery to a lesser extent as the project tries to strengthen the capacity of targeted CBGs/CBOs, including strengthened platforms, to act as CS actors dealing with HIV/AIDS, food security and sustainable livelihood related issues.
The executive committee members welcomed the project and pledged maximum support to the planned activities asking for continued collaboration at each stage of the project. The Chief executive expressed gratitude to the organization and said people thought the organization (ADRA Malawi) is for the southern region since it is more established there, but now that it has thought of coming here, the misconceptions which people had for whatever reasons will be easily disputed. He cited to the members the fruitful meetings on two occasions which he had with the directors of ADRA Malawi as the proper channel of entry to a district unlike how some other NGOs do. He said when an NGO starts going to communities before approaching the authorities at the assembly, the end result is duplication of efforts and at times conflicts among different organizations, and it is problematic for the Assembly to come in and resolve the conflicts which is always a setback in development.
Another area which sparked a contentious discussion is that of advocacy versus service delivery. By the look of things people will still take some time to understand the approach because the feeling is like people are too poor to advocate for their issues of concern and that NGOs would rather provide services than facilitate advocacy initiatives. The meeting helped to clarify some concepts which go along with advocacy, for instance strengthening partnership for CBGs to be linked to relevant duty bearers; sensitizing and orienting communities and their CBGs on CFSC approach which empowers communities to do their own diagnosis, identify possible solutions by local and national initiatives whenever necessary. ADRA will assist in the provision of a platform for Community generated voices to be heard by the duty bearers who can be legislators, policy makers and /or any other service provider.
In his annotations the acting District AIDS Coordinator commented that there are indeed a lot of CBGs in the communities but they lack capacity to go about with their duties and responsibilities. The idea of working with already existing structures is the best approach and what these groups need is capacity building for them to know and be able to carry out what they are supposed to as a CS.

Partnership is a key approach to any development effort and this is the closing message which was passed across to all stakeholders by ADRA Malawi for cost effectiveness.

Cassava Cuttings restore HOPE

2010-04-26T04:19:00.000-07:00

As Tsogolo Labwino project is still in its first year, it is endeavoring in ensuring the decrease of household food insecurity. The project through its institutional trainings, equipped local leaders with skills of community mobilization and needs assessment that led to proactive ness in soliciting problems and solutions.

Tasizio Juvinala 83years old has no children but is able bodied such that he does all field activities alone. He migrated from his home village Mtakataka in Dedza district to settle in Mkwatire village in Salima district, the home of his wife following traditional demands.

Tasizio prepares his two acre farm earlier in the season ready for the first rains. This year, it never rained but poured for him when the area had experienced dry spell and with the poor soils in his farm, maize crop did not germinate well. He was hope less. Later he attended a community meeting convened by the Village Development Committee (VDC) in the area to collect communal suggestions on alternatives to the situation. Upon assessment his farm was among the drought affected fields.

The VDC and community agreed on looking for drought resistant crops such as sweet potato vines and cassava cuttings. When the request for assistance was presented to Tsogolo Labwino project, cassava cuttings were considered for its multipurpose consumption use of making flour, eating raw and cooking the tubers. Tasizio was one of cassava cuttings beneficiary hence he cleared some part of his field and also uprooted stunted maize plants to have enough plot for the cassava.

He was lucky because the same day he planted the 2 bundles of the cuttings on 0.15 acre, the area received heavy rainfall which boosted the crop establishment. Now he is still clearing additional piece of land to plant some more cuttings and says he will regenerarte planting materials from the first plants.

Tasizio expects to have problems in acquiring maize as it is staple food in the area but says he will be supplementing with the cassava because the variety matures in 6-8months.He is encouraging his fellow farmers to take care of their fields because despite his old age, his field is outstanding due to his hard work. He thanks the project for good gesture when he had no hope, he narrates that the dry spell left many people what would befall them later in the season.

Author: Mercy Chakoma (ADRA Malawi – Tsogolo Labwino Project)

Pict 1 - Tasizio on site training on ADRA's cassava cuttings and how to get the best out of it.

Pict 2 - Tasizio's failed maize crop field.

First time Malawi

2010-04-21T23:24:00.000-07:00

Tentatively I stepped off the plane and onto Blantyre Airport’s melting hot tarmac. It was a very surreal experience, if I closed my eyes I could just as well be back at home, and maybe if I opened them again that’s exactly where I would be, in Australia, in my bed dreaming. However, this was not a dream, it was very real. I paused, briefly reflecting on the possible adventures to come, even though I had no concept of what they would be.

My placement in Mulanje district turned out to be just that- an unimagined adventure, and the next thing I knew I was speeding along the motor way to spend a month in beautiful Mulanje; the home of lusciously green tea plantations and the majestic Mulanje Mountain that towers over the district like a Chief on his high Chief’s chair.

The purpose of my placement in Mulanje was to experience the day-to-day functions of an ADRA project, in particular the Women Empowerment Project, phase 2 (WEP2), funded by SIDA through ADRA Sweden. It was on this project that I saw first hand the vital need for water and the joyful excitement that comes with the installation of a water pump.

Upon arrival at my first African village, I was greeted by the loud humming of a big yellow drill twisting its way into the earth and the gushing of water as it burst out triumphantly from its freshly drilled hole. A crowd of excited women and children formed around the site smiling and chattering happily with each other. While others just stood in silent awe as the coolness of run away water droplets landed on their faces. It would still take some time for the water to come out clean but even now, in its brown muddy state, it represented a life changing

hope for each villager.

Before the borehole, women and young girls would awaken to the darkness of early morning at around three or four am and walk for 30 minutes of more to their nearest source of water, which in many cases is unclean- the culprit of water-borne diseases. This ritual of collecting water is performed more than five times a day. Imagine taking four hours or more just to have enough water to drink, bathe in, cook with and perform other household duties like washing up.

Having close access to clean drinking water is vital for the development of a community. It prevents sickness that takes people away from work or school and it gives women for example, more time to be involved in Income Generating Activities (IGAs) or Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) classes.

One of the women I spoke to exclaimed excitedly that this new borehole would make such an improvement to her life by reducing the amount of time spent fetching water, so much so that she wished I could arrange for a borehole to be built right near her home. If only it was that easy.

My time in these villages taught me to see with different eyes the true value of water and the key role it plays in improving the lives of communities.

Author: Krystle Praestiin

Importance of Partnerships in Decentralized Governance.

2010-04-20T01:52:00.000-07:00

Author: Francis Zande, ADRA Malawi Tsogolo Labwino Project Manager.

Intro

This is a lesson sharing and reflection initiative coming from a program experience in ADRA Malawi projects of SAFARI(Southern Africa Food Security and Aids Response Initiative) and LICEN(Local Initiative For Community Empowerment) in Ntcheu district and Tsogolo Labwino project in Salima district with funding from ADRA Austaralia. Each of the three projects has used an approach that works with the grass root below the last level of decentralized structure at village level. This approach has been called Kumanga Umodzi (building togetherness) and it has brought together a few villages to identify and address a number of development activities in their area. This has also helped ADRA to easily work with communities at small cluster levels and bring a deeper understanding of the need to work in groups and or partnerships.

Are these institutions important

The model that ADRA Malawi has used at village has ensured participation of many clustered community members and getting involved in development activities. This has ensured some significant representation of community members at various levels of development plans. The Kumanga Umodzi institution has consolidated the decentralized structures in such a way that most defunct Village Development Committees have awaken up from slumber and are held accountable for non performance.

The trickling up effect

Tsogolo Labwino Project in Salima is enjoying some sweet partnerships with different stakeholders ranging from government departments, NGOs, CBOs and Networks. ADRA is currently chairing the Salima Civil Society Forum ( a composition of about 20 civil society organizations) barely 6 months of opening an office in Salima. ADRA is also in the steering committee on Disaster Preparedness in the district. This is because of its keen interest to work in partnerships and share lessons and experiences. ADRA(as chair) has also lobbied Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET) to start a capacity building program for organizations in the Salima Civil Society Forum in the areas of food security.

Currently ADRA through Tsogolo Labwino Project is involved in a People in Planning program (PiP) involving three NGOs i.e CARE, CONCERN UNIVERSAL and ADRA that aims at documenting best procedures for engaging grass root institutions that fall below the decentralized in communities. Already this is cementing effective collaboration among different NGOs in sharing experiences and lessons.

All this effort in making effective partnerships is a way of creating a conducive environment for grass root institutions to take a leading role in decision making that will help nurturing good governance at local level.

Conclusion

The key to achieve the partnerships that ensure promotion of accountability and good governance is for key players in the facilitation process(government institutions, NGOs, CBOs, Networks e.t.c) to come together and understand each other before engaging the grass root level.

In the photo: Partner NGO's CARE, ADRA,CONCERN UNIVERSAL on a People in Planning Decentralization sharing workshop in Salima.

M'biza Community Based Support to orphans

2010-04-16T02:24:00.000-07:00

One of the major activities of the LEFAM Project was to establish an Income Generating Activity for the Community in several communities where the Project was implementing its activities. This initiative would generate the funds required to support the other interventions like Home Based Care (HBC) and Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) care.

Since these are very much vulnerable , it was determined that the HBC Clients and OVCs would need material items like food, clothes, soap, drugs, school uniforms and other needs once in a while. But at the same time it was also determined that ADRA could not provide these items all the time as the Project had a time frame and the budget would not allow it. The IGA would, therefore, generate the funds that would be used to procure these needed items even beyond the Project time. This would empower the Community to support the needy.

At M’biza, the community chose egg production as thier business and they were provided with 200 chickens which started laying eggs at the end of December, 2009.

The Committee that is running the IGA was initially supported by ADRA which provided the required feeds and other materials. This support was withdrawn in January and the Committee has since been using funds generated from the sale of the eggs to support its operations.

At the end of March, 2010, the Committee decided to make a start in fulfilling its obligations of, among other things, supporting the needy. They agreed to start with orphans and they bought 3 bags of maize which was shared among 12 orphans from 5 villages of Sulumba, Misuli, Chakuuma, Chipwaila and M’biza. Each received 12.5 kgs which, although not lasting too long, gave an indication of things to come as the business progresses.

It is very exciting to see Community Based Organizations that formally partnered with ADRA being able to stand on it’s on and fulfilling their mission to contribute to the development of their community.

Reported by: Stanley Mpasa, District Coordinator, Mulanje.

Attending Literacy classes

2010-04-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

For most followers of this blog reading and writing is a given in life; however in Malawi, official estimates point to over 4.6 Million people out of 13 M that do not have the ability to read and write. From those, the vast majority reside in the rural areas and way over half are women.

In a recent visit to one of our projects in the district of Mulanje, I was able to participate in one of the Functional Adult Literacy classes that ADRA promotes. It was a special moment to see women that had spent their life asking someone else to read or write for them stand and proudly write their name, read a text, or demonstrate their numeracy skills. From the several conversations with the persons attending the Literacy class, it was clear that knowing how to read had increased these women’s self esteem and exposed them to new opportunities to engage in small business partnerships. To support this new interest and development initiative ADRA has trained these groups on how to establish a Village Savings and Loans Fund, functioning entirely with the group contributions and management. These funds are set up to allow these women to access a loan or to have the money they invest earn interest.

ADRA Malawi is providing access to literacy classes to 1000 people per year in Mulanje, specially targeting women, and has similar literacy programs in two other districts (Neno and Salima).

ADRA Malawi has reached with development and relief activities over 160.000 people in 2009 and is an active member of the ADRA worldwide network present in over 120 countries.

Author: Emanuel da Costa

Making Women Empowerment Projects Succeed

2010-03-11T01:56:00.000-08:00

The purpose of this paper is to briefly present the success factors of the Women Empowerment Project implemented by the Adventist Development Relief Agency in Mulanje, District, Malawi.

Factors that have been critical to project performance and achievement

1. Involvement of the men and leaders One of the strategies in the project was to involve the men and the village heads. Without their participation it would not have been possible to achieve the results. The men have transferred skills to the women like leadership skills and maintenance of boreholes. In so doing, some of gender barriers that have manifested in household chores and community activities have been broken.

2. Communication within the project The communication has been of a high quality between the field staff, the field office, the ADRA office in Blantyre and ADRA Sweden. The consequence has been that the project works in conformity with the application guidelines and procedures.

3. Linkages to stakeholders The project has built and strengthened the linkages between the local communities and different change agents (such as the police, hospitals, human rights organizations). This has enabled the communities to learn more about their rights but also use the rights when violated. This approach also ensures sustainability of the interventions.

4. Service and Human Rights The project has had a clear rights base approach, at the same time, it has had a clear service delivery approach. The two quite opposite approaches have worked together to deliver a better result they would have done individually. Even though water and goat rearing have been the starting point the training in gender and human rights has been a central part of the project. Without the service activities it would not have been possible to engage the communities in a similar way. The conclusion is that you can not only talk about rights without doing anything, you have to work as well with the practical problems people cope with.

5. Innovations by the communities

The communities are exploring their own ways of economically empowering themselves by getting organized through Village Savings and Loans. This is the fund which is built by the communities themselves through savings and members access the funds periodically. The project has brought hope and aspiration for the future.

Women Empowerment Project started 2007 in Malawi with the aim of facilitating women empowerment through promotion of their rights, improvement in health status and implementation of self supporting income generating initiatives. The project targets poor vulnerable women. Main activities include: Trainings in Gender and Human Rights, Health, Water and Sanitation, Adult literacy, Home gardening and compost manure making, Provision of portable water and Goat rearing.

This paper is based on a discussion held on 2009-10-30 between Andiyesa Mhango from Adventist Development Relief Agency in Malawi and Claes Johan Alexandersson and Mikael Wiking both Swedish Mission Council.

Author: Claes Johan Alexandersson (Swedish Mission Council)

How a Mill Can Send a Child to School

2010-02-19T02:09:00.001-08:00

Life is easier in this community,” says Luka Khuliwa, community chairman. “We are learning that every small change makes life easier.” Malawi is a country where families grow their own food using simple hand tools. Driving through the south of the country, you will not see tractors or even oxen-pulled ploughs working the fields. All work is done by hand, and mostly by women. Maize is the food of choice. Without maize at a meal, most individuals feel that they have not eaten. While ADRA agricultural projects in the country encourage the growing of tomatoes, cassava, pigeon peas, soybeans, and sweet potatoes, most everyone grows maize. Hand milling, or pounding the maize by hand, is an energy intensive and time-consuming daily activity. Done by women and girls, this keeps them from other needed activities. It even keeps girls from attending school. “There was a maize mill near our community; however, it was a long, long walk, and to go there meant you did nothing else that day,” states Irene. “Those who were lucky enough to have a bicycle could ride there with their maize in two hours. My family did not go often.”

The Mphonde community is in the Phalombe district of Malawi. In this remote area along the Mozambique border, villagers struggle hard simply to exist. ADRA is working in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), distributing commodities and creating food assets here, including the building of large fishponds and poultry production. It was clear that building a maize mill in this community would further alleviate the extreme poverty. A community maize mill would not only free up individuals’ time, but it would also allow them to spend less funds on getting maize ground. It would create a small community industry with jobs, and it would provide a small stream of income for the community.

The community council identified a parcel of land along the dirt road and voted that this would be the property for the maize mill. With ADRA donating the building materials, the community built the mill building out of brick and concrete. ADRA donated the diesel-run machinery and trained three individuals on the operation and maintenance of the mill itself. The mill operator and his assistant are grateful for the income that working at the mill provides.

The mill is open five days a week, and the community has assigned each family a day and time to come to the mill each week. This scheduling means that no one has to wait in long lines, and everyone has a chance to have their maize ground into flour. “We usually see 25 people a day, and they come in groups of five,” says Bonwell, one of the mill operators. “By scheduling people in groups, I do not have to keep starting and stopping the mill. We save on diesel this way.”

The community pays the mill operators 2,000 kwacha (US$14) a month. After three years in operation, the community has 70,000 kwacha in the bank. “We are using the interest in the account to send the orphans in our community to school,” Luka Khuliwa proudly exclaims. “Without this money, they would not be able to receive an education. Thank you, ADRA, for helping us provide for every child!”

Click bellow to access ADRA's International Website and the original location of this article:

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ADRA International

ADRA/NAPHAM training People Living with HIV/AIDS Support Group

2010-02-15T02:18:00.001-08:00

Thandizo Lathu CBO is a community based organization in Maonga group village head, T/A Kalonga in Salima district. This group started in 2004 at a Methodist Free Church in the area through dialogue sessions with the community on the impact of HIV and Aids in families and evolved to become a CBO focusing on positive living with HIV/AIDS. The CBO was established in 2008 and registered with the district social welfare office.

Thandizo Lathu CBO operates in 4 villages and has 5 key components namely of People Living with HIV/AIDS support group (PLWHA), Home based Care group, Youth club, Community Based Child Care and Orphan Care.

In November 2009 the CBO wrote a proposal to National Aids Commission of Malawi through the District Social Welfare Office in Salima to train some of its members on Positive Living.

The next hurdle was to find facilitators for the workshop and the district social welfare office identified and approached NAPHAM (National Association for People Living with HIV and Aids in Malawi) and ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency in Malawi) to provide the training since the CBO was in their impact area and also due to the nature of nutrition activities ADRA was doing in the area.

ADRA and NAPHAM went on to facilitate the training in areas of Concepts of positive living, Anti Retroviral Therapy adherence, stress management, food processing and utilization, home gardening, IGA activity concepts (savings and loans) and group dynamics. This was done week beginning 8^th February, 2010.

During this training the facilitators and the CBO noted some issues that affect people living with HIV/AIDS such as distance travelled to the nearest clinic to access ARVs from the village was very long (25km) and this has made many patients to give up treatment early. The other was unavailability of bicycle ambulance for the community to carry patients to hospital. One bicycle ambulance costs around $500.

Other notable issues were lack of reliable IGAs other than piece work in crop fields and lack of access to nutritious foods such as soya meal. The CBO lamented that many of its members fail to attend meetings because they are always out looking for piece work

At the end of the training ADRA through Tsogolo Labwino project pledged to support the group with savings and loans training once they get organized. ADRA has also provided the group with 10 kg of soy seed which they have planted in a communal garden.

Thandizo Lathu CBO has expressed gratitude to ADRA and NAPHAM for the skills imparted to them. ADRA Tsogolo Labwino Project is equally happy with the recognition it is getting from other government institutions on its capacity to provide trainings to the grass root as it changes the world one life at a time.

By Francis Zande (Tsogolo Labwino Project Manager)

Water in Mulanje - Southern Malawi

2010-02-11T23:25:00.000-08:00

The people of Mgumera and Mbwana, an area with over 7,000 people, have for a long time been having problems to access water. This problem has lead to use of unsafe water from streams and ponds and to high rates of water born diseases in the area. After assessing the situation, ADRA Malawi with funding from DANIDA through a project called Resilience and Capacity Building has drilled two deep wells costing $20,000.

Although the two deep wells are still not sufficient for resolving the water problem, it contributed greatly to improve the living conditions in the area, according to the Group Village Head, people especially women and girls were spending most of time fetching water which is far away. He thanked ADRA for providing water which is life.

The community dancing in celebrating the water when the pumps were installed during the water point training that was conducted by ADRA and line ministries

Author: Winston Chilonga,Water Coordinator,ADRA,Malawi

Baking

2010-01-29T01:41:00.001-08:00

Supported by WFP, ADRA Malawi identified and trained, a total of 150 people, in baking, in the last year in the Phalombe district. A total of 17 bakery shelters with 23 ovens have been constructed in 13 GVH. On their part beneficiaries provided some locally available construction materials such as sand for plastering, flooring, and labor such as collection of bricks and sourced funds to pay for the builders.

The bakeries are managed by a community committee, and the profit realized by the bakeries is supporting in average 24 orphans or vulnerable children, per bakery and within the community.

The ADRA Country Director, Emanuel da Costa comments: "These interventions allow us to avoid short term solutions, empowering communities to respond to the needs they identify in their communities. We are thankful for the partnership we have established with these community elected committees, not only in Phalombe district, but through out the country."

Partially based on Project report from: Hastings Lacha Project manager

Goat Rearing (Pass on strategy)

2010-01-26T22:31:00.000-08:00

As, United Nations - World Food Program funded, Sustainable Livelihood Intervention, in the Phalombe District, is coming to an end, it is now time to look at what has been achieved and learned. One of the successfully implemented interventions was the Goat Rearing - Pass on strategy.

ADRA employed a pass-on strategy in order to improve goat production, and increase household income, from goat sales by providing targeted vulnerable households with hybrid goats. A total of 300 households beneficiaries were reached under this activity, upon producing offspring the parent stock would be passed on to next beneficiary after a period of 4 months reaching another 300 households.

To date a total of 22 goats have been passed on to 10 additional villages. As the project is winding up, there are 168 pregnant goats and 114 new kids have been produced by 105 goats (refer to appendix 1: tables showing goat reproduction and beneficiary list)

20 groups comprising of 15 beneficiary households were formed and trained in the initial stages of the project to manage the pass on project. The idea behind the pass-on strategy was that in each circle, several members would be given initial inputs and as they start generating returns, they would pass these on to other circle members so that after a period, the whole group will have benefited. Once all original circle members have benefited they would be encouraged to pass-on to other HIV/AIDS targeted villages to generate new circles. The circle members would discuss the criteria to be used in identifying initial members to benefit from the initial inputs.

At GVH level, a project committee was put in place to manage the project activities with the support from government extension workers, CBOs and VDCs.
The Ministry of Agriculture extension workers and the District Social Welfare Office in collaboration with ADRA Malawi trained the targeted households in leadership, business management and group management skills.

The first group of beneficiaries is keeping the goats together with the off springs (kids) waiting for them to reach a stage when they can survive independently. The second group of beneficiaries is preparing the kraals for the goats to be passed on to them.

Based on final report prepared by: Hastings Lacha - Project Manager.

Chisitu ushered in a lot more than just a new year

2010-01-12T00:23:00.000-08:00

The beginning of January, 2010, at Chisitu ushered in a lot more than just a new year; it saw the birth of the site’s first calf which was born on 2nd January. Chisitu is one of the many locations in Mulanje District, Southern part of Malawi, where ADRA Malawi is implementing one of its projects fighting against HIV/AIDS. As part of community empowerment especially for households infected and affected with HIV/AIDS, the project distributed grants in kind for Income Generating Activities (IGA). In Mulanje the community choose milk production which has seen the birth of a calf there of. This perfect start to the year was made sweeter by the fact that the calf is a female and is very healthy. Out of the two cows, the remaining one should be giving birth before the end of the month if all goes well.

A sample of the milk was sent to the selling point five days after the birth of the calf for assessment and it has been found to be of acceptable quality. This means that milking and selling starts on 10th January. As the project draws to an end, January end, the early birth of the calf, just before the end, will give the office a chance to assess production levels and have an idea of expected performance.

It was very encouraging to see how enthusiastic the Committee is and how the whole Community is taking part in the care of the animals when I visited the khola yesterday. The community is really keen to see the project succeed and, hopefully, there may be a second khola put up by this time next year!

Reported by: Stanley Mpasa, District Coordinator.

Bicycle Ambulances - for a different new year

2009-12-22T23:15:00.000-08:00

As the festive season is drawing near, there are a lot of gift sharing among relatives and friends. But for some communities that ADRA is working with, the present presented to them beats all the gifts received during the festive season. It is an all time present.

Transporting patients has always been a hustle to most communities, bearing in mind the long distance to a health centre, the scorching sun and rainfall in summer. The act of giving these communities bicycles has assured so many community members that they will have access to health services. The amazing part of this whole endeavor is that in most of the communities where the bicycle ambulances were donated, the community members did not have any means of transport for patients; there are no ambulances in these remote areas. In this regard most communities feel that this gift will not only help in transporting patients but has brought hope and assurance that they will have access to health services.

Expressing his joy one of the community members who received the bicycle ambulance on behalf of the community in Chiradzulu, Oscar Limani, said his community admired other communities who had the bicycle ambulance. However, he said that now that ADRA has given them their own bicycle ambulance, the community will be helped knowing that there are a lot of people who fail to go the hospital because of transport problems. Looking at the bicycle ambulances, Limani reiterate that ambulances are comfortable for patients and durable for the road conditions in the rural areas.

In absentia Traditional Authority Ntcheme appreciated the efforts made by ADRA and its partners. He said communities can only develop if health services are accessible to all in the communities. He said there have been a lot of incidences where people die unnecessarily because they were not able to get to the hospital or clinic in good time or sometimes not even being able to travel due to transportation challenges.

So far the fourteen bicycles will reach out to 140 villages in the Central and Southern parts of Malawi. More of the bicycles ambulances are expected and if all goes according to plan this will a life changing endeavor because most patients will have access to treatment from health centers.

The bicycle ambulances were donated by individuals and corporations through ADRA Denmark. If you want to join the pledge to provide 100 bicycle ambulances to the most vulnerable communities in Malawi, contact the ADRA office in your Country specifying that the donation is for this intended purpose, or give online in the ADRA International Website by following the link: Donate now.

Authored by Chikondi Madikiza-Madumuse, Communications and Advocacy Officer

Campaign against gender based violence - World Human Rights Day in Mulanje District

2009-12-14T02:22:00.000-08:00

“Commit, act and demand together we can end gender based violence” this was the highlighted theme for this year to conclude a sixteen -day global campaign against gender based violence. The campaign ended on Thursday, December 10 2009.

In Mulanje, activities marking the event took place at Chisitu Primary School Ground attracting over twenty village communities including those targeted by the Women Empowerment Project. The event was graced by drama, speeches, poems, testimonies, songs and dances. All of them highlighted the theme with appealing messages that violence of any form is an evil act and must be stopped.
Earlier in the day, village communities staged a big walk, covering about two kilometers. The procession carried banners and waved placards while singing, telling the world that gender based violence should be stopped.
Speaking at the function, the Guest of Honour, Mr Gideon Mothisa from Ministry of Labour thanked ADRA for championing the campaign and urged stakeholders to take a gallant fight against violence.
Mr Michael Usi, ADRA Programs Director commended all participants and stakeholders for the united effort towards curbing gender based violence and stressed that ADRA would be committed to collaborate with all partners to reduce incidences of violence.
Mulanje Police Station Officer, Mr Bwela said that though gender based violent cases are reducing, there is need for more community awareness as cases come in different shapes and sizes. He said that Mulanje Police through the victim support unit has helped to promote awareness and settling domestic squabbles.
Speaking earlier, WEP Project Manager, Andiyesa Mhango said the event was in line with the project objective to empower women and build their capacity through promotion of information sharing, promotion of male participation as partners in development and advocate for change when human rights are violated.

Author: Andiyesa Mhango

Hope and Courage in dealing with AIDS in Rural Malawi

2009-12-04T00:21:00.000-08:00

Authored by Chikondi Madikiza-Madumuse during World AIDS Day in Mulanje

For many people the World AIDS Day brings hope and courage. They realize that the world recognizes the effects of this pandemic. In the recent years discrimination and stigmatization of those with HIV has decreased and AIDS though a dangerous disease, is seen as something that can be managed.
In 2004 the Mapira family (Mr and Mrs) were found HIV positive, it was tough for them because during this time the husband was bed ridden. They visited different traditional herbalist who gave them different concoctions and in some cases were told he had been bewitched. They also spent so much money during this time, trying to get help.But one day a counselor visited the area, he visited this household. He advised the family to go for an HIV test. It was a hard decision for the man but he had to do it because he was very ill. After being found HIV positive the Mapira family decided to declare their HIV status. At first people were backbiting about their status, but later the community realized that the two were living a better life.
Now five years down the line the couple is self-dependant, they are living a healthy and a happy life, they accepted and are managing their condition after taking heed of counsel. The couple says instead of looking at ARVs as a burden, they take them as their every day ‘drink’ in doing so they take them with much ease knowing that they can live a longer life and see their children grow into responsible citizens. They encouraged those who have not yet tested to go for testing and for those who need ARVs not to be afraid to start on treatment.

Celebrating World Aids Day in Mulanje - Southern Malawi

As the world celebrated World AIDS Day this family sets an example for people, to share their experience and assisting others to go for testing and deal with their status.
During the celebrations in Mulanje different denominations came together to declare to the community and district that it takes everybody’s effort in the fight against HIV/AIDS, no one can manage on their own.

Letter from the field - World AIDS Day

2009-12-03T03:46:00.000-08:00

Hello All
1st December was World Aids Day. Here in Salima the commemoration took place in one of our impact areas for Tsogolo Labwino Project in T/A Kambwiri at Lungumadzi primary school.
The theme was Universal Access and Human Rights - Accessing HIV and AIDS services is my right.
The function was graced by the District Commissioner, Mr Gift Rapozo, T/A Kambwiri, members of the clergy from different denominations, business men, NGOs and District Assembly staff.
It all started at 9.00 a.m with a big walk for about one kilometer before assembling at the school play ground.
Activities included: Prayers, songs, drama, traditional dances, recitals, sharing of experiences on positive living and speeches from selected guests.
NGOs that contributed in the activities included: Salima Aids Support Organisation (SASO), Family Health International (FHI), Social Islamic
Development (SID) and ADRA Malawi.
Tsogolo Labwino project through Chiungwe Kumanga Umodzi of Gvh Ndola performed a 15 minute play on the need to let women take lead in HIV/AIDS programs in their villages through participation in different development forums.
In his speech the district commissioner commended the efforts being taken by different development players in the district for different roles they are taking in combating the disease.
The only drawback in the function this year was the fuel scarcity which affected the preparations of the function.

Thanks and all the best
--
Francis M.T. Zande
Project Manager
Tsogolo Labwino Project
ADRA Malawi

On World AIDS Day, ADRA Works to Curb Pandemic

2009-12-01T23:19:00.000-08:00

Global ADRA Network press release on World AIDS day, highlights interventions in Malawi, read bellow for full article or access it on www.adra.org.

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SILVER SPRING, Md. —The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is working to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS globally through targeted projects that promote behavior change, increase education, and improve the quality of life of those living with the virus, the agency reports.

“Around the world, ADRA offers HIV preventative education programs, HIV/AIDS testing, and counseling services to reduce the impact of AIDS on individuals and families,” said Charles Sandefur, president of ADRA International. “Through these efforts, ADRA expresses its call to biblical social responsibility and considers it a vital task to help eradicate this terrible disease.”

In Papua New Guinea, which has the highest incidence of HIV in the Pacific region, ADRA is running an HIV/AIDS counseling and testing center in Lae, the country’s second largest city. The ADRA Family Support and Community Information Center encourages communities to practice responsible sex. It also acts as a resource center, offering books and audiovisual materials that educate youth, the most affected segment of the population, on topics including HIV and AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and reproductive health.

“Our goal is to educate people so that they make informed decisions on risky behavioral practices,” said Harvey Kitoria, director for the ADRA Family Support and Community Information Center.

ADRA Papua New Guinea also provides HIV/AIDS awareness programs in business and academic institutions, conducts confidential mobile testing, voluntary counseling, and home-based care visits to support and help minimize the stigma and discrimination many HIV-affected families face within their communities.

In Malawi, where the number of people living with HIV and AIDS is estimated to be 930,000, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), ADRA is implementing several programs that not only raise awareness about HIV and AIDS prevention, but also meet the needs of families affected by the virus.

One such program is Let’s Fight AIDS in Malawi, or LEFAM, which works to strengthen families affected by HIV/AIDS, providing them with activities that prevent the spread of the disease, as well as counseling, advocacy programs, and income-generating initiatives.

ADRA is also teaching Malawian communities about HIV and AIDS through a well-known television and radio program called Tikuferanji, whose goal is to help the public learn about disease prevention and responsible sexual behaviors. Tikuferanji, currently one of the most popular television shows in Malawi, received the Radio Play of the Year Award at the 2008 Malawi Broadcasting Corporation Entertainers Awards, and was also voted the Best Advocacy Program in Malawi in radio and television.

ADRA recently ended the Live Safe, Play Safe Project, a multi-year initiative that used sports and games to teach children in Mali about HIV and AIDS prevention and the importance of caring for those living with the disease. The project, first implemented in August 2007, benefited more than 3,000 children before its closing in September 2009.

For more details about the HIV and AIDS crisis, including valuable information regarding ADRA’s response to the pandemic, go to www.adra.org.

According to UNAIDS, more than 25 million people have died from AIDS since 1981, Meanwhile, some 33 million people are infected with HIV globally.

In 1988, the World Health Organization and the United Nations General Assembly designated December 1 as World AIDS Day in order to raise awareness about the disease, fight prejudices, and increase understanding worldwide.

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ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.

For more information about ADRA, visit www.adra.org.

Author: Nadia McGill

Violence Against Women Hindering Development, Says Agency

2009-11-25T03:22:00.000-08:00

November 25th marks the day where international attention is drawn to the Elimination of Violence Against Women. ADRA Malawi as part of the International ADRA Network joined the United Nations in the commemorations of the day, promoting the enditnow global campaign, co-sponsored by ADRA, whose primary aim is to put an end to the global pandemic of violence aimed at the female gender. In the press release from ADRA International, a development project by ADRA Malawi, promoting women's rights, was highlighted.

Bellow the press release from ADRA International:

The deep effect that violence against women and girls is having around the world is not only stalling the development of millions of women, but also that of their families, communities, and entire societies, reports the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).

“Although women are often the most vulnerable in a society, as mothers and primary caregivers their empowerment is essential to the well-being of their children,” said Charles Sandefur, president of ADRA International. “Protecting them from physical, sexual, or psychological harm is not only is the right thing to do, but an absolute necessity in reaching our development goals.”

In order to push for the eradication of violence against women, ADRA is joining the United Nations on November 25 to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by highlighting the enditnow™ campaign, a global initiative co-sponsored by ADRA whose primary aim is to put an end to the global pandemic of violence aimed at the female gender.

As part of its first phase, the enditnow™ campaign is gathering 1 million signatures from supporters in more than 200 countries and territories, which will then be presented to the United Nations once the goal is reached in order to drive attention to the issue and advocate for policies that will better protect women and girls.

To sign the petition online, click here. View the campaign video here.

ADRA is actively working to eradicate violence against women and girls through various initiatives, including the Keep Girls Safe Project in northern Thailand, which combats sex trafficking; the Anti-Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Project in Kenya; the Stop Sex Traffic Project in India; and ADRA House, a shelter for battered women that ADRA recently opened in Romania.

Recognizing the role that inequality holds in many abusive situations, ADRA’s women empowerment projects also help women increase their role within their own families, gain greater control over their own bodies, and become a voice within their own communities.

In southern Malawi, ADRA is running a project that helps women in the Mulanje district understand their rights, improve their health, and initiate self-supporting income generating activities. By its completion in April 2011, it is expected to have benefited 11,000 people directly, and 33,000 people indirectly, including both men and women.

“The project helps men see women as partners in development, improving marital relations among targeted men and women, a factor that has proven successful among other rural families,” said Per Bolling, project officer for ADRA Sweden.

In southern Chile, 200 women from indigenous Mapuche communities in the Araucania region participated in a one-year project that improved their self-esteem, raised awareness on issues relating to domestic and gender violence, and taught them about gender equality and women empowerment.

“We would like to see Mapuche women as a central protagonist of the destiny of the [Chilean] nation,” said José Antonio Viera-Gallo, special minister for the Presidency of the Republic of Chile, during the project closing ceremony held in October.

ADRA is also improving the literacy skills and health of an estimated 2,000 women and children in a region of Bangladesh where approximately 90 percent of women are illiterate.

“Most of the women have never attended a class before,” said Elidon Bardhi, country director for ADRA Bangladesh. “Many have indicated that the project has changed their lives.”

According to the World Health Organization, violence against women and girls is widespread and comes in a variety of forms, most notably through rape, sex trafficking, domestic abuse, sexual assault, honor killings, female genital mutilation, child marriage, sexual harassment, and emotional and verbal abuse.

In the United States, one-third of women murdered each year are killed by intimate partners. Women and girls constitute 80 percent of the estimated 800,000 people trafficked annually, with the majority—79 percent—trafficked for sexual exploitation. In addition, approximately 100 to 140 million girls and women in the world have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting, with more than 3 million girls in Africa annually at risk of the practice. In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, at least 200,000 cases of sexual violence, mostly involving women and girls, have been documented since 1996, though the actual numbers are considered to be much higher, according to the United Nations Development Fund for Women.

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which is recognized annually on November 25, is designed to raise awareness regarding the issue of violence against women. Additional information about the enditnow™ campaign is available at www.enditnow.org.

Follow ADRA on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest information as it happens.

For more information about ADRA, visit www.adra.org.

Author: Nadia McGill

Kalinde's golden eggs

2009-11-23T03:31:00.000-08:00

One of the ADRA Malawi, project activities, within the Let's Fight Aids in Malawi project, is to assist the Communities in the impact areas establish an Income Generating Activity for the entire 10 villages. The income from this business will provide the financial support for the various beneficiaries of the projects, constituted by HIV/AIDS affected households, including orphans and other vulnerable children, and chronically ill. Although different civil society community groups, like the youths, the volunteers and others have already been given the skills to care for the most vulnerable, this would be nearly impossible without the finances to meet the various needs like fees and food for the orphans and drugs for the chronically ill. ADRA supports the establishement of IGA's as a way to generate funds to carry on social work at the community level.

A Main Committee of 10 members, one from each village, was selected as was an Advisory Committee of 5 influential and respected people in the Community. These Committees were given a 5 day training in Business Management facilitated by District Social Welfare and Community Development Officers. They were then asked to choose the business that they wanted in consultation with the Community leaders and other members. The Kalinde Community chose Egg Production and after satisfying conditions like drawing a constitution and a business plan, it was decided to buy 200 day old chicks. During the enquiries, however, it was discovered that besides the traditional day old chicks, 5 week and 18 week old birds were also available. The 18 week old birds were preferred as the waiting period before laying would only be two to three weeks .

Since there was no time for a chicken house (khola) to be put up, an already standing structure was identified and rented. It was then renovated before being inspected and passed as suitable by the area’s Vet Officer. The chickens and the required items like feed and water troughs, bags of feeds, drugs and egg trays were delivered late on 28^th August, to the delight of the Community. They could hardly believe that their dream had materialized so quickly. Seventeen days later, the first eggs were collected much to the delight of the Community. The ADRA Mulanje Office Staff visited the site on 18^th to see for themselves and to deliver some more feeds.

As at the end of August, the Group had collected K25000 which has been banked. The Group will shortly stand on their own feet after they are supplied with the last 5 bags of feed

It is very encouraging to report that demand, which the team was worried about, is so high that all eggs collected are sold out daily with many more customers having to go home empty handed. This is a clear indication that there is room for further expansion.

Reported by: Stanley Mpasa -District Coordinator.

Exchange visits benefit IGA teams

2009-11-17T02:55:00.000-08:00

The implementation of Income Generating Activities (IGA) has seen tremendous response from communities. When the issue of IGAs was presented to the communities in the course of the project, there was some doubt from some communities because groups were not to be given cash, rather, they were to be given grants in kind (communities were to be given commodities, machinery or livestock depending on what the groups choose). There were a lot of questions on how this method would work, but time has said it all, the grants have been given, community members have been trained and the committees received their commodities in the form of machinery or livestock, on behalf of their communities.

As part of an urge to improve their IGA three groups in Mulanje District conducted exchange visits. The groups wanted to learn from each other since the success of running an IGA is a big challenge as there are different people brought together for one cause.
For instance, the Income Generating Activity (IGA) Committee at Thembe (a site in Mulanje) has been facing a lot of challenges in the implementation of their activities. The turn out at Committee meetings and work gatherings has been very low and there was even drop out of members. Community mobilization has also been a challenge as has been the link up with the Traditional Leaders in the area. This was in marked contrast with Chisitu (another site in Mulanje), which has a similar IGA with Thembe (milk production).

The challenges prompted ADRA district staff to discuss the problem with both communities and developing the idea of having a exchange visit with the Thembe team visiting Chisitu. The idea was to give the two Committees a chance to share their experiences in the hope that Thembe would learn and rectify their shortfalls while Chisitu would also learn from their colleagues’ mistakes and avoid them. The idea was welcomed by both Committees and was held on 21st October, 2009.

The team from Thembe was accompanied by the Community Worker and the Veterinary Assistant from Ministry of Agriculture. The team from Chisitu outlined their strategy where by most of its committee members were Farm Club members (farms were initiated by ADRA), therefore, highly interested in farming and able to work as a group. The Committee also ensured the involvement of the Traditional Leaders and the Community right from the beginning. Another important point the team from Chisitu emphasized was on the importance of explaining to the community that the IGA was for the whole Community while the Committee just represented them. This was evidenced by the fact that they collected money to open their own bank account; Youths, Farmers, CFs and some Village members all contributed.The visiting team learnt the importance of involving the Leaders and the Community; it makes work easier and strengthens the sense of ownership.

The visitors were shown the Chisitu khola (kraal) and the field of elephant grass planted to feed the cows. The visiting group was impressed and is now determined to do their best to catch up. Even the Vet Assistant vowed to do all she can to turn things round.

Much as the other site, Mbiza, is rearing chickens, the ideas on how to run a business was of relevance to the group as well, hence the group from Chisitu visited their counterparts from Mbiza site.

In all these visitations the groups shared ideas on how to strengthen ties within the community and with community leaders. They also shared best practices on how to run business especially that they are working as a team of more than ten people.

At the end of the exchange members of both groups made a very positive balance of the activity. Visibly motivated the groups mentioned how important the activity had been and their plans to continue interacting and sharing information.

Author: Stanley Mpasa - Mulanje District Coordinator

A full life

2009-11-12T06:22:00.000-08:00

As ADRA’s, LEFAM Project is currently preparing for its exit on 31st January 2010, the ADRA team and community partners continues with interventions in HIV&AIDS prevention, Food Security, Community Home Based Care Providers’ services, Psychosocial support to HIV affected families, Community Based Organizations strengthening, Nutrition demonstrations/trainings and Community Dialogue Sessions. These have positively impacted communities in general and individual families.

Picture: Represents a family supported by an ADRA project but not the family and situation of the story.

Anna (not real name), 27 years old is married to Chimwemwe (not real name) with 2 children: a girl 7 years, and a boy 4 years old.

This family stays in Mikundi at the trading center. Mikundi is one of the 4 project sites in Mchinji district.

In an interview with Anna, she reported that on 10th October 2004, both her and her husband tested HIV positive and their lives experienced episodes of illnesses and this greatly affected their family life, household income and community participation.

In 2005 the husband ventured into a small scale business. He and Anna joined and opened up a small canteen where they bake and sale bread. The problem during this time was that they could barely cover the costs for their medication. This continued until when the ADRA project came to their area in January 2007.

Anna developed an interest in voluntary services and joined the project as a Community Facilitator. Despite her sero- positive status, Anna’s curiosity grew as she continued attending meetings and trainings conducted by ADRA LEFAM staff in the area. She is one of the CHBC Providers trained by LEFAM. The more she attended these forums the more she gathered knowledge and skills that are being translated into meaningful service.

She learnt about: HIV&AIDS prevention, Food Security activities, psychosocial services,

participated in nutrition demonstrations and Community Dialogue Sessions and meetings conducted by Community Facilitators supervised by Community Worker at the site, among other things.

With great enthusiasm Anna shared her experiences with her husband and started planning positively. No sooner had she shared this with her husband than they jointly planned for the improvement of their small scale business as well as their health status.

According to her responses upon the interview conducted, Anna and her spouse are doing very well in their business. Apart from baking and selling bread, they are also frying and selling chips (Irish potatoes) at the trading center at a very profitable note. She reported that they are making a great deal in their business transaction. When further interrogated she mentioned how much they get per day as follows:

For Irish potato chips, they make K 2,500 to K3, 500 per day and for the bread bakery they make K2, 000 to K2, 500 per day as well. Their family is very happy and healthy.

Besides this business transaction, Idah and her husband are one of the most industrious farmers in the area. They use knowledge gained through ADRA and produce compost manure, and have a vegetable garden which is vibrant to date.

“This is all because of the ADRA LEFAM project that has given all the knowledge and skills in both food security and positive health living with the HIV. My husband and I are living very happy and physically strong. All our domestic chores are done by us and there is no more time for sickness any more.” Remarked Anna.

She is one of the most active Community Facilitators in the area. To them time for illness is a bygone.

Information collected and written by:Watson Chikopa (District Coordinator Liaison Officer)

Bicycle Ambulances

2009-10-29T00:10:00.000-07:00

As observed by Karren Allen, BBC reporter, (click here to access the report) bicycle ambulances are playing an important role in reducing maternal and newborn deaths in Malawi.

Since beginning of this year ADRA Malawi, assisted by ADRA Denmark and private donors in Denmark, such as FEJERSEN, donated 7 bicycle ambulances and trained 7 Community Home Base Care Providers Committees with skills in basic health care and bicycle maintenance. Before the end of the year an additional 7 new bicycle ambulances will be provided.

In 2010, ADRA Malawi, assisted by ADRA International, will conduct a World Wide campaign to provide at least 90 additional bicycle ambulances to rural communities in Malawi. This campaign will be featured in the upcoming ADRA International Gift Catalog.

ADRA network commemoration of World Food Day

2009-10-15T23:31:00.000-07:00

The ADRA network commemoration of World Food Day, highlighted the work to fight hunger that ADRA Malawi is conducting. Read the article bellow or follow the link to the story in the ADRA International website.

A central focus of ADRA Malawi’s activity has been to improve food security and resilience of households in Malawi. This has involved activity across three main areas of increasing food availability, strengthening local economies and improving nutrition through processing and utilization. Additionally ADRA Malawi is partnering with the World Food Program to carry out relief operations and reducing the vulnerability of communities in the Phalombe District.

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ADRA International article.

Title: Upcoming World Food Day Highlights Continued Global Hunger

Author: Nadia McGill

SILVER SPRING, Md. —On October 16, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) joins the world in commemorating World Food Day, recognizing an immediate need for increased access to food in many countries, as the number of the world’s hungry continues to grow, and the amount of food assistance shrinks.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the number of people globally suffering from hunger has reached a record high this year, surpassing more than 1 billion people. Meanwhile, the amount of available food aid has dropped to its lowest number in two decades.

“The double whammy of the financial crisis and the still record high food prices around the world is delivering a devastating blow,” said Josette Sheeran, executive director for WFP. “Throw in a storm, a drought, and conflict, and you have a recipe for disaster.”

To meet the ongoing challenges of today’s changing world, ADRA continues to implement much-needed projects that provide emergency and development relief to communities on the brink of starvation.

In Guatemala, where millions are currently struggling to survive the worst drought in 30 years, ADRA just completed a distribution of emergency food baskets for 377 families in some of the country’s worst affected communities.

“The problem is very serious,” said Otoniel Trujillo, country director for ADRA Guatemala. “There are many people that are currently in need of a lot of help.”

In response to the ongoing food crisis that is affecting an estimated 250,000 people in southern Madagascar, ADRA is partnering with WFP and other organizations to provide Food-for-Work and other activities for more than 18,000 households in the affected region. ADRA is also distributing more than 4,000 tons of food throughout 16 communities in the districts of Ambovombe and Tsihombe, in the Androy Region. Other partners include the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), also of the United Nations.

“In recent months, the food security situation in the south has steadily worsened,” said Peter Delhove, country director for ADRA Madagascar. “This project is expected to meet the needs of affected households in that region, helping them to make it to the next harvest.”

In order to fight malnutrition among Malawian children under the age of five, ADRA is working with the local government and other non-governmental organizations to train parents and care givers in nutrition, effective childcare, and healthy feeding habits, through an initiative called the Resilience and Capacity Building for Vulnerable Households and Communities affected by HIV/AIDS, Malawi project. In collaboration with trained health care providers, ADRA is supporting mothers who have malnourished children through training, practical cooking, infant feeding demonstrations, and counseling.

“ADRA believes that solutions for most of the problems can be found within the same communities,” said Thoko Mwapasa, project manager for ADRA Malawi.

Therefore, ADRA facilitates the transfer of knowledge within the community by drawing lessons and beneficial practices from mothers of well-nourished children from low-income families.

By the project’s completion in 2011, an estimated 2,000 children under five years of age from the districts of Mulanje and Neno, in southern Malawi will have benefited.

“The intervention can greatly contribute to better health outcomes for children under five who are often at risk of child mortality, since a lack of good nutrition leaves children vulnerable to frequent illnesses and poor growth,” said Mwapasa.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the vast majority of the world’s hungry live in developing countries, with 65 percent of those suffering from hunger found in India, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s hungry live in Asia.

World Food Day was created to raise awareness about global food scarcity, motivating communities to get involved in the fight against world hunger.

Follow ADRA on Twitter and get the latest information as it happens.

For more information about ADRA, visit www.adra.org.

Volunteering in Malawi (2/2)

2009-10-13T03:59:00.003-07:00

During the month of August ADRA Malawi was proud to host two high-school students from the UK for a week of volunteer experience. They were exposed to many different aspects of development, from working in the head office to a visit to a community based youth group, who use theatre to influence their community and raise awareness of issues such as domestic violence and HIV/AIDS. The following stories reflect their experiences and what impacted them during their week in Malawi.

Kerryn Lodo: Volunteer Supervisor

Author: Lahna Mawee-Patel

Whilst in Chiradzulu, I was given the opportunity to visit a child-run home. We interviewed a young man, Mphatso*, 21, who, along with his two younger brothers, aged 10 and 14, was orphaned 5 years ago sadly to the loss of his mother and abandonment of his father.

I was confused to hear that after the mother died, the father soon re-married and went to live with his wife and therefore leaving his eldest son to look after his younger siblings. I later learned that this was part of some Malawian cultures and that this was sometimes a normal thing to happen due to a matrilineal structure. Unfortunately, due to the situation of poverty present in Malawi the father was, and still has been unable to provide for his current family, let alone the boys. This also applies to members of the maternal family; they are also poverty stricken and cannot afford to care for the boys as well. Additional to this, HIV has also been an issue which has affected the support provided from the maternal family to the boys. With so many people passing away, the traditional support systems which would have assisted the boys and taken care of them in this situation are disintegrating or non-existent.

This is why ADRA provide extra support to groups like an IGA group. This is an income generating activity group (IGA) which is designed especially for cases like this. The group is able to choose a small business which they can start up so that they can earn a small income from it and assist vulnerable households in the community, such as Mpatso. In this particular case that I saw, the group decided to raise goats to share between community members. The IGA group supplied them with two goats as a starter provided that they give the first two kids to the next family in need of IGA group support. After this they can do whatever they need to with goats in order to sustain a living for themselves.

It was touching and encouraging to find that the eldest boy was very keen on making sure that his two younger brothers obtained a good education and go on to lead successful lives and maybe even work with ADRA one day! With the IGA, the family has been able to sell two goats which can provide them with enough money for a 1 year school fee making it all the more possible for the two younger boys to lead any life they wish to.

* Real Name not used.

Volunteering in Malawi (1/2)

2009-10-13T03:47:00.001-07:00

Kerryn Lodo: Volunteer Supervisor

Author: Bianca Mawee-Patel

When hearing that we would be seeing an active Theatre for Development program performed in a village, I was interested in seeing how a piece of theatre could really influence the community in changing their attitudes towards important issues.

The aim of Theatre for Development is to use live performance to communicate information across a range of sectors to bring about change in attitudes and lifestyle.

The youth community group is made up of around 15 boys and girls, although due to illness and lack of transport, only 7 were present at the performance in Chiradzulu. The youth group meets voluntarily once a week for about two hours, and as a group they discuss which issues they feel need to be bought to attention. They then create a short piece of theatre outlining this.

Everybody within the group gets involved and performs with real energy and passion for getting their message across. When asked why they attend the youth group, they all said that as youths, they had a responsibility to educate their community, change their attitudes and change the misconceptions towards issues such as HIV/AIDS, violence, theft and abuse.

Since the topics are quite sensitive – and some members might not want to be directly told about them – the youth group use music, song, dance, comedy, role plays and forums to get their message across. This serves two purposes, to provide the community with useful information and also as a form of entertainment where the whole community gathers together. There is a relaxed atmosphere where the community feels comfortable to get involved with the theatre. During the forum, at the end of the theatre, I was surprised to see how many people were speaking up about what they had learned from the youths. One of the youths stood in front of the community (which was made up of about 130 people of all ages) to outline the major aims of their piece.

The topic covered in the theatre I witnessed was awareness of HIV/AIDS. In the forum, the community was actively discussing the fact that a person has a right to know if their partner is HIV positive. But, what I found was the most interesting was the fact that instead of the youths simply telling the community the right answers, they were asking the community, letting them realise for themselves. This I feel is a good way of letting the community come up with the solutions to their own problems, remembering that there are no right answers, as every community differs ( one community might have come up with a different solution to another). During the role-play, it was good to see the community really responding to the issues covered. This was either through the comedy and the fact that they could relate.

This experience has shown Theatre for Development to be an extremely effective way in creating dialogue and change in the community and the responses were really positive. The youths do so much to try and educate their community and it’s obvious to see that they feel that they have a responsibility as youths to change the ways of the community. In comparison the youth in the UK are not as active as in Malawi, and it’s a real eye opener to compare the priorities of a youth in Malawi who wants to influence change within their community against the priority of youth in the UK who have a much more individual focus.