ADRA Malawi, partners, release research findings on FISP

By Elias Banda
A research report on small holder farmers’ perception on the ongoing Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP) has been unveiled in Blantyre, sparking debate on whether it was necessary for the Malawi Government to continue with the program or not . The function, which took place at Ryalls Hotel,  was attended by  researchers, politicians, agriculture experts, lecturers and journalists.  The purpose of the function was to report farmer’s perception on subsidized fertilizer program and its impact.
Speaking during opening remarks Michael Usi, ADRA Malawi Country Director said the issue of FISP emanated from community dialogue sessions in the ADRA Malawi’s Action for Social Change Program (ASC) impact areas and it further prompted for more research into the matter.  For this reason, ADRA Malawi entered into partnership with the Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET)  and Centre for Agriculture Research Development (CARD) of the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) and commissioned them to conduct a study of FISP between August and September 2013.


Michael Usi Speaking during the function

Participants listening to presentations and speeches

Presenting the findings of the study, Dr Donald Makoka from LUANAR said data for the study was collected from both FISP beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries and key informants in 6 districts of Malawi of which four ; Mulanje, Mzimba, Lilongwe and Machinga were ASC impact districts and the other two were Chikwawa and Mchinji.  On community perception  of graduation of FISP 47% of  the total sample size of 898 indicated that   FISP should graduate while 53 % said FISP should not have a graduation component.  On the future perception of FISP, Dr Makoka said that over 50% of the sampled FISP beneficiaries in 5 districts apart from Chikwawa, indicated that the program should phase out and the price of fertilizer be reduced. He said the average fertilizer price beneficiaries wanted to be reduced would be at K5000 (about $12.5)/50kg bag.
Nevertheless, the study found that 67% of the non-poor beneficiaries, 70% of the poor and 63% of the ultra-poor beneficiaries, all reported that the 2012/13 FISP had reduced their household food insecurity. The study also found that the majority of the sampled FISP beneficiaries still do not have harvest enough to last them the whole year. However, the FISP improved the beneficiaries’ ability to have food for about 2.6 months, from 4.5 months to 7.1 months in a year. 
Dr Makoka also pointed out that the FISP program has a negative bearing on the relationships in the community. He said that 87.3% of the sampled households reported that community relationships have worsened due to FISP and the proportion was highest in Lilongwe. He said traditional leaders complained that   the majority of non-beneficiaries refused to participate in community development because they were not part of the FISP program.

Dr Lipita speaking on behalf of government at the function

Currently, the FISP Program is targeting 1.5 million farm families and a researcher Hanfrey Mdyetseni From CISANET said during his presentation that the Malawi Government spent a staggering K60 Billion (about $150, 000,000) in the 2013/2014 agriculture season and the figure represents  10% of the total national budget. 
Mr Mdyetseni bemoaned the unavailability of audited report on the FISP expenditure and failure by implementers of the program to provide data on how the program has been implemented are some of the issues the general public was skeptical about.
Speaking on behalf the Malawi Government Dr  Lipita, Director of Extension Services in the Ministry of Agriculture commended ADRA Malawi and partners for the research activity. He said the research findings were thought provoking and that government would look at both sides of the debate and analyze it further to come up with a conclusion. He also said that he took note of the challenges in the implementation of FISP Program.   
The Action for social change program is being supported by Denmark to bring about individual and society change in Malawi.


 

 

Mzuzu Police gets capacity building boost on HIV&AIDS

By Judith Kumwenda
90 police officers from Mzuzu Police Station have under gone training in HIV and AIDS in relation to security and safety. The rationale for the training was to ensure that the Police officers had the accurate knowledge and skills on HIV & AIDS. The knowledge acquired included basic information on HIV & AIDS, its transmission, prevention, mitigation and other HIV and AIDS related issues handled and encountered in the police Officers line of duty.
Mzuzu Police earlier submitted a proposal to ADRA Malawi seeking capacity building on matters of HIV & AIDS via the Victim Support Unit. ADRA Malawi through the Action for Social Change Program (ASC) responded by funding the training sessions which involved 90 police officers. The trained police officers are expected to share the knowledge acquired with the rest of the officers at the station. Mzuzu Police Station has 267 officers.
After the training, one of the participants Violet Kabondo, who is also Child Protection Desk Officer at Mzuzu Police Station,   narrated how she found herself exposed to HIV and quickly sought Post Exposure Prophylaxis treatment within the recommended 72 hours as learnt from the training. She thanked ADRA Malawi for the gesture and said that the training she acquired would go a long way preventing HIV and guaranteeing peace of mind.

Violet Kabondo-Child protection Desk Officer holding  a bottle of her Post Exposure Prophylaxis(PEP) treatment.

Speaking in an interview Mzuzu Police AIDS Coordinator SR Chalemera disclosed that the other outcome of the training was that the number of police officers who have disclosed their HIV status has increased from 11 to 20. In separate interview, Mzuzu Police Victim Support unit SR Flora Njawiti said that the training has given her enough strength to reach out to couples on importance of Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT). 
The vicinity of Mzuzu Police Station lies on Vipya Plateau surrounded by lowly hills, such as Choma, Mombwe, Kaningina, enyezini, Luhomero and Chiungu and It has seven police Units. The population size of the area is 273, 447. The core duties of Police officers in Mzuzu includes safeguarding the freedoms and rights of all people, maintaining law and order, protecting life and property, preventing crime, investigating and detecting crime and bringing all offenders to justice. However, gender based violence, especially sexually related ones are among the reported crimes on the increase, exposing the victims to the risk of contracting HIV.
The ASC program has also supported similar activities to Police Stations in all the program targeted districts.
The Action for Social Change Program is being supported by Denmark to bring about individual and societal change in Mzuzu, Lilongwe, Machinga and Mulanje.

World Population Day;Malawi challenges and ADRA response

By Elias Banda
11 July was World Population Day with the year's theme focusing on adolescent pregnancy. In Malawi the population officially stands at 13 million according to the 2008 Population and Housing Census. The 2008 census puts the growth rate at 2.8 percent per year and that 19 percent of the total population were youths aged between 15 and 24, a population highly considered  to be sexually active.
Today, there are fears that youths have not been adequately reached with messages on a national scale or they have little or no access to contraceptives.  Reproductive health commentators in the local media have described the fast growing population in Malawi as a time bomb, which when it explodes will cast catastrophic effects. Population growth has been attributed to early pregnancies among the adolescents and currently it is estimated that 152 children are born per every 1000 live births.
Emily Kamwendo, a Reproductive Health Expert was quoted in the media as saying that Malawi has one of the highest early marriage or child marriages prevalence rates in the world. On average, one out of two girls will be married by their 18th birthday. In 2010, half of the women aged between 20 and 24 years were married before age 18.  If this trend is anything to go by, it means that 631 000 of the young girls born between 2005 -2010 will be married before age 18 by 2030.

Youths pose for photograph after family planning meeting.

Poverty and lack of education among the adolescents are among the leading causes of early pregnancies and early marriages. According to the Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) of 2010, young women with no education were eleven times more likely to have started child bearing by the age of 19 than those with secondary school or higher education.
The population boom in Malawi is creating a huge strain on natural resources and the national budget is overstretched to provide and sustain social services. There is now increasing pressure on the government to act on the issue immediately.
Recently, the Malawi government unveiled the four National Population Policy priority areas such as; advocacy, information, education and communication and behavior change; coordination of population programs and capacity building; research, data   collection , analysis and dissemination  and mainstreaming of population and related issues in development planning.
ADRA Malawi through the Family Planning Community Advocacy project is complementing government’s efforts by raising awareness on family planning methods and is linking communities to service providers in Mulanje, Machinga, Lilongwe and Mzuzu.
ADRA Malawi is currently mobilizing and is supporting over 280 community family planning volunteers targeting over 240 village communities to increase accessibility and usage of modern family planning methods. The project is also engaging family planning service providers at district and community level to advocate for youth friendly services in health centers.

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Water shortage causes high divorce rates- GVH Ngongondo

By Elias Banda
Group Village Head Ngogondo of Machinga has bemoaned   the increase of divorce cases in her area due to water shortage. The GVH said there was a strong link between water scarcity and fragile marriages because when  women spend more time fetching water, there was growing suspicion among men that their wives were cheating on them and based on the balance of probabilities, men always found grounds for divorce.
GVH Ngongondo said her indaba (village court) was flooded with divorce cases that were usually blended with hostility and suspicion among couples. The GVH said the number of divorced women was on the increase, hampering development efforts as single women were struggling to cope with prevailing economic challenges.

In extreme situations, people drink from rivers

A woman stressing a point during radio recording

Lukia John from Kamtetela Village said she was beaten twice by her husband on suspicion that she cheated on her husband when she spent 8 hours looking for safe water.  The matter was resolved after it was referred to the GVH indaba.
GVH Ngongondo said her area has 35 villages but with only two boreholes, forcing women to travel long distances looking for water. The few functional boreholes were characterized by long queues with women fighting for spaces.  In extreme situations women were forced to draw from open and unprotected wells where water was shared with animals and sometimes they found dead animals in the water.

Women learning how to be self reliant

Pishen Nampesya said it was a shame that nearly 50 years after Malawi got independence, people  in his area where still drinking in rivers and open wells.
But recently, ADRA Malawi facilitated recording of radio program where people used the platform to advocate for the provision of water by the government. During the community dialogue session that was recorded, community members engaged the duty bearer from the Department of Water Development to respond to the water challenge.
The Water Development Officer in the area, Bhahati Ngwiri pledged to report the mater to higher authorities for the provision of water facilities. However, chiefs asked for his contact number and his house for constant communication in case he failed to honor the pledge.
The recorded materials would be aired for the ADRA Malawi sponsored Zatonse Radio Program on the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC).  Zatonse Radio Program is supported by Denmark through the Action for Social Change Program to amplify community advocacy voices to influence positive opinion from duty bearers and service providers at national level.

ASC Program and partners share notes on best practices

By Elias Banda

ADRA Malawi, through the Action for Social Change Program (ASC) organized a two-day meeting involving district government officers. The meetings took place in Lilongwe and Blantyre, involving district planning directors, district agriculture offices, district social welfare officers, district AIDS coordinators, district monitoring and evaluation from the ASC Program targeted districts.
The  meetings were aimed at analyzing strategies that embrace  the ASC Program thematic areas of HIV/AIDS, food security, livelihood and communication.

Emma Jakobo, ASC Program Manager addressing stakeholders

Speaking during the official opening of the meetings at both venues, Claudio Sandoval, ADRA Country Director urged participants to utilize the meetings as platforms for sharing and learning. He said that through acting together, ADRA and her partners could achieve more to the advantage of the vulnerable people in the communities.
ADRA Malawi Deputy Country Director Michael Usi echoed Claudio’s sentiments and stressed on the importance of team work. He said that in a team, whoever scores a goal  makes the whole team to win, referring to the combined efforts of ADRA and her partners.
During the course of the meetings, ASC Program technical officers made presentations on the strategies and this was followed by discussions, reflecting on the issues in the strategies.  The district officers advised how best the ASC would implement the strategies to ensure that activities are in line with government plans and they point towards achieving intended objectives .

ADRA Malawi staff and partners during the meeting

The gathering further agreed that ADRA and her partners should conduct field visits as a way encouraging joint monitoring of activities.
Speaking when closing the meeting, Lilongwe District Planning Director Peter Jimsole  said he was happy with the ASC Program and urged ADRA Malawi to include remarks made by district officials in the strategies. He said though the program has no service delivery in its implementation, it could still bank on linkages with other partners to achieve the intended goals.
ASC Program Manager Emma Jakobo thanked district officials for their time and support and assured them that ADRA Malawi would make use of their input to perfect the strategies.

The Action for Social Change Program is being supported by Denmark to bring about society and individual change in Machinga, Mulanje, Lilongwe and Mzuzu. 

Beer drinking time changed to curb crime

 By Redson Damalekani

Prolonged beer drinking time in Muhiyo group village community in Mulanje District has provided fertile environment for rapists, forcing community members to enact laws restricting beer drinking.
 Revelers could still hang at the drinking joints for up to midnight while hatching plans to rape women and girls. A primary school teacher’s wife was recently raped on her way to draw water, a situation that triggered community discussion to find a lasting solution on the matter. The issue was reported to police who have since launched a man hunt for the rapists, who are still on the run.
Several rape attempts have been reported, increasing fear among girls and women who use routes linking several drinking places in the area.
One woman bemoaned the increase of men who could afford to drink beer the whole day in the area at the expense of household and community development. She said that some men were reflecting bad manners to the young boys who are desperately in need of role models.

a community dialogue session in progress

A community dialogue session involving community based groups (CBGs) supported by ADRA Malawi through the Action for Social Change Program were organized by community volunteers to discuss the issue and resolved that beer binges should close business at 15:00 pm, and those acting in defiance would pay a hefty fine. CBGs are now collaborating with community police forums to reduce incidences of crime.
The groups also agreed to conduct a series focus groups discussions with men to curb the issue of excessive beer drinking in the area.

The Action for Social Change Program is being supported by ADRA Denmark to bring about individual and society change in Mulanje, Machinga, Lilongwe and Mzuzu districts.

ADRA Malawi chairs LILONGWE CIVIL Society Network (LICSONET)

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.” 

Partnerships for a successful program

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.

The Start of a New Decade

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.

Rwanda, Malawi ADRA staff hone skills in capacity building

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

Importance of Partnerships in Decentralized Governance.

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.

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

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)

Chisitu ushered in a lot more than just a new year

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.

Women of Mukakhe Village Join the Fray

Mukakhe is one of the villages in Kalinde area in Migowi, Phalombe where the ADRA Malawi’s Let Fight AIDS in Malawi (LEFAM) Project is doing its activities in helping to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic, food security, home based care of the chronically ill etc.

To achieve its goals the project formed groups of women to discuss issues that are thorny in their communities and find solutions to these problems. Realizing that they are not part of the women’s group that was formed, other women in this village, led by Alefa Maiwala and Edna Magodi, were impressed with the good work that the Organization is doing in the village and felt they could lend a hand. They decided to mobilize other women and form their own group to help in what the ADRA women were doing. They also decided to go further by getting involved in message dissemination through dances and drama and strengthening food security and nutrition by setting up a group vegetable garden and encouraging the setting up of kitchen gardens in the village.

The group has gone further to lobby for the provision of safe water sources within the village, which has no borehole or water tap despite its size and population through knowledge attained from ADRA activities. These women also harbor the ambition of improving the members’ economic status through saving and lending.

Realizing the power of drama, yet not having any experience in drama, the group approached ADRA Community Worker in the area for some coaching. Since this was a separate group from ADRA’s group they had limited resources. They needed some seeds for the garden to supplement what they had contributed and bought. They also needed some equipment like drums for the dances. To make sure that their efforts are not in vain the group has been granted permission to use whatever equipment that is available within the ADRA groups.

The group was formed in April this year and has so far 25 members. As of now, they have set up the vegetable garden and planted using the seedlings they bought and what was donated by the Community Worker. ADRA regularly visits the group to encourage and build their capacity, through demonstrations, on how to make sunken beds, plant seedlings and mulch to preserve moisture and reduce watering frequency.

What is interesting with the group is that the village Chief tries to attend the group’s meetings and supports them in their activities. This makes ADRA feel that with some support, this group will be an important partner in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Author: Stanley Mpasa - District Coordinator

Strengthening Community Based Civil Society

During a recent visit to Milepa, one of ADRA’s “Let’s Fight Aids in Malawi Project” sites in Chiradzulu, we went to Namahala Village where we held Focus Group Discussions with various groups.  These comprised Traditional Leaders, Clergy, IGA Committee, Youth and CBO Executive members.

While discussing with the CBO Executive Committee members (of Namahala CBO), we were pleasantly informed that this CBO had managed to submit a proposal to the National Aids Commission (NAC) and had received funding from the same. In fact they received about MK 900,000.00. They have since used about MK 200,000.00 for some activities (e.g. buying stationery, conducting more training for their members etc) and have about MK 700,000.00 as a balance. From the visits made to other sites, this CBO was the first we came across to have managed to source funds from other organizations through writing and submitting of a proposal.

This is a sign that the efforts of ADRA to build the capacity of Civil Society Organizations is bearing some fruit and to this the members themselves also testified.  Much as all the credit may not be credited to ADRA’s intervention, there’s definitely a significant contribution by ADRA in this endeavor. This will give confidence to the communities in our impact areas and play a big role towards ensuring sustainability of the project activities after the project comes to an end. From their own declaration they believe they will continue with their activities even after the ADRA project ends.

During the discussions, the members indicated that they were confident enough to be used as a role model and to help other CBOs in proposal writing if requested to do so. However, they requested if refresher training could be organized for them in order to consolidate the knowledge they had acquired during the training organized by ADRA earlier.

At the end of the discussions the CBO members were encouraged to continue working with the other established groups as well as other CBOs in order to synergize and have a joint effort in lobbying for assistance from various organizations and also from Government through the District Assembly Offices. They were informed that in having bigger numbers their proposals and requests would have greater impact and receive more attention.

Similar developments are taking place in all (or most) of our project sites.

Author: Dyson Mbengo

LICEN UP!

I must admit that my first trip to Malawi did not dissapoint! ADRA Australia has been funding projects in Ntcheu district for the past few years now and the current Local Initiatives for Community Empowerment in Ntcheu (LICEN) project has continued to assist local communities gain a stronger voice with which to represent their needs to local authorities and has passed on the essential skills needed to address these needs where outside assistance is not consistent. 

A key aspect of the LICEN project is the role played by ADRA Malawi’s project staff in working with local community representatives to build the management and leadership skills of Kumanga Umodzi (KU’s) groups. These community based organisation (KU’s) are the chosen representatives for various entitees within their local communities and are responsible for advocating community needs in education, water, natural resources and health to the Village Development Committees and Area Development Committes. 

This model has helped to give the voices of people at the village level an easier line of communication to local government and traditional authorities and has helped to clarify the needs and achievements of communities within Ntcheu district.  

Photo: a local representative from a Kumaga Umodzi provides an update on the activities and needs within his community at the Area Development Committee meeting 

Sometimes, however, being able to communicate with traditional and government authorities does not always ensure that all the needs within a local community are going to be addressed. ADRA’s response to this has been to training local KU groups in business skills so that they can run their own business to raise funds to support meet the costs of activities and assets that have a social or economic benefit for the community as a whole. One community that we visited had chosen to run a bakery business and were receiving training from ADRA and two women from nearby community (who had also successfully implemented a bakery business) in how to run and manage a successful business. 

When asked what they hoped to use the funds from the bakery business for, a local elder suggested that they might like to start a larger business that assists in providing fuel for the local community.

Photo: A young woman assists ADRA staff to train a local community group on how to run and maintain a small bakery business for their community. 

The LICEN project also understands the needs and challenges of youth and their growing representation among the population of Malawi. Not all children in Ntcheu district have the opportunity to complete their primary and secondary education, so ADRA is working with school youth groups to help provide them with some essential life skills should they be unable to continue doing their schooling. To achieve this, ADRA chooses two teachers in partner schools to be mentors for their students assists them to train the students in life skills that warn them about HIV and AIDS and how to avoid it as well as equipping them with skills in farming, food preparation and in some cases sewing their own clothes.

Photo:  A young student shows the schools junior farmer field. Another boy shows off a shirt he has made during a sewing class at school.

Travelling with the project staff I visited three junior farmer fields where school children were learning essential farming techniques and proudly displayed a wide variety of the vegetables and other crops that they have grown. By supporting these activities within the LICEN project ADRA is helping the future generation of young boys and girls in Ntcheu gain the essential skills they need for life after school, while still being able to access formal learning. 

Author: Darin Roberts - International Program Manager, ADRA Australia

TOT HIV/AIDS Project - Local Partner Mobilization in MALAWI

Developing and maintaining good collaboration and relationships with local partners is critical to the program’s success and sustainability. Between July and August 2008, ADRA Malawi ‘s TOT project organized meetings with key collaborators and stakeholders for the TOT project. The key stake holders that were met were: National AIDS Commission (NAC), Ministry of Health (MOH), District Assemblies, community leaders and Health Ministry Directorate for the Malawi Union of the SDA Church.

The main objective of holding these meetings was to brief project stakeholders on the progress the project has registered so far. Other objectives for the meetings were; to brief partners on the role they have played in the project and to encourage them to continue with the support they render to the project.

Dr Nkume, the HMD for SDA Malawi Union, has continuously provided support to the project and pointed out that the Union has plans to empower women groups and other local groups in different areas so that they become self sustained. Another area where the Union is looking forward to benefit in collaboration with this project is the formulation and development of HIV/AIDS policy for SDA institutions. The Union in collaboration with TOT project has already drafted the policy and hopes to work together with TOT project management team to finalise the document.

In another development, TOT project briefing meetings were held at two district assemblies to executive committee meetings for Mulanje and Phalombe districts where some TOTs and 380 counselors have been identified and trained. Their response at these meetings was overwhelming. The District Commissioners for the districts commended ADRA for coming up with this project in their districts which are underserved in the area of HIV/AIDS counseling. They also recommended that the project assist even public institutions to develop HIV/AIDS policy at the work place apart from private institutions. Introduction of these counselors has increased the number of people that go for VCT services in Mulanje and Phalombe districts by 26%.ADRA TOT project has also been commended for promoting voluntary work among the TOTs and counselors. This will enhance sustainability and self reliance amongst community members.

Author: Themba Phiri

Happy and free - ‘NANYONI’

Nasiyani Kadyampakeni is a female headed house holder who lives at Njolomole village. She is 52 living with her 16year old daughter and 7 year old grand son depend on her for their survival. Nanyoni relies on subsistence farming for her livelihood. Looking upon her low social status she decided to join the Community Home Based Care in June, 2007 so as to seek company.
Despite a number of problems that she come across to provide for her family especially to work for the education needs of her children she is dedicated to lend a voluntary hand with dedication in the CHBC committee. Her dream has always been to have livestock yet she fails to save enough for that due to big responsibility.
When the SAFARI project introduced poultry pass on program she was among the first to benefit from the first batch. She received 7 birds. With excitement to a dream come true she employed all her efforts with skill imparted to her during poultry management training by lead farmers to take extra care for the birds. She built a poultry house from simple available materials as was trained. She processed the remains of her soy bean milk with some maize bran to feed the chicken. Sometimes when she doesn’t have feed she just let the birds out of house to pick some little things in her compound. At times when she is stranded she just fetch green grass to feed the birds. Today she expresses her joy because the chicken have started laying eggs and she is rest assured that when the eggs hatch and she pays back 10 birds to the KU she will embark into a hot poultry business. As of now she is an admirable woman in the village that the members of the community are coming to learn from her how she has manage d to care for the birds which were only 3 weeks old on delivery.
Nasiyani is no longer seeking for company as before but rather people are seeking to befriend her so they can learn much from her.
Author: Francis Zande ( SAFARI Project Manager in Malawi)

Strengthen rights and gender-based initiatives for civil society groups

Four civil society groups conducted open days campaigns to advocate for gender and HIV/AIDS rights, the rights for the elderly and disabled, women and children alike.

During these open day campaigns, drama groups and dance troupes where involved in dissemination of information on rights and HIV/AIDS in addition to speeches that were made by high powered delegations from relevant public and private entities.

In attendance to one of the functions was the Principle Secretary for Ministry of men and women with disabilities.
In total, 11,000 people attended the open days of which 68% were women and children. This means that the message and pieces of information that were disseminated to the participants fell on the fertile ground as the target group dominated in attendance.

In one of the functions that were conducted by OWACO, 4 wheelchairs and 20 pairs of crutches were donated to 24 disabled people of whom 18 are women.

In a bid to establish and strengthen links between the civil society groups and the public as well as private entity,

Government ministries of women and children affairs, ministry of the disabled, ministry of health and HIV/AIDS, Society of people living with AIDS, NAC, as well as district assemblies were invited to take parting the campaigns. Representing the government ministries and departments and private sectors were District Commissioners, principle Secretaries and heads of departments and private sector CEOs.

These open days were conducted by Four organisations namely; CAPLA (Care for People Living with AIDS), Orphans and Widows Awarenes and Care Organisation (OWACO), Health Initiative for All (HIFA) and MIRACLE organization. These organisations have their registration certificates with the registrar general of the Malawi Government, a constitution, and a three - five years strategic plan.

Author: Themba Phiri