ADRA Malawi, DAM in diabetes awareness drive in Northern Malawi

By Elias Banda
In the wake of increasing cases of diabetes in Malawi the Diabetes Association of Malawi (DAM) has stepped up efforts to raise awareness and established its branches in district hospitals across the country. Recently the Association collaborated with ADRA Malawi and managed to mobilize 447 diabetes patients in five of the six districts of the Northern Region.
The Association used the ADRA Malawi sponsored Zatonse Radio program to mobilize diabetes patients  in the region  to raise awareness and established  DAM branches attached to district hospitals in Mzimba, Mzuzu, Rumphi, Karonga and Nkhatabay where people would access information on management and prevention of diabetes.
DAM President Timothy Mtambalika expressed gratitude to ADRA Malawi for providing the platform which he described as a powerful mobilization tool. Mr Mtambalika however hinted that the biggest challenge the Association is facing is shortage of drugs and equipment to measure insulin levels.
Currently there over 15000 people with diabetes in Malawi and about 70% have type two diabetes. Mr Mtambalika disclosed in an interview that many Malawians who have diabetes are not aware about the diseases due to lack of information.
 Zatonse Radio Program is support by Denmark through ADRA Malawi Action for Social Change Program to bring about society and individual change. 

Young woman divorces, goes back to school

By Elias Banda
The number of girls dropping out of school to get married or due to pregnancies is on the increase in Mulanje and the situation is attributed to lack of female role models coupled with the perception that marriage is the only means of survival for women.  But the issue seems different for Brenda Misomali 17 who,   Under the influence of her peers,  dropped out of school three years ago and got married to a barber at Mulanje Mission Trading Center.
However, the marriage was short-lived because after eight months into marriage, Brenda’s husband started cheating on her and most of the times, he could not come home for several days. The situation made Brenda worried that she might contract HIV in the process because rumors were rife that her husband was promiscuous. She later divorced him and went back to her parents.

Brenda with her parents

Meanwhile Brenda’s mother was a REFLECT circle member where she acquired writing and reading skills and this development motivated Brenda to think about going back to school. Her mother further encouraged  her to go back to school and she eventually registered at Nalipili Primary School where she is now in Standard 7.
In an interview, Brenda expressed regret that she rushed into married and she vowed to continue her education despite scoffs from her peers. She said that her ambition is to became a nurse some day and become a role model in her area.

serious with school, Brenda would like to be a nurse

Speaking in an interview    Enhanced Livelihood Project Manger Andiyesa Mhango said her project is mobilizing girls such as Brenda to go back to school. She said the project is collaborating with the Ministry of Education and village based mother groups to encourage girls who are married to go back to a school.
The Enhanced Livelihood Project is being supported by Sweden to bring about individual and society change through empowering women and the girl child in Mulanje.

Machinga man breaks silence on male adult learning

By George Million
The common sight suggests that only women go for adult learning in Machinga as men retract because they feel ashamed to learn in the presence of women. A few men who join the adult classes are ridiculed by fellow men and they eventually drop on the way, leaving women to continue with the informal education. However, this was different with Pias Bunnet who braved the mockery from fellow men and vowed to continue with adult learning until he would acquire writing, reading and counting skills. Piasi said he had never been involved in any formal education since he was born 48 years ago. He said since he joined Nthundu REFLECT Circle in August 2012, his situation has improved and he could read a few words in a sentence.
Nthundu REFLECT Circle is among the 9 circles established and supported by ADRA Malawi through Action for Social Change (ASC) Program in Machinga District to facilitate community dialogue sessions and adult learning.  Across the program, ADRA Malawi has facilitated establishment of 39 REFLECT circles in Mzimba, Lilongwe, Machinga and Mulanje.

Piasi Bunnet captured among women during an adult class session

Piasi hinted that his main goal is to participate in leadership positions at his church and in some community based organizations where he is a member. He said he would launch a campaign challenging fellow men to join the adult learning classes.
The Action for Social change program is being supported by Denmark to bring about individual and society change in Mzimba, Lilongwe, Machinga and Mulanje districts.

Village Bank, a ray of hope for Nkhumba village community

By Stanley Mpasa

The Nkhumba Village Banking Group In Phalombe District has a humble history as it started in January 2012  by ADRA Malawi Trainer of Trainers (TOT) Project counselors . The main objective of setting up a bank was to improve the financial status of members who mostly challenged by the impact of HIV/AIDS.   Today, the group membership has grown to 22, of which 19 of them are women while 3 are men.

Members contribute K500 ($1.5) each week and by November 2012, the Group had accumulated K144, 000 ($1028.57) and members get small loans which are repaid at 20% interest.

In an interview, Nkhumba Village Bank Spokes person who declined to be named said bank members were using the loans to carry out small scale businesses that help them generate income to meet their daily needs.

The spokesperson also said that his group was visited regularly by the District Social Welfare Office staff who gave them directions how to run the bank effectively.  He said the DSW office recently contributed a cash box for the group to keep the money safe.
           

 Village Bank members with Claudio and Stanley

The spokesperson however said the main challenge facing the group is lack of capacity to manage the banking system. He said the group has never been trained in any skills associated with village banking.

Meanwhile the wife of the Lomwe Paramount Chief Nkhumba has joined the group and has been elected as the Treasurer. Group members described the presence of the Paramount Chiefs wife  as big inspiration and that their group had a brighter future.

The TOT project is targeting 19 sites in Southern Malawi and is being supported by Sweden to increase counseling skills and support services that lead to the improved quality of life of those infected and affected with HIV/AIDS.   

Over 20 sex workers set for vocational training

Elias Banda
29 rehabilitated sex workers aged between 18 and 30 are now set to undergo various vocational trades under the auspices of Center for Youth Rehabilitation CYR in Blantyre. The development emerged after CYR was featured on ADRA Malawi sponsored Zatonse Radio Program in March and October this year.
According to Marko Chipwaila, CYR Executive Director his organization received positive response from organizations and individuals after the radio program, including the National AIDS Commission (NAC)   which offered to sponsor the 29 sex workers through the Technical Enterprise and Vocational Training Authority (TEVET).
 Mr Chipwaila said the sex workers would undergo trades such plumbing, tailoring, electrical installations, hair dressing, carpentry, refrigeration and bricklaying which he said would transform them into meaningful citizens of this country. 
The trainings start on December 27 and would go on for the next three months.
CYR was formed in 2009 with the aim of rehabilitating, promoting and protecting the Malawian youths through psycho-socio, economic and spiritual programs in Blantyre, Zomba and Mulanje districts.

In September this year, CYR collaborated with Blantyre City Council and launched a sensitization campaign in Blantyre townships, targeting sex workers. During the campaign, 72 sex workers were identified and 10 of them were vulnerable youths.


Zatonse Radio platform  is sponsored by ADRA Malawi through the Action for Change Program which is being supported by Denmark to bring about society and individual change in Malawi.

ADRA Malawi heads GBV Committee in Mulanje

By Elias Banda

ADRA Malawi through the Enhanced Livelihood and Gender Empowerment (ELGE) Project is currently chairing the technical committee on Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the district ahead of the event marking the winding of activities marking 16 days of Activism against Gender Violence. 
I6 days of Activism against Gender violence is a global campaign  that highlights the plight of women and calls for action to end all forms of gender related violence. The event, which connects between women, violence and human rights was launched on November 25 and will end on December 10.

women are victims of wife abandoning in Mulanje

According to Andiyesa Mhango, ELGE Project Manager,  the GBV committee is focusing on rising awareness on highly reported GBV cases in the district.  She said that common among GBV cases are wife abandonment and rape.
She said that Mulanje District is alarmed with cases where men are abandoning their wives for no valid reasons, making them desperate to survive. She said that this has been quoted as a form of violence because many women depend on marriage for survival and the abandonment makes them vulnerable to HIV/AIDS.
Andiyesa also said that rape cases are higher in the district but hinted that the most common form of rape is that which involves younger girls. She said that there is a common belief that if a man rapes a younger girl, he would succeed in cutting and selling good timber from Mulanje Mountain.  Timber selling is currently hot business in the district and men have gone on rampage, raping girls in order to prosper in business.
In the wake of the event, ADRA Malawi and partners are sensitizing community members in the district. Recently, ADRA Malawi, through Action for Social Change Program (ASC) facilitated capacity building for civil society actors in the district to map out a strategy on the campaign.
The event ending 16 days of activisms will take place in Mulanje on December 18. The event will be characterized by speeches, drama, testimonies, dances and songs. 
The ELGE Project is supported by the Sweden and ASC program is funded by Denmark to bring about individual and society change in Mulanje District. The ELGE Project is being implemented in Traditional Authority Chikumbu while ASC program is targeting communities in Traditional Authority Juma.

DFID, Malawi Government applauds ADRA Malawi

By Hastings Lacha and Elias Banda

The British Department for International Development (DIFD) Mission and the Malawi Government have applauded ADRA Malawi   for rolling out food aid efforts in Phalombe District which is under  the Vulnerability Assessment Committee ( MVAC)  targeted food distribution program.

The team addresses beneficiaries

On November 7 this year,  a team comprising DFID, World Food Program (WFP), Malawi Government Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA) visited Mileme and Namanjelema in the district where over 12000 households are targeted for the food aid program.

Between March and April this year, the MVAC report indicated that an estimated 1.6 million people in the country needed food assistance for the 2012/2013 consumption period. And in July this year, the World Food Program WFP declared the food situation in the country as serious, prompting the Emergency Food Aid Program JEFAP consortium to step up efforts with the assistance from Malawi Government and DFID for emergency food program in the affected areas. ADRA Malawi belongs to the JEFAP consortium, which was formed in 2002.

The team inspecting the warehouse

Phalombe is one of the districts that hit by the hunger situation among other areas in the Southern Malawi due to recurrent dry spells and floods during the 2011/2012 agriculture season. 

It was against this background that ADRA Malawi began the operations in Phalombe, targeting 12, 760 households who are receiving a food basket each per month. The basket comprises a 50kg of cereal, 5kg of corn soya blend and 10kg of pulses. The project started in October 2012 and ends in March next year.

The team had good time with individual beneficiaries

The delegation that visited Phalombe included Sara Sanyahumbi, DFID Head Malawi Office, Jeffrey Kanyinnji Principal Secretary DODMA, Button Osman Deputy Country Director WFP Malawi and Fumukazi Munthali, Social and Development Advisor (DFID).   

Sarah Sanyahumbi was quoted in the local media (Daily Times) as saying that her organization is closely working with other agencies to ensure that people are food secure in the country.  And Jeffrey kanyinji said in the same media that his department is putting in place long term efforts to cushion vulnerable communities. He cited irrigation and planting of drought resistant crops as some of the measures.