Bicycle Ambulance to the Rescue

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.