VSL changes Mulanje man

   By Redson Damalekani                                                                                         

 For a long time, life had been difficult for Duncan Ntope  45, a father of four children who hails from Kamwendo village in Mulanje District. Duncan has been selling second hand clothes since July 2010 when he started the business with only K5000 initial capital (about $20).

Second hand cloth market at Kamwendo

Since then, his daily sales could hang between K1500 and K2500 ( $5.7 and $9.6) not enough to meet the daily family needs.
In November 2011, Duncan joined Chiyambi Village Saving and Loan Group facilitated by ADRA Malawi. A few months later, he borrowed K25, 000 ( about $96) from the VSL Group to boost his business.

Chiyambi VSL Group in session

Speaking in an interview, Duncan said he can now make daily sales as high as K12000 (about $46).
He said his life has changed and can now afford basic family needs, including sending his children to school. Duncan also hinted that he is dreaming big and recently, he sent one of his children to Soche Private Secondary in Blantyre, something he never imagined would happen to him.

ADRA Malawi through the Action for Social Change Program  is working with various community based groups and individuals to bring about society and individual change. The Action for Social Change Program is being supported by Denmark.

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.

Mzimba CBG build house for an old lady

By Heatherwick Manda

Flora Chiumia 84 can now afford a smile after a local community based group built a house for her at Pondaponda Village in Traditional Authority Mtwalo in Mzimba.
Flora is one of the vulnerable women in the area trapped between old age and poverty. Her husband died a long time ago and ever since, she had nobody to care for her. Her house collapsed many years ago and she has been seeking shelter in other people’s homes until she won the favor of Tiwonelepo Women’s Group, which constructed a house for her at the tune of K15, 000 ($57.7).

Members of the Tiwonelepo Women's Group

Tiwonelepo Women’s Group started in 2008 after widows of the area came together to advocate for issues affecting them.  At the initial stage, the group composed mainly of widows but now it has incorporated people living with HIV/AIDS ( PLWHIV) ,guardians of orphans, Village Savings and Loan (VSLA)  group members.
Group Chairperson Elizabeth Mbeya said the group was formed soon after its members went through communication for social change and advocacy training done by ADRA Malawi through Lets Fight AIDS in Malawi (LEFAM) Project two years ago. Currently, the group is collaborating with the Action for Social program helping the needy in the community.

Flora in front of her new ho

A few months ago, the group raised K40, 00 ($154) and invested it in chicken rearing business.  Part of the profit was used to build Flora’s house. Members of Tiwonelepo are dreaming big; they are planning to build their own office and run a day care centre for the orphans.
For Flora, the world has now changed around her and she said owning a house of her own was a greatest gift in her life time.

ADRA Malawi donates to Nsanje flood victims

By Elias Banda

ADRA Malawi has donated food items worth K1.5 million ($8, 982) as a response to floods that hit Nsanje District in the lower shire valley.
In January, 448 households in Nsanje were displaced and crops destroyed due to heavy floods,  making people vulnerable to starvation and water borne diseases.
The Nsanje District Commissioner (DC) Rodney Simwaka was quoted in the local press as saying that flooding originated from Shire, Nyamalikombe and Thanguzi rivers, heavily hitting Bangula and Phokela areas where 323 houses were destroyed and 125 other houses partially submerged.
He said people whose houses were damaged sought refuge in classrooms, a situation that affected the education systems as some schools risked being closed.
The DC also disclosed that 550 toilets were washed away, posing a health risk and he called for emergency health facilities to dispel chances of a possible cholera outbreak.
ADRA Malawi joined other none governmental organizations responding to the disaster by donating 3 tones of Likuni Phala (soy flour) and 10,000 kilograms of maize. The donation was done on April 15, 2012  in Traditional Authority Mlolo, one of the affected areas along the Shire East Bank.  
Speaking in an interview, ADRA Finance Director Elijah Menyere said the donation was a direct response to those affected due to flooding.

Mary’s story reveals vicious circle of poverty and HIV/AIDS

 By Stanley Mpasa

 

Mary Jonasi, 13 hails from Nkhonya Village in Mulanje and she heads a family of four children after her mother past away.  But before she died, Mary narrates that their situation had been catastrophic.
Soon after she was born, her father, Mr.Jonasi, abandoned them and went to the unknown destination and since then, he has never returned. Her mother got married to another man, Mr Mose. They later had a child who was named Dalitso(Blessing),  now 10 years. The blessing became a curse when Mr.Mose also left  them a few months after Dalitso’s birth. Her mother struggled for a couple of years to raise the children and sending them to school became the last option before she fail in love to another man, Mr Tomasi. The new man stayed for three years and left after the birth of another child Enifa who is now 5 years old. However,  Mr Mose returned three years later and was reunited with the family. A year later another child,  Lony  was born.

Mary further narrated that Mr Mose was a changed man on his seconding coming. He was very cruel. He took turns raping her and she became pregnant. She was forced to abort apparently for fear that relatives might launch an inquiry. Meanwhile, her mother could not do anything because she wanted to protect her marriage. “He used to beat her and abuse her whenever he was drunk and life was miserable for us all” she said. She said her mother became pregnant again but she miscarried because she was beaten several times. She went to the hospital for treatment but continued to bleed again. The matter was reported to police and he was arrested. The man was later released but never returned home. Her mother died later due to miscarriage complications. 
 

Mary, a brother and sisters in front of their house

 A much closer view of their house.

After the death of her mother, her uncle took care of them for a short time and after he abandoned them, Mary took the responsibility of looking after her two sisters and a brother.
Mary said that a local organization FOMO (Friends of Mulanje Orphans) sometimes gave them food items. She said did survive by collecting firewood from Mulanje Mountain which sale and feed the family. During maize harvest time, she said she did some casual labour by helping people to harvest their maize at a fee or in exchange for some of the grain.
 In 2011 Mary fell seriously ill and when she went to the hospital for treatment, while there, she,   she tested for HIV and was found to be positive. “ I am currently on  Anti retroviral Treatment ( ART) but I face so many challenges to access food to compliment with the drugs” she said. To make things even worse, their small house fell on one side last year because of the rains. A nearby community based group later built them another house but it fell too because the rainy season started before it was roofed.
In a turn of events, ADRA Malawi through the TOT Project has given Mary several counselling sessions on positive living, food items and money. TOT counsellors are visiting Mary frequently to offer psychosocial counselling. 

Kitchen utensils that they use.

Mary has also been encouraged to go back to school. She is now in std 3, Dalitso in std 2, Enifa in std 1 and Lony is attending preschool education at FOMO.
Mary is appealing for more support from individuals and organizations to help them meet their daily needs. 
The Trainer of Trainers for Counsellor Preparation in Africa (TOT) Project is implemented by ADRA Malawi with funding from ADRA Sweden. It is involved in the training of Community based Counsellors who raise the awareness of HIV/ AIDS and the related services that are available. They also encourage Community members to go HIV Testing. The Project works closely with the SDA Church.

A rare treat at staff retreat

By Elias Banda

Full of pleasure and fun, enjoyable and memorable are words describing the two –day staff retreat organized by ADRA Malawi for the Action for Social Change Program (ASC) team at the Lakeshore District of Mangochi. The adventurous program was initially planned for Christmas holiday but failed due to tight program schedules.   Program Manager Emma Jakobo said the staff expedition was organized to be a moment of refreshing, relaxing, sharing experiences and team building.
The ASC team camped at the Nkopola Sunbird Hotel, North of Mangochi town and 2kms off the Mangochi –Monkey Bay Road. The team was drawn from all program targeted districts of Mulanje, Machinga, Mzuzu, Lilongwe and those from the Head Office in Blantyre.
In between the sumptuous meals served at the hotel, the team was engaged in various merriment activities full of fun on the lake side, including beach soccer.

Some team members in front of the marked rock.

On Tuesday, the team took a 30 minutes drive to Cape Maclear to view the natural water front dotted with beautiful islands within Chembe fishing community.  On the way to Chembe the ASC team had a stop -over at a place called Mwala wa mphini in the local language meaning ‘marked stone’. This is one of the many wonders in the area as the huge stone is marked with straight and deep lines believed to have been done by the ancestors. But close range view sparked debate as to what type of equipment the ancestors might have used to come up with the marks. If it was formed by natural forces, how come the structure had patterns of marks as if somebody had arranged them

Team B heading for Thumbi Islan

that way? These were some of the questions that could not be easily answered as team members revolved around the wondrous stone.
After viewing the astounding stone, the ASC team trekked down to the lake side for a two –kilometer boat riding to Thumbi Island where team members viewed the mbuna fish.
The team leant that Lake Malawi has over 1000 fish species including the multi-colored mbuna found around the Thumbi rocks. The evening activities were spiced by team building activities that included Bible Quiz and a presentation on HIV/AIDS.
 During the same time, George Million who has joined the program as Deputy Program Manager was formerly introduced.  George has a strong background in agriculture and his coming in the ASC program would strengthen the food security and livelihood component.
The following day, a beach soccer competition ensued involving four teams. In the preliminary encounter, Machinga beat Mzuzu 1-0 in the post match penalties while Lilongwe scotched Mulanje 1-0.
Machinga emerged winner after beating Lilongwe 3-2 in the final with Elias Banda toping the score sheet by shaking the net three times after making defenders vulnerable.   The winning team and runners up were given trophies later in the evening, courtesy of Emma Jakobo.
In the afternoon, the team visited Koma Crocodile Camp and it was exciting to see crocodiles from infancy stages up to as old as 48. One lesson leant while viewing crocodiles was that just like humans, they are jealousy creatures and males could fight over the females. 

One of the scenes on the beach

The ASC team got another rare treat on Wednesday when the hotel hosted them with dinner, spiced by music and dancing. The excitement and fun reached higher grounds as members took turns invading the dancing floor with incredible styles.  But before the dancing floor was opened, trophies were awarded to the beach soccer winners and the voted most sociable and caring persons in the team. The first prize went to Chikondi Madumuse, followed by Emma Jakobo and third by Neema Kachali and Gift Mwenda.
 Nevertheless, the adventure seemed to be short lived as sadness struck on Thursday morning when it was  time to leave and somber faces manifested as team members bid farewell with tears.  The adventure brought happiness and offered an opportunity for staff members to know and strengthen each other as one family. Levison Maolera, Office Assistant based in Blantyre described it as a moment of learning and sharing and he urged management to consider organizing a similar event in future.

Machinga CBGs on a flight of hope

By Justine Kumadzulo

It is not easy in some places for people to openly discuss matters of sexuality in public due to cultural taboos which define sex issues as sacred and shameful such that those who brave the situation and talk about them, the society would brand them as being associated with prostitution.   Nevertheless, Community Based Groups (CBGs) in Machinga are on the right path to break the silence and recently, ADRA Malawi through the Action for Social Program mobilized 40 CBG representatives from Traditional Authority Kawinga in the district into HIV and AID training to promote behavior change.
The four –day training, among other objectives aimed at promoting open discussion on matters of sexuality and HIV/AIDS. The expected change of the training, facilitated by Save the Children and Ntaja Clinic was that the trained members would initiate dialogue at household and community levels and provoke them to discuss matters of sex and HIV and AIDS.
Cases of HIV and AIDS are reportedly high in the district, affecting individuals and communities through severe opportunistic infections and death of bread winners. The situation has increased the number of destitute children who are exposed to child labor, abuse and prostitution.

A role play depicting the danger of girls falling in love with elderly men

In her opening remarks HIV and AIDS Program Technical Officer Judith Kumwenda said that ADRA Malawi organized the training to ensure that the CBGs got knowledge on HIV and AIDS prevention and equip their communities with the right information.
The Program District Coordinator for Machinga, Justin Kumadzulo urged participants to take the training seriously considering that they would be expected to relay the information to other people.

fleet of hope with card characters. Participants were given pictures and asked to place them in the boat of their choice according to the character or profession of  a person. The idea is that at the end of it, each one should be in the safe boat.

 The participants were drawn from youth groups, faith groups, home based care and support groups. On the final day of the training,  one of the participants, John khanene said the skills acquired during the training would go a long way changing the face of their communities especially on matters of stigma and discrimination.

The Action for Social Change Program with support from Denmark is collaborating with community based groups and district partners to bring about change in the targeted communities in Machinga, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Mulanje.