construct his house, Chingapa

used some money to pull an

electric line from a bordering

trading centre in Dedza dis-

trict. “I used to worm through

thicket of poverty before I

joined Chilenje Farmers Asso-

ciation. But now, I have decent

shelter, food and wife and my

children have things they did

not have. My maize yield has

increased and I have benefited

a lot from the sale of milk,

maize, beans and soya.”

Chilenje farmers minting

money through farming

A bout 80 percent of

Malawi’s population

earns a living through

agriculture. However,

few Malawians have lived to the

fact that one can take farming for

a productive business. In the area

of Traditional Authority Chitek-

were in Lilongwe, a group of farm-

ers belonging to Chilenje Farmers Association (CFA) claim better

standards of living through farm-

ing. Thanks to the support from Y

-Malawi through World Vision.

Boniface Chingapa joined CFA in

2011. Then, he had a grass-roofed

house and his maize yield used to

be three cartloads. Today Chin-

gapa is one of the exemplary

farmers and his maize yield ex-

ceeds 10 cartloads. Apart grow-

ing maize, beans and soya beans,

Chingapa practices livestock farm-

ing. Through milk sales, he man-

aged to build a three bedroom

iron-sheet roofed house.

While comfort in an electrified

house is brag of urban dwellers,

Chingapa defied all odds by pow-

ering his house with electricity.

On top of 270,000 Malawi Kwa-

cha (about 650 US$) he used to

A product of World Vision and Y-Malawi

June 2015

Chingapa, one of the farmers that are doing well in Chilenje

Y-MALAWI BULLETIN

Issue No: 1

Continued on next page

Clean water essential

for good health - Page 3Page 3

Chief’s Ministry

Page 3Page 3

Youth clubs transforming

lives- Page 2Page 2

… from page 1

Chingapa further says he affords paying school fees for

his children. This year alone, he has managed to harvest

14 maize cartloads, 60 bags of soya and 17 bags of beans.

He plans to buy an oxen- driven cart to ease his trans-

portation.

Chingapa is the Chairperson of Chilenje Farmers Asso-

ciation. The association started in 2009 as a credit club

and has been lending resources to farmers. The group

has 1,690 members.

Evelyn Mbedza is one of CFA members. She received a

cow on loan in 2010 and now, she has two cattle. From

the milk she sells, Evelyn managed to raise 500,000 Ma-

lawi Kwacha (about US$ 1,190) which she used to build a

three bed room iron sheet roofed house. She plans to

construct another house for rent.

While most youths value pleasure at the expense of spiritual matters,

youths in Nkhoma have defied odds by forming youth clubs where they

learn how to enhance their spiritual lives besides sharing life changing

stories. Most youths testify that their lives have transformed.

Lameck Mbalame, one of the youth club members explains the work

they do including; evangelism, youth empowerment, early childhood

education and rendering support to the elderly. He says the youth also

discuss effects of drugs and substances abuse.

“During our meetings, we encourage each other to work hard so that

we live an independent life in future. Within our clubs, we share the

Word of God and recite verses.

“Through youth clubs, we have witnessed the decrease of pregnan-

cies among young girls and numbers of young people dropping out

of school,” explains Mbalame adding that the clubs organize meet-

ings in schools to woo young people to Christ.

Andrew Mahatchi is the Executive Chairperson for 14 youth clubs

in Nkhoma. Mahatchi says youth clubs play a big role in behaviour

change of young people. He says most young people in Nkhoma

have stopped taking alcohol and smoking.

“I was a thief; I used to stay in Lilongwe in a township called

Mtandire. When I came to Nkhoma, I heard a Bible story of the

prodigal son. After being convicted I gave my life to Christ and my

life has changed,” one youth confesses.

The youth clubs in Nkhoma operate under Nkhoma Youth Depart-

ment. Kennedy Chabwera Desk Officer for Nkhoma Church of

Central Africa Presbyterian Student Organization (CCAPSO) says

one reason behind the formation of the clubs is to shape the

youths into reliable citizens.

“A lot of young people who patronize the clubs have changed their

behaviour and that’s what we intend to achieve,” Chabwera ex-

plains. He further says that the youths are given books for their

reading pleasure.

The Nkhoma Youth department gets support from Y-Malawi

through World Vision for its activities.

Youth clubs transforming lives

Kennedy Chabwera

Page 1

Evelyn, one of the livestock farmers in Chilenje

F or years, people of Chipse village in the area of Traditional Au-

thority Chitekwere in Nkhoma, Lilongwe had no access to clean

water. The villagers used to draw water from a nearby river

where animals like cattle and pigs used to drink. Sikitina Richard, one of the villagers recalls the situation then. She says

during rainy season the river could be filled with water up to the banks,

making fetching risky. Aside this, the water had a lot of waste and was

contaminated. “My children used to suffer from diarrhea. As a result, they were getting

absent from school. Sometimes they were going to school very late as I

spent more time from home, searching for good water,” she explains.

Today the village has a borehole which was drilled by World Vision

with support from Y-Malawi. According to Richard, the coming in of the

borehole has been a relief to the village. She says her children have

good health and no longer suffer from diarrhea. “I can proudly say that the borehole has simplified life for me. I now

concentrate on other things unlike in the past when I used to think

about where to get clean water,” explains Richard, a mother of four

children. Group Village Headman Chipse says villagers have come to realize the

importance of having clean water. He says community members make

sure that the borehole is always maintained and in good shape. “Our lives have changed because of this borehole. As a way of maintain-

ing it, each family contributes a little amount of money for repairs,”

explains Group Village Headman Chipse. According to Chipse, the drilling of the borehole came along with con-

struction of a bridge. The bridge helps children to access school easily

particularly during rainy season.

Clean water essential Clean water essential

for good healthfor good health

D espite traditions being mark of tribal identity in a

community, religion appears to have capacity of mak-

ing some cultural beliefs invalid. This is true to most

villages in Nkhoma, in Lilongwe district.

In 2007, Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) started Chiefs

Ministry, a fellowship of traditional leaders, as one way of empow-

ering the leaders spiritually. Through Chiefs Ministry or

“Chiyanjano cha Mafumu” in vernacular, most chiefs around

Nkhoma have bid farewell to cults and ill traditional practices.

Village Headwoman Chinkhwali is one of the traditional leaders

who participate in Chiyanjano cha Mafumu. Chinkhwali says since

she joined the group, her life has changed significantly. In the past,

she used to promote gulewamkulu, a secret cult and ritual dance

practiced among Chewa people.

“I was born in a gulewamkulu community, and this has been part

of my life since I was a child. Today, I encourage village members

to concentrate on other things and not gulewamkulu.

“Through Chiefs ministries I have learnt to read the Bible. I now

understand that idolatry is not good,” explains Chinkhwali.

Chinkhwali further says that she encourages her community to-

gether attend Church. She says through this, community mem-

bers are changing their bad behaviours for example beer drinking.

Evangelical Association of Malawi stresses on the need to take the

fellowship to other villages where Chiefs Ministry has not

reached. Chiefs Ministry Coordinator, Amos Chibisa says the

rationale of the fellowship is to train chiefs to become preachers

in their communities so as to create a God fearing community.

“Through Chiefs Ministry we enable leaders who have influence in

their communities to lead by virtue and impart the same in their

subjects. “Let me say it here that the fellowship has been quite successful

as may be witnessed by various chiefs who have been participating

in the fellowship. We owe this to Y-Malawi through World Vi-

sion,” Chibisa explains.

Chiefs get the Word

Children fetching water from a borehole

Community leaders praising God

Page 3

Target Population

Chilenje Area Program - 23,000

Nkhoma Area Program - 25,000

Summary of Programs

In the past eight months, Chilenje and Nkhoma Area Programs (APs) implemented three technical programs namely

Malawi Learning for Empowerment through Action Learning and Networking (MLEARN), Malawi Newborn and Child

Health (MNECH), Malawi Food Security and Resilience (MFS&R). Besides this, Chilenje and Nkhoma APs implemented

Sponsorship Management Program under sponsorship funding and two grants funded projects

namely Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Value Chain project.

World Vision Malawi

Opportunity International Bank of Malawi

Chief’s Ministry (Evangelical Association of Malawi)

Nkhoma Youth

Fishers Trainers and Senders (FTS)

World Vision Malawi

P.O. Box 692

Lilongwe

Off Mchinji Road

Nkhoma and Chilenje Programs - Highlights

Through back to school campaign and efforts on improving the teaching and learning

environment, enrolment of learner’s in Nkhoma schools increased from 9,523 between

2013/2014 to 16,420 between 2014/2015.

Crop diversification is being promoted to enhance diversified nutrition sources which

has seen over 90% of the farmers in Nkhoma growing more than 3 crops between

2013 and 2015 growing season.

Through crusades and evangelism campaigns, Nkhoma Youth encouraged young people

who dropped out of school to return back. The campaigns also contributed to high

enrolment of pupils. For instance, the enrolment of primary school pupils rose from

7,786 between 2013/2014 to 11,669 between 2014/2015.

Malaria Project (now phased out) contributed to the decrease in malaria cases in

Nkhoma and Chilenje areas. For example, Nkhoma hospital where most people access

health services, witnessed a decline in malaria cases from 16,726 in 2009 to 3,200 in

2014 (Management Information System (HMIS) Report for Nkhoma Hospital 2014).