Violence Against Women Hindering Development, Says Agency

November 25th marks the day where international attention is drawn to the Elimination of Violence Against Women. ADRA Malawi as part of the International ADRA Network joined the United Nations in the commemorations of the day, promoting the enditnow global campaign, co-sponsored by ADRA, whose primary aim is to put an end to the global pandemic of violence aimed at the female gender. In the press release from ADRA International, a development project by ADRA Malawi, promoting women's rights, was highlighted.

Bellow the press release from ADRA International:

The deep effect that violence against women and girls is having around the world is not only stalling the development of millions of women, but also that of their families, communities, and entire societies, reports the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).

“Although women are often the most vulnerable in a society, as mothers and primary caregivers their empowerment is essential to the well-being of their children,” said Charles Sandefur, president of ADRA International. “Protecting them from physical, sexual, or psychological harm is not only is the right thing to do, but an absolute necessity in reaching our development goals.”

In order to push for the eradication of violence against women, ADRA is joining the United Nations on November 25 to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by highlighting the enditnow™ campaign, a global initiative co-sponsored by ADRA whose primary aim is to put an end to the global pandemic of violence aimed at the female gender.

As part of its first phase, the enditnow™ campaign is gathering 1 million signatures from supporters in more than 200 countries and territories, which will then be presented to the United Nations once the goal is reached in order to drive attention to the issue and advocate for policies that will better protect women and girls.

To sign the petition online, click here. View the campaign video here.

ADRA is actively working to eradicate violence against women and girls through various initiatives, including the Keep Girls Safe Project in northern Thailand, which combats sex trafficking; the Anti-Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Project in Kenya; the Stop Sex Traffic Project in India; and ADRA House, a shelter for battered women that ADRA recently opened in Romania.

Recognizing the role that inequality holds in many abusive situations, ADRA’s women empowerment projects also help women increase their role within their own families, gain greater control over their own bodies, and become a voice within their own communities.

In southern Malawi, ADRA is running a project that helps women in the Mulanje district understand their rights, improve their health, and initiate self-supporting income generating activities. By its completion in April 2011, it is expected to have benefited 11,000 people directly, and 33,000 people indirectly, including both men and women.

“The project helps men see women as partners in development, improving marital relations among targeted men and women, a factor that has proven successful among other rural families,” said Per Bolling, project officer for ADRA Sweden.

In southern Chile, 200 women from indigenous Mapuche communities in the Araucania region participated in a one-year project that improved their self-esteem, raised awareness on issues relating to domestic and gender violence, and taught them about gender equality and women empowerment.

“We would like to see Mapuche women as a central protagonist of the destiny of the [Chilean] nation,” said José Antonio Viera-Gallo, special minister for the Presidency of the Republic of Chile, during the project closing ceremony held in October.

ADRA is also improving the literacy skills and health of an estimated 2,000 women and children in a region of Bangladesh where approximately 90 percent of women are illiterate.

“Most of the women have never attended a class before,” said Elidon Bardhi, country director for ADRA Bangladesh. “Many have indicated that the project has changed their lives.”

According to the World Health Organization, violence against women and girls is widespread and comes in a variety of forms, most notably through rape, sex trafficking, domestic abuse, sexual assault, honor killings, female genital mutilation, child marriage, sexual harassment, and emotional and verbal abuse.

In the United States, one-third of women murdered each year are killed by intimate partners. Women and girls constitute 80 percent of the estimated 800,000 people trafficked annually, with the majority—79 percent—trafficked for sexual exploitation. In addition, approximately 100 to 140 million girls and women in the world have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting, with more than 3 million girls in Africa annually at risk of the practice. In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, at least 200,000 cases of sexual violence, mostly involving women and girls, have been documented since 1996, though the actual numbers are considered to be much higher, according to the United Nations Development Fund for Women.

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which is recognized annually on November 25, is designed to raise awareness regarding the issue of violence against women. Additional information about the enditnow™ campaign is available at www.enditnow.org.

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ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.

For more information about ADRA, visit www.adra.org.

Author: Nadia McGill

Kalinde's golden eggs

One of the ADRA Malawi, project activities, within the Let's Fight Aids in Malawi project, is to assist the Communities in the impact areas establish an Income Generating Activity for the entire 10 villages. The income from this business will provide the financial support for the various beneficiaries of the projects, constituted by HIV/AIDS affected households, including orphans and other vulnerable children, and chronically ill. Although different civil society community groups, like the youths, the volunteers and others have already been given the skills to care for the most vulnerable, this would be nearly impossible without the finances to meet the various needs like fees and food for the orphans and drugs for the chronically ill. ADRA supports the establishement of IGA's as a way to generate funds to carry on social work at the community level.

A Main Committee of 10 members, one from each village, was selected as was an Advisory Committee of 5 influential and respected people in the Community. These Committees were given a 5 day training in Business Management facilitated by District Social Welfare and Community Development Officers. They were then asked to choose the business that they wanted in consultation with the Community leaders and other members. The Kalinde Community chose Egg Production and after satisfying conditions like drawing a constitution and a business plan, it was decided to buy 200 day old chicks. During the enquiries, however, it was discovered that besides the traditional day old chicks, 5 week and 18 week old birds were also available. The 18 week old birds were preferred as the waiting period before laying would only be two to three weeks .

Since there was no time for a chicken house (khola) to be put up, an already standing structure was identified and rented. It was then renovated before being inspected and passed as suitable by the area’s Vet Officer. The chickens and the required items like feed and water troughs, bags of feeds, drugs and egg trays were delivered late on 28^th August, to the delight of the Community. They could hardly believe that their dream had materialized so quickly. Seventeen days later, the first eggs were collected much to the delight of the Community. The ADRA Mulanje Office Staff visited the site on 18^th to see for themselves and to deliver some more feeds.

As at the end of August, the Group had collected K25000 which has been banked. The Group will shortly stand on their own feet after they are supplied with the last 5 bags of feed

It is very encouraging to report that demand, which the team was worried about, is so high that all eggs collected are sold out daily with many more customers having to go home empty handed. This is a clear indication that there is room for further expansion.

Reported by: Stanley Mpasa -District Coordinator.

Exchange visits benefit IGA teams

The implementation of Income Generating Activities (IGA) has seen tremendous response from communities. When the issue of IGAs was presented to the communities in the course of the project, there was some doubt from some communities because groups were not to be given cash, rather, they were to be given grants in kind (communities were to be given commodities, machinery or livestock depending on what the groups choose). There were a lot of questions on how this method would work, but time has said it all, the grants have been given, community members have been trained and the committees received their commodities in the form of machinery or livestock, on behalf of their communities.

As part of an urge to improve their IGA three groups in Mulanje District conducted exchange visits. The groups wanted to learn from each other since the success of running an IGA is a big challenge as there are different people brought together for one cause.
For instance, the Income Generating Activity (IGA) Committee at Thembe (a site in Mulanje) has been facing a lot of challenges in the implementation of their activities. The turn out at Committee meetings and work gatherings has been very low and there was even drop out of members. Community mobilization has also been a challenge as has been the link up with the Traditional Leaders in the area. This was in marked contrast with Chisitu (another site in Mulanje), which has a similar IGA with Thembe (milk production).

The challenges prompted ADRA district staff to discuss the problem with both communities and developing the idea of having a exchange visit with the Thembe team visiting Chisitu. The idea was to give the two Committees a chance to share their experiences in the hope that Thembe would learn and rectify their shortfalls while Chisitu would also learn from their colleagues’ mistakes and avoid them. The idea was welcomed by both Committees and was held on 21st October, 2009.

The team from Thembe was accompanied by the Community Worker and the Veterinary Assistant from Ministry of Agriculture. The team from Chisitu outlined their strategy where by most of its committee members were Farm Club members (farms were initiated by ADRA), therefore, highly interested in farming and able to work as a group. The Committee also ensured the involvement of the Traditional Leaders and the Community right from the beginning. Another important point the team from Chisitu emphasized was on the importance of explaining to the community that the IGA was for the whole Community while the Committee just represented them. This was evidenced by the fact that they collected money to open their own bank account; Youths, Farmers, CFs and some Village members all contributed.The visiting team learnt the importance of involving the Leaders and the Community; it makes work easier and strengthens the sense of ownership.

The visitors were shown the Chisitu khola (kraal) and the field of elephant grass planted to feed the cows. The visiting group was impressed and is now determined to do their best to catch up. Even the Vet Assistant vowed to do all she can to turn things round.

Much as the other site, Mbiza, is rearing chickens, the ideas on how to run a business was of relevance to the group as well, hence the group from Chisitu visited their counterparts from Mbiza site.

In all these visitations the groups shared ideas on how to strengthen ties within the community and with community leaders. They also shared best practices on how to run business especially that they are working as a team of more than ten people.

At the end of the exchange members of both groups made a very positive balance of the activity. Visibly motivated the groups mentioned how important the activity had been and their plans to continue interacting and sharing information.

Author: Stanley Mpasa - Mulanje District Coordinator

A full life

As ADRA’s, LEFAM Project is currently preparing for its exit on 31st January 2010, the ADRA team and community partners continues with interventions in HIV&AIDS prevention, Food Security, Community Home Based Care Providers’ services, Psychosocial support to HIV affected families, Community Based Organizations strengthening, Nutrition demonstrations/trainings and Community Dialogue Sessions. These have positively impacted communities in general and individual families.

Picture: Represents a family supported by an ADRA project but not the family and situation of the story.

Anna (not real name), 27 years old is married to Chimwemwe (not real name) with 2 children: a girl 7 years, and a boy 4 years old.

This family stays in Mikundi at the trading center. Mikundi is one of the 4 project sites in Mchinji district.

In an interview with Anna, she reported that on 10th October 2004, both her and her husband tested HIV positive and their lives experienced episodes of illnesses and this greatly affected their family life, household income and community participation.

In 2005 the husband ventured into a small scale business. He and Anna joined and opened up a small canteen where they bake and sale bread. The problem during this time was that they could barely cover the costs for their medication. This continued until when the ADRA project came to their area in January 2007.

Anna developed an interest in voluntary services and joined the project as a Community Facilitator. Despite her sero- positive status, Anna’s curiosity grew as she continued attending meetings and trainings conducted by ADRA LEFAM staff in the area. She is one of the CHBC Providers trained by LEFAM. The more she attended these forums the more she gathered knowledge and skills that are being translated into meaningful service.

She learnt about: HIV&AIDS prevention, Food Security activities, psychosocial services,

participated in nutrition demonstrations and Community Dialogue Sessions and meetings conducted by Community Facilitators supervised by Community Worker at the site, among other things.

With great enthusiasm Anna shared her experiences with her husband and started planning positively. No sooner had she shared this with her husband than they jointly planned for the improvement of their small scale business as well as their health status.

According to her responses upon the interview conducted, Anna and her spouse are doing very well in their business. Apart from baking and selling bread, they are also frying and selling chips (Irish potatoes) at the trading center at a very profitable note. She reported that they are making a great deal in their business transaction. When further interrogated she mentioned how much they get per day as follows:

For Irish potato chips, they make K 2,500 to K3, 500 per day and for the bread bakery they make K2, 000 to K2, 500 per day as well. Their family is very happy and healthy.

Besides this business transaction, Idah and her husband are one of the most industrious farmers in the area. They use knowledge gained through ADRA and produce compost manure, and have a vegetable garden which is vibrant to date.

“This is all because of the ADRA LEFAM project that has given all the knowledge and skills in both food security and positive health living with the HIV. My husband and I are living very happy and physically strong. All our domestic chores are done by us and there is no more time for sickness any more.” Remarked Anna.

She is one of the most active Community Facilitators in the area. To them time for illness is a bygone.

Information collected and written by:Watson Chikopa (District Coordinator Liaison Officer)

Bicycle Ambulances

As observed by Karren Allen, BBC reporter, (click here to access the report) bicycle ambulances are playing an important role in reducing maternal and newborn deaths in Malawi.

Since beginning of this year ADRA Malawi, assisted by ADRA Denmark and private donors in Denmark, such as FEJERSEN, donated 7 bicycle ambulances and trained 7 Community Home Base Care Providers Committees with skills in basic health care and bicycle maintenance. Before the end of the year an additional 7 new bicycle ambulances will be provided.

In 2010, ADRA Malawi, assisted by ADRA International, will conduct a World Wide campaign to provide at least 90 additional bicycle ambulances to rural communities in Malawi. This campaign will be featured in the upcoming ADRA International Gift Catalog.

ADRA network commemoration of World Food Day

The ADRA network commemoration of World Food Day, highlighted the work to fight hunger that ADRA Malawi is conducting. Read the article bellow or follow the link to the story in the ADRA International website.

A central focus of ADRA Malawi’s activity has been to improve food security and resilience of households in Malawi. This has involved activity across three main areas of increasing food availability, strengthening local economies and improving nutrition through processing and utilization. Additionally ADRA Malawi is partnering with the World Food Program to carry out relief operations and reducing the vulnerability of communities in the Phalombe District.

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ADRA International article.

Title: Upcoming World Food Day Highlights Continued Global Hunger

Author: Nadia McGill

SILVER SPRING, Md. —On October 16, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) joins the world in commemorating World Food Day, recognizing an immediate need for increased access to food in many countries, as the number of the world’s hungry continues to grow, and the amount of food assistance shrinks.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the number of people globally suffering from hunger has reached a record high this year, surpassing more than 1 billion people. Meanwhile, the amount of available food aid has dropped to its lowest number in two decades.

“The double whammy of the financial crisis and the still record high food prices around the world is delivering a devastating blow,” said Josette Sheeran, executive director for WFP. “Throw in a storm, a drought, and conflict, and you have a recipe for disaster.”

To meet the ongoing challenges of today’s changing world, ADRA continues to implement much-needed projects that provide emergency and development relief to communities on the brink of starvation.

In Guatemala, where millions are currently struggling to survive the worst drought in 30 years, ADRA just completed a distribution of emergency food baskets for 377 families in some of the country’s worst affected communities.

“The problem is very serious,” said Otoniel Trujillo, country director for ADRA Guatemala. “There are many people that are currently in need of a lot of help.”

In response to the ongoing food crisis that is affecting an estimated 250,000 people in southern Madagascar, ADRA is partnering with WFP and other organizations to provide Food-for-Work and other activities for more than 18,000 households in the affected region. ADRA is also distributing more than 4,000 tons of food throughout 16 communities in the districts of Ambovombe and Tsihombe, in the Androy Region. Other partners include the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), also of the United Nations.

“In recent months, the food security situation in the south has steadily worsened,” said Peter Delhove, country director for ADRA Madagascar. “This project is expected to meet the needs of affected households in that region, helping them to make it to the next harvest.”

In order to fight malnutrition among Malawian children under the age of five, ADRA is working with the local government and other non-governmental organizations to train parents and care givers in nutrition, effective childcare, and healthy feeding habits, through an initiative called the Resilience and Capacity Building for Vulnerable Households and Communities affected by HIV/AIDS, Malawi project. In collaboration with trained health care providers, ADRA is supporting mothers who have malnourished children through training, practical cooking, infant feeding demonstrations, and counseling.

“ADRA believes that solutions for most of the problems can be found within the same communities,” said Thoko Mwapasa, project manager for ADRA Malawi.

Therefore, ADRA facilitates the transfer of knowledge within the community by drawing lessons and beneficial practices from mothers of well-nourished children from low-income families.

By the project’s completion in 2011, an estimated 2,000 children under five years of age from the districts of Mulanje and Neno, in southern Malawi will have benefited.

“The intervention can greatly contribute to better health outcomes for children under five who are often at risk of child mortality, since a lack of good nutrition leaves children vulnerable to frequent illnesses and poor growth,” said Mwapasa.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the vast majority of the world’s hungry live in developing countries, with 65 percent of those suffering from hunger found in India, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s hungry live in Asia.

World Food Day was created to raise awareness about global food scarcity, motivating communities to get involved in the fight against world hunger.

Follow ADRA on Twitter and get the latest information as it happens.

ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.

For more information about ADRA, visit www.adra.org.

Volunteering in Malawi (2/2)

During the month of August ADRA Malawi was proud to host two high-school students from the UK for a week of volunteer experience. They were exposed to many different aspects of development, from working in the head office to a visit to a community based youth group, who use theatre to influence their community and raise awareness of issues such as domestic violence and HIV/AIDS. The following stories reflect their experiences and what impacted them during their week in Malawi.

Kerryn Lodo: Volunteer Supervisor

Author: Lahna Mawee-Patel

Whilst in Chiradzulu, I was given the opportunity to visit a child-run home. We interviewed a young man, Mphatso*, 21, who, along with his two younger brothers, aged 10 and 14, was orphaned 5 years ago sadly to the loss of his mother and abandonment of his father.

I was confused to hear that after the mother died, the father soon re-married and went to live with his wife and therefore leaving his eldest son to look after his younger siblings. I later learned that this was part of some Malawian cultures and that this was sometimes a normal thing to happen due to a matrilineal structure. Unfortunately, due to the situation of poverty present in Malawi the father was, and still has been unable to provide for his current family, let alone the boys. This also applies to members of the maternal family; they are also poverty stricken and cannot afford to care for the boys as well. Additional to this, HIV has also been an issue which has affected the support provided from the maternal family to the boys. With so many people passing away, the traditional support systems which would have assisted the boys and taken care of them in this situation are disintegrating or non-existent.

This is why ADRA provide extra support to groups like an IGA group. This is an income generating activity group (IGA) which is designed especially for cases like this. The group is able to choose a small business which they can start up so that they can earn a small income from it and assist vulnerable households in the community, such as Mpatso. In this particular case that I saw, the group decided to raise goats to share between community members. The IGA group supplied them with two goats as a starter provided that they give the first two kids to the next family in need of IGA group support. After this they can do whatever they need to with goats in order to sustain a living for themselves.

It was touching and encouraging to find that the eldest boy was very keen on making sure that his two younger brothers obtained a good education and go on to lead successful lives and maybe even work with ADRA one day! With the IGA, the family has been able to sell two goats which can provide them with enough money for a 1 year school fee making it all the more possible for the two younger boys to lead any life they wish to.

* Real Name not used.