Overseas Programs

Malawi Nkhoma program 1300-2006

Stories: July 29, 2009

Reference: US$1 = 142 Kwacha

NRD started working in Paulo village in 1999.  The community development facilitator, Esther, helped establish a women’s group to teach the women the basics about development.  The women met together regularly and learned about nutrition, sanitation and disease prevention.  Flora was an early member of the Paulo village women’s group and eventually was chosen to be the secretary.  Esther also established an adult literacy class for men and women.  Now many people are able to read, write and do basic math.  Mrs. Mavuto shared with us how happy she is that she can now read her Bible and be more active in her church. 

Through the FRB food security project Paulo village was able to construct a grain bank.  The building was started in 2003 but was not fully completed until April 2009.  They received 29 bags of maize through FRB and sold them in October 2008.  They collected 23,000 Kwacha.  Now they have begun buying maize from the community members.  They also plan to farm a group field to increase the stock in the community.  A recent CFGB funded relief project also helped increase the stock because the harvest from the Food for Work gardens will be stored there. 

 

Paulo village community grain bank committee members and Community Development Facilitator  (right).

 

NRD has also supported food security in Paulo through a goat distribution project.  So far 28 families have received goats and they continue to give away the first offspring to other community members.  Flora was one of the recipients and she is very grateful and feels that she never would have saved enough to buy her own goat.

 

Paulo village farmer group in front of cassava field.

In 2008 many new developments came to Paulo village through NRD.  The CFGB funded food security project established a farmer group of 21 members (12 women and nine men).  Flora’s husband, Zefaniya, became a farmer group member and learned how to grow sweet potato and cassava as drought tolerant crops.  The group was supplied with seed for ½ acre of cassava and ½ acre of sweet potato.  They constructed a strong fence around their cassava in order to keep the goats out.  Zefaniya also learned how to improve his maize production through compost making and improved crop management.  The farmer group farms a field together to practice what they are learning and to share with the rest of the community their new techniques.  They each contributed peanut seed in order to have a ½ acre group peanut field.  They harvested fifteen large sacks of unshelled peanuts and plan on selling it and buying fertilizer and seed for the upcoming year.  In addition, each group member is contributing monthly to the group fund for future agricultural inputs. 

Paulo village farmer group peanut harvest (Zefaniya on left).

In 2008 the CRWRC Embrace AIDS funding for Malawi helped NRD to start a Home Based Care program to care for the chronically ill.  Flora was chosen to be the volunteer caregiver and she received two weeks of training.  One of her patients, Simeoni, has been sick for three years. He was slowly losing the use of his legs and stopped walking last year.  Simeoni is HIV positive, 40 years old, and lives with his parents who are elderly.  Most of his care is provided by his sister.  Now that Flora has been visiting him regularly and training his family how to care for him, his health has improved.  He has improved movement now because of the regular exercise and he can crawl and use the wheelchair that was provided through NRD.  He really enjoys the visits because they bring him hope and he receives medicine, such as pain relievers.

 

Flora helps Simeoni with his wheelchair while his mother looks on.

In March 2009, Flora was able to help start NRD’s first support group for people living with HIV/AIDS.  Now 17 people (11 women, six men) meet together weekly to encourage each other, sing songs and dance together.  They also do skits and share their songs and dramas at a local clinic to help others prevent HIV infection. They do some field work together on others’ farms to save money that can be used for medications and transportation. They currently have MK1,600 but have dreams of raising more money, farming a group field or carrying out a group business.  They would like lessons about how support groups can be most effective and business training.  Flora taught them about the nutritious leaves of the Moringa tree which can act as a vitamin supplement. 

Christa and Cara visit with the Paulo village support group.

In October 2008 Esther helped Paulo village start an orphan nursery school where the preschool children meet for two hours a day, Monday through Friday, in the mornings.

Fifty-two (52) children currently attend and are taught the alphabet, days of the week, months of the year and Christian songs.  They meet at the local CCAP prayer house.  Community members farmed a field of cotton for the orphans and will use the money from the harvest to help provide them with nutritious food.  The orphans have also benefited from USAID lentils that NRD has been distributing monthly. Two volunteer teachers, Blessed and Beatrice, do the bulk of the work but have not yet been trained.  The FRB project will train them in the next six months.

Preschool orphans meet daily in the Paulo CCAP prayer house.

Through the work of Nkhoma Relief and Development many people’s lives have been changed.  They have learned to read and write, to produce more food, to live healthy lives.  More than that Paulo village has learned how to work together as a community to care for those most in need.  Volunteers give of themselves to care for the chronically ill and the orphans.  Community members all contribute for the benefit of the community – whether in agriculture, orphan care or caring for the sick.  Paulo village is in the process of transformation.