• DAPP Malawi is in 2021 celebrating 26 years of active involvement in development work with communities through out the country

  • DAPP is implementing 17 projects within education, health, agriculture and community development in 25 district that span across the country's three regions

Outreach Activities around DAPP TTCs with Child Aid

The DAPP Teacher Training Colleges (TTC) has commenced implementation of a Child Aid model outreach activities around the three colleges of Chilangoma, Dowa and Mzimba in Blantyre, Dowa and Mzimba districts respectively.

The Child Aid project employs the idea that communities should work together in a structured way to come up with solutions to issues of mutual interested in order to create environments that are conducive for raising children.

Communities Will Work Together To Improve Their Lives

Communities Will Work Together To Improve Their Lives

Communities Will Work Together To Improve Their Lives

Communities Will Work Together To Improve Their Lives

The project is expected to work with families around the colleges to organize them into structures that will assist in improving their lives.
The implementation will further strengthen existing community structures that work with the TTCs like the environment and community action groups and together with the students they will impact the lives of the communities around the schools.

Having the project approved by the respective District councils, it will be in 82 villages, working together with the Village Development Committees, and Village Action Groups (VAG) and local leaders to ensure sustainability of the project.
The project will also support sanitation clubs in primary schools within in the catchment areas and with education and information about hygiene.
Markets around the catchment areas will also be involved through the Environmental and Trade departments to adhere to sanitary measures at the same time mainstreaming Covid-19 preventative measures.

Local leaders from the 82 villages have been sensitized of their roles in support of the project and 10 members from each village have been organized to form Village Action Groups (VAG).
VAG members are responsible for organising lessons and actions to share information about good practices to increase adoption of good sanitation and hygiene practices.

The project is expected to reach out to 6,750 households in the three TTCs totaling to 20,250 families.
The activities will be implemented for a period of 11 months running from February to December 2021.

 

Strides in the FARMSE Project

The Poverty Reduction of Vulnerable Beneficiaries through Community Based Financial Organization and small scale Enterprise Development (PROVED) project, a component of the Financial Access for Rural Markets, Smallholders and Enterprises (FARMSE) being implemented by DAPP Malawi in Nkhotakota and Nkhatabay districts has made strides in the implementation of the activities.

The project commenced implementation in October 2020 targeting to work with 1500 community based farmers organisations of members aged between 18 to 50 years.

Community agents received bicycles to ease mobility

Community agents received bicycles to ease mobility

VSL clubs are engaging in gardening

VSL clubs are engaging in gardening


In the month of January, 150 Community agents working with project received pushbikes to ease their mobility while they carry out their activities. There are 89 community agents in Nkhotakota with 61 in Nkhatabay.
Aside from organizing the farmers in groups, the Village Savings and Loan groups have been receiving training in conservation agriculture methods and gardening to further contribute to their economic activities.

The Project Coordinator for Nkhotakota District Duncan Jamali said to ensure smooth running of the project activities, there have been monthly monitoring visits which are carried out together with the government officials from the districts.
“Each and every month project Coordinators and District Official conduct monitoring and supervision of the project activities as one way of securing the smooth running of the projects. We have been visiting the clubs from the month of February and we will be carrying out the same activity through March,” he said.

With the project’s unique approach of increasing the access to sustainable, diversified financial services so far 55 Village Savings and Loan groups have been linked to a formal financial institution, the NBS Bank, as one way of boosting their business capital.
It is expected that the project will work with 1500 community based Farmers Organisations within its 36 months of implementation.

The beneficiaries are from Traditional Authorities Malengachanzi, Mwadzama, Mphonde and Mwansambo in Nkhotakota and Mkumbira, M’bwana, and Sub Traditional Authority Mndola, Chipimininga, Siyalimba, Boghoyo and Mkondowe in Nkhatabay district.

Caregivers Trained in Early Learning

Investing in Early Years is a World Bank funded project which being implemented by the Malawi government through the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare.

In December 2020, Dowa District Social Welfare Office trained 80 Caregivers under the project.
According to the District Early Childhood Development (ECD) Coordinator Mr Jonathan Bonongwe, the project has a number of components.

Dowa district is training caregivers from 15 Satellite centres with a focus on training them in topics such as; child development, early learning and stimulation and nutrition component.

He said the trainings are being done in two phases which are theory and practice; which includes production of teaching and learning materials, for ensured smooth transition of learners from ECD centres into primary schools.

Part of teaching and learning materials produced during the training

Part of teaching and learning materials produced during the training

The making of dolls

The making of dolls

The DAPP College in Dowa is also involved in the training of caregivers. In the month of January, another team of 80 caregivers will also undergo training in the district.

DAPP also Malawi works with ECDs around its four Teacher Training Colleges TTCs) of Chilangoma, Dowa, Amalika and Mzimba. The TTCs support the caregivers with in-service trainings in the process of ensuring smooth transition of infant learners into primary schools.

 

Project Responding to Covid-19

The Child Aid project under Community Development programs implemented by DAPP Malawi is built on the idea that communities should work together to identify issues of mutual interest that affect them in and come up with solutions.
Using locally available resources, communities are able to create conducive environments in which they can raise their children.
In Dedza district, DAPP Malawi is implementing a Child Aid project in the two Traditional Authorities (T/A) of Chilikumwendo and Kamenyagwaza.
With the Coronavirus pandemic, the project has from the month of April been mainstreaming key Covid-19 messages in its activities as one way of responding to the pandemic to reduce its risk and spread.

Communities Will Work Together To Improve Their Lives

Communities Will Work Together To Improve Their Lives

Communities Will Work Together To Improve Their Lives

Communities Will Work Together To Improve Their Lives

In mobilizing households to wash hands regularly, 225 households have mounted hand washing facilities in their homes also known as tippy taps which are made from materials which are locally available in rural communities.
This has been possible through demonstrations carried out by project field officers in the communities.
Apart from campaigning Covid-19, project activities like demonstrations on construction of firewood saving stoves were also carried out in the month.
The use of firewood saving stoves id one of the measures the project promotes in the fight against climate change.
The stoves use less firewood as compared to open fire which requires more wood for fuel.
The Child Aid project in Dedza district is running from the month of February to December 2020.

DAPP Supports Primary Schools to Plant More Trees

As one way of engaging primary school learners and communities in the fight against climate change and global warming, DAPP Malawi with funding assistance from Humana Spain embarked on a tree planting exercise in the month of December 2019 primary schools.

The exercise was successfully carried out by a network of DAPP graduated teachers working in 28 primary schools across Malawi who engaged learners and community members in the tree planting exercise.   

Community members take part in tree planting exercises in schools

Community members take part in tree planting exercises in schools

Learners digging up holes to plant trees

Learners digging up holes to plant trees

According to Project Coordinator Mr Jimmy Kayange, the exercise is being carried out by the schools and communities on voluntary basis and communities are being encouraged to use locally available resource to complete the tasks.

“As we are in the rainy season, this is an opportunity to plant more trees and DAPP is supporting with packages of 250 tree seedlings, 2 bundles of vetiver grass, 5 hoes, 1 wheelbarrow, 3 water canes, 4 slashers and 4 shovels for each school.”

The schools are I turn expected to analyse the areas of possible threats and security for learners to plant the trees and vetiver grass which will protect their environments from heavy winds and during heavy rains in the future.

Osman Nyakamera, a teacher at Nyamadzere primary school in Nsanje district reported that together with 4 teachers, 3 community members and 84 learners from the school they have managed to plant 264 tree seedlings and vetiver grass.

“We started with giving lessons to the learners on the types, causes and preventative ways of soil erosion, and later planted and irrigated 264 trees and vetiver grass. Nsanje district is very hot and we have erratic rains as such we have agreed to be watering our tree seedlings at least twice a day until we have enough rains,” he said.

A total of 28 primary schools where DAPP graduated teachers under 400 Primary schools are working have received the tree seedlings and the supporting materials. Over 7000 trees have been planted in the schools.

We Do More Teachers also known as 400 Primary Schools is a network of DAPP graduated teachers who voluntarily stick together to share ideas and skills on how they can improve the environments around their schools. Currently there are 90 teachers working in 64 primary schools in Malawi and the goals is to reach 400 primary schools in Malawi.

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Contact DAPP Malawi

DAPP Malawi
Plot No. CC 1086, Maselema, Limbe
Blantyre District, Malawi

Cell: +265885834277

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