The Onga community programme
The Onga community development programme is located in the
Chiradzulu district in southern Malawi, about 30km from the
commercial capital of Blantyre. World Vision reaches 76 villages
with a total population of 27,910. World Vision's partnership with
Onga started in 2008 and is envisaged to continue until 2025, when
the community will have the skills and resources to continue with
its own development. As World Vision started working in Onga fairly
recently, they have been working with the community to finalise
what they want to achieve in the long-term and the key areas for
the development work. They are currently focusing on supporting the
capacity-building of local leaders, and improving water access to
address health issues.
Issues covered: Civil society
empowerment, community capacity building, water,
health.
Updates on World Vision's work
Civil society empowerment
- A civil society empowerment project was launched to train
community members in aspects such as leadership and management, to
help build local skills and knowledge in these areas.
- Strengthened capacity-building in local organisations has
started to show positive results. For the first time in the history
of the community, two major local organisations are working
together on the development issues, understanding the benefits that
will come from their joint efforts.
Water and health
- Access to clean and running water along with the number of
boreholes in the region do not meet the standards set by the
Malawian Government. World Vision and the community are working
together to improve these issues, and are running educational
programmes on hygiene and sanitation practices.
- Health challenges facing children include malaria, cholera and
skin diseases, which are caused by contaminated water. To combat
these, community leaders are promoting the use of
insecticide-treated nets, and educating families to boil and purify
water before drinking it or cooking with it. Breeding grounds for
malaria-carrying mosquitoes, such as stagnant ponds, are also being
cleared.
The Onga community is in the fifth year of its development journey
with World Vision.
Life on
the ground in Onga
Transformation through Child Sponsorship
Onga village chief, Patrick Chinsewu, and
his wife are now aware of the importance of education for their
three daughters.
The benefits of Child Sponsorship have already become apparent
in the Onga community. Village chief, Patrick Chinsewu, said before
World Vision arrived, both he and his wife believed that as soon as
their three daughters completed primary school, the girls should
get married. Once the Child Sponsorship programme was introduced,
Patrick and his family were touched by the fact that somebody
outside the community had taken enough interest to support them.
Patrick and his wife participated in health, agricultural and
education training programmes, and learned more about the
importance of education, especially for girls. "World Vision's
sponsorship project has helped our understanding to be more
responsible in sending our daughters to school, and assisting them
with their education," said Patrick. Though Patrick lives with a
physical disability, he grows his own maize, cassava, groundnuts
and vegetables. As a village chief, he is now working hard to
encourage other community members to send their children to school,
and participate in World Vision development activities.
Malawi at a glance
Malawians call their scenic, densely populated country the warm
heart of Africa. Their nation faces many challenges: HIV and AIDS,
a growing population, limited natural resources, drought and
environmental degradation.
