The Mikolongwe community programme
The Mikolongwe community development programme is located in
Chiradzulu district, about 35km from the capital city of Lilongwe.
World Vision reaches a total population of about 45,000 people.
World Vision's partnership with Mikolongwe started in 1998 and is
envisaged to continue until 2013, when the community will have the
resources and skills to continue with its own development. In the
past year, significant progress has been made in the current focus
areas of food security and nutrition, and education.
Issues covered: Food security,
nutrition, education, economic development.
Updates on World Vision's work
Agriculture and nutrition
- With the focus on food security for families, World Vision has
reached 4300 poor households with vegetable-growing programmes, and
2250 children and 5540 women have participated in nutrition
education programmes and received nutritional support.
- More than 94 per cent of households have worked to diversify
their crops to improve nutrition and household income, and 60 per
cent of households have benefitted from extra income gained from
surplus crops and livestock they could sell.
Education
- The quality of education has improved significantly over the
past few years. Literacy levels of about 10,000 children have
increased from 29 per cent to 64.5 per cent. School dropout rates
have decreased to 2.2 per cent, and the retention rate has remained
at 95.4 per cent.
- To further improve school infrastructure, two double classrooms
and four toilets have been constructed in one village. To help
construct teachers' houses to attract teachers to the area,
community members contributed 100,000 bricks they made
themselves.
The Mikolongwe community is in the fifteenth year of its
development journey with World Vision.
Life on
the ground in Mikolongwe
'Leader-farmers' inspire community to improve food
security
'Leader-farmers', who are being trained in
modern farming methods, share their knowledge with fellow farmers
to help improve families' crop production and household
income.
Producing enough food in the Mikolongwe community is key to
reducing malnutrition, improving children's health, and increasing
household income. Introducing the 'leader-farmer' concept to
Mikolongwe has benefited more than1000 households in 95 villages so
far. 'Leader-farmers' (including women) are trained in modern
farming methods. These leader-farmers, in turn, share their
technical knowledge with fellow community members. As a result of
this training, household food resources have increased, thanks to
improvements like the adoption of crop diversification, the use of
organic fertiliser, soil improvement, and water conservation.
"Leader-farmers are the answer to the issue of agricultural service
shortages in this community," said Mr Naliwole, one of the
recipients of the training. "Through their service, I have
harvested 35 bags of maize last season, compared to 18 the previous
year. My household no longer has lean periods," Mr Naliwole added.
The Naliwole family has also started rearing goats, and is planning
to venture into irrigation farming.
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.
