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21 March 2007
Model village
Staff of World Vision Malawi say Kubinga Nyakwawa is a model village. It is easy to see why – the people here have really taken hold of the developments initiated by World Vision.
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Rabbits are an excellent source of protein.
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The first things you see as you approach Kubinga Nyakwawa are fields of maize, cassava and sweet potatoes, scattered shady fruit trees and backyard vegetable gardens. Although there is limited land for cultivation around this village, World Vision’s agricultural training ensures it is all used efficiently to grow nutritious, drought-resistant crops. Alongside the vegetable gardens, there are rabbit hutches and chicken houses – more than pets, the rabbits and chickens are an important source of protein.
Less obvious to the eye are the effects of adequate sources of meat and vegetables – the level of malnutrition in the village has decreased, as has the incidence of anaemia, and the general health of the community has improved, especially among children under 5 and women, the most vulnerable groups. Incomes have increased too: as people have young animals to sell and families are more economically secure as they build up stock numbers as assets.
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The "tip tap" makes hand washing easy.
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At every home you can see an improved latrine, with a ventilation pipe to disperse the smell. Each also has an innovative “tip tap” made from a suspended plastic bottle and a dangling loop of string. After using the latrine, a person puts downward pressure on the string with their wrists, which tips the bottle and washes their hands. Brilliant! As a result, the incidence of water-borne diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea has significantly reduced.
You don’t see any rubbish anywhere in Kubinga Nyakwawa. The village is completely tidy, a simple way to prevent malaria mosquitoes from breeding. In every house you enter, you see insecticide-treated mosquito nets.
The mud stove that occupies an inside corner of every house is another innovation. Called Mkazi Changu, these stoves provide excellent cooking facilities while using very little firewood and creating little smoke, thus reducing the rate of deforestation and the incidence of respiratory disease.
Back outside, at one side of the village you see a group of teenagers. Moving closer you hear them discussing their experiences of HIV and AIDS and sharing life skills, an excellent way to encourage HIV prevention.
In another place, preschool-aged children gather in a kindergarten to begin their education and learn life skills. As added bonuses, the kindergarten gives caregivers a break in the middle of the day, and the provided nutritious midday meal ensures the young children are well fed.
These things are only a few of the ways the people of Kubinga Nyakwawa have adopted innovative methods of doing things, improving their lives. Beyond this, they have also become a model village for those surrounding, giving neighbouring hamlets hope that a better way of life is possible.
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Chata project profile
CHATA STORY ARCHIVE
2008
Plenty to smile about
Zakeyo’s farm
Snippets
HopeChild
Counting down
2007
Model village
Snippets
2006
A glass of fresh water
Sweet
Snippets
Rabbits, rabbits everywhere!
2005
Snippets
Food security
2004
Don’t adjust your set
Snippets
2003
Real answers
Trees for life
Snippets
Beans ‘n’ spuds
Thinking outside the square
No kidding
Cassava miracles
Hunger & cholera
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