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I am back from Malawi.
Sep. 5th, 2008 05:26 pmHi! I returned from Malawi yesterday. I was there for 2 months and before that I spent 2 weeks in Zambia again. The progress in the schools that were established in Western Zambia during my first mission there are doing very well. There is still much to be desired but the improvement is really significant.
The UNICEF mission in Malawi was a different story. The humanitarian situation in this small country still remains very serious although there have been big improvements because of the involvement of non government organizations and the UNICEF itself. The main problems of the local people is the chronic poverty, the drought and the bad harvests, malaria, the extremely high percentage of HIV/AIDS cases and cholera. About 40% of the population (almost 5 million people) were in need of food assistance by the start of this year, and 1 million of these are children. 48% of Malawi's children under 5 years are stunted, 5% are wasted or severely malnourished, 22% are underweight... Do I need to mention the absolutely miserable conditions in their schools (wherever they are available at all)...
These problems are in their extremest in the remote rural areas of the country. More than 65% of the Malawian population lives below the poverty line.
The country has an extremely high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, which affects about 16% of the people between 15 and 50 years of age and accounts for 70% of all hospital deaths.
To date UNICEF has received almost 12 million $ in contributions or pledges against the $ 13 million appeal. A total of 1.5 million $ is now required to respond to the ongoing deteriorating situation of the children.
UNICEF is treating 3500 children with acute severe malnutrition per month through the provision and pre-positioning of adequate specialized nutrition supplies, drugs, training and technical assistance at the policy and operational levels. We provided a supplementary feeding program in collaboration with the World Food program which now reaches about 130 thousand children under 5 years, pregnant and lactating women with moderate malnutrition. The organization also provided essential drugs and supplies in order to reduce cholera and measles outbreaks.
There were some interesting and curious campaigns like the "SOPO" character (who looks like Spongebob) and which includes slogans like 'Did you wash your hands?' Paradoxically, Malawians have better access to safe water and soap than most others in Africa. 3/4 of the population has access to piped water, a public tap, a borehole or a protected well or spring. 1/3 of all households have soap or washing powder or liquid. Yet, diarrhoea continues to be a major cause of sickness and death among young children. The main causes are the use of contaminated water and the unhygienic practices in food preparation, etc. So these programs were aimed at the households and especially housewives, promoting awareness and a better hygiene culture. The idea is that 'hand washing saves lives'. I think we managed to explain this fairly well to the people.
There was a separate program for sexual education and HIV prevention, and also birth control.
And finally, UNICEF supported and is still going through its program of support for the school feeding in 620 schools benefiting about 500 thousand school children. So this time our participation was not so much educational, while the stress was put mainly on food aid and re-organization of the Malawian school system in attempt to turn it into a multi-functional focus for the distribution of humanitarian aid to the youngest members of the population and their families.
There were also some additional aspects of our work, like Ms Esmie Tembenu's fight to ensure justice for the child victims of abuse in the country. She is the Chief Magistrate at the Blantyre Child Justice Court, and has been working on this subject for a long time. It's a messy matter, but the progress she has achieved so far is tremendous. The second half of my stay in Malawi was as part of one of these programs which provided counselling rooms for parents, guardians and children.
The pain and suffering which I saw there equal nothing that I've ever seen before. And this is why we pursued our goals even more stubbornly. Having to deal with the clumsy and corrupt system of a country like this is not easy and is sometimes really killing one's nerves. But there are already signs that our efforts were not in vain.
The most encouraging signs came from the youngest kids. The new classrooms that are being created across the country under this program really promise for better days for Malawi. Although the situation is still close to desperate, for example, in some schools there are more than 200 pupils sitting crowded together on a potholed floor without enough legroom, their clothing dirtied by the earth; there are no doors and the windows are gaping holes that make learning almost impossible in the winter and rainy seasons... we put tremendous efforts to change the picture as much as we could. A new era is now about to dawn for the Malawian education. Next to the old classrooms now one could see shiny blocks of 3-4 classrooms being built by UNICEF, with funding from the Schools for Africa Initiative. Construction is nearing completion, with 1st and 2nd graders soon expected to take up the spaces. The new classrooms have cement floors, are well ventilated and have enough pace for effective work. With a lockable door, teachers will be able to leave teaching materials on the walls without worrying that they'll be stolen.
But the most important part is the improved learning system. Not only because the new classrooms will improve the learning process and facilitate better interaction between the pupils and teachers. The facilities are only one side of the equation. New education systems and curriculae were brought in, and new teachers are now being trained by our specialists. The new facilities are starting to improve the attendance, especially for girls. For example the Standard 8th class where I spent a lot of time, which will sit examinations in the end of the year, is evenly split between boys and girls. And I'm optimistic that the improved attendance will lead to higher academic achievements.
I'm looking forward to the school improving its pass rate in the Primary School Examinations as compared to last year. And my dream is to see this school as well as many others become a model of excellent teaching and learning. What UNICEF has done is good for both the children and the teachers - not only for now, but more importantly, for many more years to come.
Now I'm back to my usual occupations in the University of Stellenbosh, but I hope that I'll be able to visit my old friends from Zambia and Malawi very soon again...
The UNICEF mission in Malawi was a different story. The humanitarian situation in this small country still remains very serious although there have been big improvements because of the involvement of non government organizations and the UNICEF itself. The main problems of the local people is the chronic poverty, the drought and the bad harvests, malaria, the extremely high percentage of HIV/AIDS cases and cholera. About 40% of the population (almost 5 million people) were in need of food assistance by the start of this year, and 1 million of these are children. 48% of Malawi's children under 5 years are stunted, 5% are wasted or severely malnourished, 22% are underweight... Do I need to mention the absolutely miserable conditions in their schools (wherever they are available at all)...
These problems are in their extremest in the remote rural areas of the country. More than 65% of the Malawian population lives below the poverty line.
The country has an extremely high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, which affects about 16% of the people between 15 and 50 years of age and accounts for 70% of all hospital deaths.
To date UNICEF has received almost 12 million $ in contributions or pledges against the $ 13 million appeal. A total of 1.5 million $ is now required to respond to the ongoing deteriorating situation of the children.
UNICEF is treating 3500 children with acute severe malnutrition per month through the provision and pre-positioning of adequate specialized nutrition supplies, drugs, training and technical assistance at the policy and operational levels. We provided a supplementary feeding program in collaboration with the World Food program which now reaches about 130 thousand children under 5 years, pregnant and lactating women with moderate malnutrition. The organization also provided essential drugs and supplies in order to reduce cholera and measles outbreaks.
There were some interesting and curious campaigns like the "SOPO" character (who looks like Spongebob) and which includes slogans like 'Did you wash your hands?' Paradoxically, Malawians have better access to safe water and soap than most others in Africa. 3/4 of the population has access to piped water, a public tap, a borehole or a protected well or spring. 1/3 of all households have soap or washing powder or liquid. Yet, diarrhoea continues to be a major cause of sickness and death among young children. The main causes are the use of contaminated water and the unhygienic practices in food preparation, etc. So these programs were aimed at the households and especially housewives, promoting awareness and a better hygiene culture. The idea is that 'hand washing saves lives'. I think we managed to explain this fairly well to the people.
There was a separate program for sexual education and HIV prevention, and also birth control.
And finally, UNICEF supported and is still going through its program of support for the school feeding in 620 schools benefiting about 500 thousand school children. So this time our participation was not so much educational, while the stress was put mainly on food aid and re-organization of the Malawian school system in attempt to turn it into a multi-functional focus for the distribution of humanitarian aid to the youngest members of the population and their families.
There were also some additional aspects of our work, like Ms Esmie Tembenu's fight to ensure justice for the child victims of abuse in the country. She is the Chief Magistrate at the Blantyre Child Justice Court, and has been working on this subject for a long time. It's a messy matter, but the progress she has achieved so far is tremendous. The second half of my stay in Malawi was as part of one of these programs which provided counselling rooms for parents, guardians and children.
The pain and suffering which I saw there equal nothing that I've ever seen before. And this is why we pursued our goals even more stubbornly. Having to deal with the clumsy and corrupt system of a country like this is not easy and is sometimes really killing one's nerves. But there are already signs that our efforts were not in vain.
The most encouraging signs came from the youngest kids. The new classrooms that are being created across the country under this program really promise for better days for Malawi. Although the situation is still close to desperate, for example, in some schools there are more than 200 pupils sitting crowded together on a potholed floor without enough legroom, their clothing dirtied by the earth; there are no doors and the windows are gaping holes that make learning almost impossible in the winter and rainy seasons... we put tremendous efforts to change the picture as much as we could. A new era is now about to dawn for the Malawian education. Next to the old classrooms now one could see shiny blocks of 3-4 classrooms being built by UNICEF, with funding from the Schools for Africa Initiative. Construction is nearing completion, with 1st and 2nd graders soon expected to take up the spaces. The new classrooms have cement floors, are well ventilated and have enough pace for effective work. With a lockable door, teachers will be able to leave teaching materials on the walls without worrying that they'll be stolen.
But the most important part is the improved learning system. Not only because the new classrooms will improve the learning process and facilitate better interaction between the pupils and teachers. The facilities are only one side of the equation. New education systems and curriculae were brought in, and new teachers are now being trained by our specialists. The new facilities are starting to improve the attendance, especially for girls. For example the Standard 8th class where I spent a lot of time, which will sit examinations in the end of the year, is evenly split between boys and girls. And I'm optimistic that the improved attendance will lead to higher academic achievements.
I'm looking forward to the school improving its pass rate in the Primary School Examinations as compared to last year. And my dream is to see this school as well as many others become a model of excellent teaching and learning. What UNICEF has done is good for both the children and the teachers - not only for now, but more importantly, for many more years to come.
Now I'm back to my usual occupations in the University of Stellenbosh, but I hope that I'll be able to visit my old friends from Zambia and Malawi very soon again...
