Prayer
Mauka mossi. Taonga chomeini for receiving us so very kindly in your community, in your homes and in your hearts. This is the second time we have the honour to be in your midst, greatly enjoying your hospitality and friendliness.
I particular wish to thank Mbondolo Nkhambule, our area chief, not only because he is chief but mostly because he truly has the well being of all citizens here at heart, he is a wise man with lots of experience and, most importantly, foresight and vision.
I also thank all the other chiefs for their cooperation and willingness to listen to our ideas. I wish to mention chief Satiel Sibande who has so generously made land available for the Vocational Training Centre. Then Patrick, young big chief with whom we can always have a good laugh and who has generously pledged 200 tree seedlings to primary school.
I thank the Heads of schools and Heads of Committees and Heads of Village Savings and Loans groups, who all have been so patient listening to us.
I thank head teacher Mr. Gondwe and Sam Mwase, deputy of CDSS who organised this venue at his school.
Thank you reverends for sparing your time. I am so grateful knowing you are feeding the communities with Gods Word and His Love. Without the Fathers agreement we cannot do a single thing. We ask His Blessings and honour Him for the Love he has put in our hearts; firstly for Him with all our brain, all our body, all our strength; and our love for our brothers and sisters… as we love ourselves. Hallelujah !
And thank you all present for coming today and listening to what we have to say. I hope we will not disappoint you.
Most of you know that we are here thanks to Satiel Banda, Enyezini born, and he is now our representative for all the projects. You will see much of him in the whole area. Watch out for that black car…..
The person who just joined us is Ephraim Uluka, although from Nkhata Bay, he too has on his heart to serve the people of Enyezini and its surrounding area. Ephraim is our in-house full time trainer and monitoring officer. You will undoubtedly see him running around on his motorbike going just about everywhere. We will put fuel in his bike, please will you put some food into his stomac to keep him going? You see, he doesn’t eat much.
Our foundation has grown considerably since we were here in April, so much so that I can happily say we can now count on our Honour 2 Life Development Committee with 10 members. Wiseman Soko is our chairman; Chrissy Phiri, vice chair; Staphero Lwanda and Friga Msukwa our treasurers; Jacob Nyirenda and Suzeni Gama our secretaries; and our members are Tamala Nkhambule, Beatrice Nkunika, Julian Munthari and Grace Mvula We are so grateful that all members have volonteered to be our eyes and ears and mouths in the whole area. Taonga chomeini to all of you.
Also recently joined us as Woman Councillor is Chrissy Jere, teacher at CDSS as well. Chrissy has a listening ear to all sort of issues women will not disclose to a man. I am thinking of violence in the home, rape, assault, women’s monthly cycle, baby stuff and other confidential issues women feel they need to talk to another woman about. Please people, do spread the word in your villages that Chrissy is available to help women and girls.
Now men, do not feel left out. I am sure you will be able to find Satiel or Ephraim if you have an issue YOU wish to talk about.
Ah, let me not forget our 6 new key farmers who have been trained by Foundation for Farming in farming Gods Way. Where are you Dave Kaunda, Tamala Nkhambule and Friga Msukwa for Enyezini area, Nerie Konika, Agnes Sakala for Emsezini area and Davie Mbeya in Phutula.
Please stand up. People must know you. You have an important role to play in making the world healthier.
And very shortly we plan to have 7 Field Officers to assist us further in serving the communities.
Just a few days ago the training by Takwonda Chinula of 13 CDSS school leavers as teacher assistant at primary schools has been completed and they have already reported to their schools. Thank you Takwonda for giving your time during your holidays.
Our aim is simple: to improve the livelihoods of people in the Enyezini area in a sustainable manner. That means, together with you, creating a pleasant living environment, enough varied food on the table, clean drinking water, a safe place to work and sleep, access to health services and good education for your children.
Well, what did we promise in April and what did we actually do?
We promised
1. PROVISION of CREDITS
2. FAMILY PLANNING
3. EDUCATION
On CREDITS, since April we provided 325 credits to VSLs, nearly all in Enyezini itself.
I am sorry having to say that a great part of those have not yet been paid back as agreed. I know that at planting time you spend most of your money on seeds and fertiliser….and on christmas. We trust that the people will soon fulfill their obligations in the months ahead.
The fact that the credits have not yet been repaid means that the schools cannot benefit as was planned for. Only Chintuli school can receive assistance for the children of Chintuli to go to school.
Because remember….the interest paid for the credits was to be used for the schools. The capital repaid was to be used for new credits.
On EDUCATION, In April we planned for a nursery school. That has not yet happened. It is mainly due to the delay in the teacher training program. We know it is an excellent program and the organisors wish to embed it in the communities with the cooperation of CCAP Church. We prefer to wait for this program than to switch to another, less good one. However, I have been told that this nursery teacher training program will start soon but as yet I do not know when exactly.
In
April we also talked about finishing the construction of the
Vocational Training Centre. That has been achieved. The building is
now as good as ready to start as a school.
In April we
mentioned Chintuli school to be built. That is now in its final
stages. Chintuli community has provided all bricks, sand and labour.
Honour 2 Life could buy the materials for the two classrooms.
We promised to sponsor 3 nurses education, after signing a bond that they will be practicing at Enyezini. Coming April interviews will be held at Ekwendeni hospital and three will be chosen to follow the training for registered nurse.
We
talked about sponsoring a vetenary student. Since April we found out
that the nearest college is at Lilongwe, making boarding necessary,
thus greatly increasing the cost. Recently we met Mr. Chawinga, from
government vetenary services. He is doing a great job. Frankly, we
don’t know exactly how to proceed on this subject. We’ve had too
little time this visit to pursue this subject but rest assured, it is
not forgotten.
We sponsored a community sciences student
for his first semester. The negotiations on its continuation are
still in progress.
Our community development student,
Masozi Nkhambule, has started her last semester before her
attachment. Honour 2 Life Foundation hopes to be able to offer her
this attachment opportunity.
Last but not least, our business student Bright Soko, will obtain his diploma this July.
On FAMILY PLANNING, we promised to make 1 million kwacha available for this. Over half the amount has been spent on training communities and health committee members. These committee members are now equipped to advise families door to door on family planning. The remainder of the promised amount will be spent on two bicycles to carry people to hospital, and we will spend wisely the remainder on this extremely important subject.
We also mentioned likuni phala, hoping to distribute it to all schoolchildren.
Well, we did discuss this last month with Ekwendeni hospital which has its own likuni phala factory. In fact, we were enthousiastic about a possible partnership.
But…after doing all the calculations, we realised that, at this moment, most villagers are not yet able to pay every day for likuni phala porridge for their child or children at school, even at a low cost. So for now, we had to postpone this project. Likuni phala remains on our agenda for the future.
Whatelse did we do since April?
– I suspect that most of you have seen that the clinic has been repaired and that the health workers house is finished. Ekwendi hospital has promised to send a permanent health surveyor assistant to Enyezini to help the community.
–So has the government promised to send two police men, now that their houses and office are ready to receive them. We trust this will improve the security in the area.
But you do realise that just two policemen cannot do this on their own. They do need the eyes and ears from all villagers. Only together with the communities, they can make a difference.
– Agriculture extentionworker Anna Nyirenda’s house is nearing completion in Emsezini. Thank you Anna, we are so happy with all the hard work you are doing for the communities and your willingness to closely work together.
And what have we been doing for the last five weeks, the time you have seen us running around the area?
Last time we were invited to face the challenge of really serious erosion at CDSS.
This time we went around most schools to assess erosion damage and trying to find solutions for existing dangers and preventing future ones. Honestly, it is not a simple task.
Erosion is caused by fast flowing water, usually rain water, carrying soil to a lower point in the land.
Erosion can happen on grounds which are barren, so on barren soils.
Barren soils are usually found where many feet have trodden away the vegetation.
Many feet that trod away the vegetation are always found around schools and other busy places.
And when does vegetation grow? Indeed, particularly during wet season, so now!
I want to make a deal with you head masters and village chiefs. If you ensure that the barren soils around your schools are covered with well established grasses, and velvet bean plants in the school vegetable garden, before the end of this rainy season, we will present you with a step by step guide, drawn up by erosion experts, at our costs, on how to tackle erosion in each school. Each area requires its own approach so the plan for each school will be made for that specific situation. You can then discuss this with your community, talk it through with our people, make changes where necessary, and when you are ready to take action as a community, the expert or Ephraim who has also received some training on erosion, can guide you with carrying out the job during dry season, step by step, until it is finished.
Then you are ready to make, by beginning next rainy season, nice gardens, seating area’s, some covered spaces, a school garden, flower beds and so forth, together with the children. As an incentive, and to create ownership for the learners, there will be the competition for the best and most inventive, playful and nice gardens you already know about, with some small prizes. As extra prizes, we will give you tree seedlings to provide shade, hold the soil and help make your schools look the nicest in the whole of Mzimba region !!!
But, I do have to give a word of warning.
If there is still much barren soil at your school by the end of this rainy season, so not enough grasses or velvet beans growing, we cannot go ahead with the erosion measures.
That will mean for that school no competition, no prizes, no trees !!!!
I truly hope that you will keep us very very busy with the step by step guidance of the erosion measures.
It is rainy season now. Planting time. We were asked to provide seeds and urea. We thought that if we refuse, people will not be able to harvest and that there will be hunger.
That, we cannot allow, the more so because a great part of the beans harvest had failed last year through drought. Therefore we decided to spend a large part of our funds on seeds and urea, as a credit, to:
– the 75 farmers we also supported last season whose harvest failed
-112 farmers withHIV/AIDS who are particularly dependent on good food–90 individual farmers as an emergency loan,
-186 farmers with urea.
But we do not believe this is a permanent solution in providing good food to people. Our 6 key farmers, can show you their mvutsu plot, how to make contour bunds to control water flows, how to prepare the soil, how to make and use compost manure, how to plant, how to protect, how to best let it grow, how to harvest a biiiig crop and how and where to keep bees.
And not only growing maize or beans. Also other crops and creating an added value to them. By that I mean, for instance, not just growing maize but making pop corn as well so that it fetches a much higher price than just plain maize. Not just selling mangos or bananas but processing the fruit by, for instance, making jams or juices or fruit cakes or drying them. In fact, within the next month, Satiel en Ephraim are going to do an experiment with drying fruit. If they succeed, you can make a delicious product in the future that fetches a high price.
We trust that next year there will be many more people farming Gods way.
These guys have also come up with another idea: providing 55 villages with 50 fruit trees each. So there can be a variety of fruits in the area. Some trees will do well in some villages, some better in other villages. We can make the seedlings available, plus some working capital, on a credit basis on very favourable conditions. It surely will be an asset to the area. By the time the trees give fruit, there will be several systems of processing, thereby creating added value, to the product, enriching us all.
One of our biggest challenges this coming time is to get the VTC up and running.
We are only a small foundation with limited funds and therefore we must choose for a school that can largely support itself. So VTC, earn your own upkeep!
But how? There has been a lot of thinking.
There are now plans for a school garden, animal production, wood lots, a charcoal production plot and orchards. All of these will assist with an income whilst teaching the students hands on experience. Also, after some initial training, students will help repairing school furniture, church benches, refurbish teacher houses, sell own baked healthy foodstuffs, and so on. In fact, they will be serving the community as much as possible.
VTC and CDSS will closely work together. CDSS students will come to VTC to gain practical experience and VTC students will learn the theoretical parts of each subject at CDSS. Entrepreneurship will be heavily emphasised upon because there are simply not enough jobs to go around. People will have to create their own jobs.
Patchoko patchoko the VTC will become operational. It is an experimental way of approaching VTC training but we believe it is a good, practical preparation for our youngsters to become independent soon after leaving this school in a line of work that suit their talents.
What else can you expect from Honour 2 Life in 2019?
Look, apa, that gentleman, Kayipa, he is a bore holes engineer. He has already repaired several Afridev pumps in the area. He is a good and honest engineer, trained by non profit CCAP-SMART Centre. We know there are at least 56 bore holes in our area. What we are hoping for is that you can come to an agreement, your communities and Kayipa. If you can convince your villagers that for really just a small amount per week, Kayipa can maintain the pumps regularly and keep you giving fresh water all the time. And IF a pump breaks down, you can call him, he comes straight away and fixes it at no extra cost. I know, from experience in my own country, that this system of regular maintenance, works out a lot cheaper in the long run than paying for a big repair when the pump breaks down. We do hope that you will consider it and present it to your committees, for voting.
No doubt you have many questions to ask Kayipa. Therefore he came along today to hear your queries. Please do talk with him before you are going home. He can save you a lot of money and bore hole break downs.
You do need to know that neither SMART Centre, nor Honour2 Life, needs to be involved in an agreement between you and him. But of course we will be happy to assist, sensitise the community (Ephraim) and advise where possible. Only in special cases we should step in and solve certain issues, but ideally, please consider Kayipa to maintain your bore hole.
Do talk to him after the meeting.
Deforestation is a very real threat to Enyezini area. In fact it is a threat to the whole of Africa. People need wood and charcoal to cook. All native trees disappear for this purpose but nothing is replanted. Desertification is luring. Not a desirable prospect. No trees means no life. Trees are life.
We talked to Mbondolo Nkhambule where to create charcoal production fields, preferably not too far away, with reasonable access to water and not too steep. Mbondolo has promised to talk to the chiefs to find together a suitable plot for future charcoal production.
In fact, producing wood and charcoal is a cash crop which can be sold at a guaranteed price.
We would also wish to make energy saving stoves available to the people. That is not only good for saving money but also helps in reducing climate change.
And NO, I do not only have good news. As said before, Honour 2 Life is only a small, non profit, foundation. We had to decide, however painful it sometimes can be, to take on no more individual students at CDSS or College. The only new individuals we can consider for school fees are orphans and that will be mostly for VTC or short courses so that they can be independent as soon as possible.
–We also had to decide to provide no more new credits to Enyezini village itself, who received most of the credits in 2018, and cannot be considered for more, new credits, only for the second round of returned credits. Partly because the first credits have not been fully repaid, partly because we simply do not have the funds for it. We too must choose wisely how to spend our donors’ money.
2019 will be the year for the villages around Enyezini. We have estimated that there are roughly 154 VSL’s in the villages of Emazinyeni, Ejchlekweni, Emsezini, Mwenje, Chimbongondo, Kafulufulu, Kaligoga, Mspazi, Phutula, Chipapa, Wengwani and Matuli.
In the near future you will hear where our trainer Ephraim Uluku will set up trainings for VSL groups, after which they can apply for a credit.
We also plan village based trainings on many many subjects. Please feel free to request for a training if you feel the need for it. We can always discuss it and possibly develop such training. After all, Ephraim must be kept busy…..
I am going home tomorrow with material to make a promotional film for CDSS and CCAP church. I will try to find a partner school for CDSS and give CCAP church, to the person of Mrs. Mathilda, wife of the temporary pastor, all information that I have to succesfully find a partner church in Scotland or Britain or America.
Chief Mbondolo has agreed, or even ordained I believe, that there will be a public toilet near the trading centre of Enyezini. Wiseman Soko will build it very soon.
Finally, we have already been investigating possibilities for solar lighting for the area and as a future training subject at VTC.
We are looking into sustainable sanitary pads for girls and women and incontinence pads which are mostly needed by older people.
Before I forget, we gave 200 eye glasses to Ekwendeni hospital. Every person who has trouble seeing clearly or difficulty reading, can go to the hospital and if the issue can be solved with one of the available glasses, you will receive it free of charge. Perhaps you may have to pay for the consultation but the glasses themselves are for free.
Dear people, we have talked about many many subjects, which I do not expect you to remember all. Therefore this presentation will be translated in Tombuka and displayed in each village so that you and everybody else can read it again at your own leisure.
I do thank you for your hospitality and kindness.
Honour 2 Life is very happy to work, together with you, for a better Enyezini but the bulk of the work the communities will have to do themselves.
For the community, by the community.
Taonga chomeini mossi. Tionanenge.
Ik kreeg een prachtig bewerkte houten schaal. Hier kan je het filmpje zien: https://photos.app.goo.gl/sonKPxQtwwD1BFQb6