A local Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) working in Dowa district has helped vulnerable communities in Dowa in reducing extreme hunger and poverty.
The NGO, Ministry of Hope, is implementing a three year project called “Khwamba Sustainable Livelihood Improvement” in the district.
The project which is being implemented in the areas of Traditional Authority Msakambewa in the district is targeting 30,000 households in crop and livestock production and village savings, among others.
Speaking in an interview with Malawi24, the organization’s project coordinator Dunken Dula said the project has increased crop production and crop diversification at household level in the area of Traditional Authority Msakambewa in the district.
He said the project has also registered successes such as formation of Self Help Groups which are operational in the project’s implementation area.
The coordinator said community members who are in Self Help Groups are able to operate various business enterprises as well as embark on housing improvement scheme, moving from grass thatched to iron sheets.
“Empowering household care givers has proved to be very powerful in ending extreme hunger and poverty and Agri-business is a good venture for the rural communities,” he said.
The organisation has also distributed and planted 1,323,260 tree seedlings since 2016.
Ministry of Hope is currently in partnership with the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and
Natural Resources (LUANAR) which is carrying out research on the efficiency of the locally made fertilisers for farmers to apply in their gardens.
The Khwamba Sustainable Livelihood project in the area of Traditional Authority Msakambewa in Dowa started in April, 2016 and is being implemented with funds from The Scottish government through the TEAR fund.
