War on Want Northern Ireland — Fighting World PovertyWar on Want NI has 16 partners in Malawi and 66 secondary partners. Below are some examples of the projects supported through War on Want NI.
Food production and food security is a constant concern in Malawi. Frequent droughts and food shortages place great importance on enabling communities to grow food regularly throughout the year.
Livingstonia Hospital
War on Want NI works in partnership with the primary health caredepartment of Livingstonia Hospital to support it’s food production programme with farmers in northern Malawi. Working through a network of farming groups and co-operatives, Livingstonia hospital has introduced irrigation, farming techniques and distributed tools, seeds, cuttings and fertilizer.
This project enables families who would otherwise experience food shortages to grow enough food throughout the year to feed their families and also produce a surplus that they can sell to generate money for other necessities.
Since the introduction of the project, the hospital has reported a 300% increase in harvest yields and a 600% malnutrition levels.
Over 60,000 people in the Livingstonia area are benefiting from these important community development projects.
Kodo Disability Group
Life with a disability in an impoverished community increases the challenges to an already harsh existence. People with disabilities are unlikely to find appropriate work and they and their families suffer extreme financial hardship.
The KODO Disability Group was formed by George Chimpoko. As a young child with a physical disability, George was carried to school every day on his mothers back. Determined to ensure that other Malawians with physical disabilities had the opportunity to lead a full life George helped form the KODO Disability group. The KODO group supports people with physical disabilities. It provides wheelchairs, teaches skills to enable its members to earn a living, and campaigns to ensure people with disabilities have access to public services and available resources and entitlements.
George says: “If you provide a wheelchair to person who can’t walk, they rediscover their lives, become a person again and a sign to the rest of the world. And when one person with a disability appears, word spreads. More people with disabilities ask for support and more people in their community see them as a part of the world.”
KODO disability group currently benefits over 800 people and is only one of a number of projects for people with disabilities supported by War on Want NI.