Nice moves to empower women in Mangochi

National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust says the socio-economic status of the Mangochi District can be enhanced if women are empowered with vocational skills.

Nice Mangochi District civic education officer Turner Banda said the district’s population has more women; hence, empowering them with vocational skills would enable them to engage in various businesses, thereby boosting their well-being.

“We should not deny the fact that women constitute a high number of people in the country. Therefore, if we could embark on initiatives that specifically target them, the district could be transformed,” he said on Wednesday when monitoring computer classes his office established for women in the district to equip them with knowledge and skills related to information and communication technology.

Banda said Nice Trust believes that women can be rescued from the pangs of poverty if they are empowered; hence, they introduced computer lessons.

“We want to create a pool of people working as well as others doing businesses. At least 35 percent of women in Mangochi should be computer-literate.

“With the presence of many shops here, I believe many will get jobs,” he said.

One of the trainees, Fatima Chilawe from Kalonga Village, Traditional Authority Mponda, commended the initiative, saying it will equip them with computer skills and knowledge, giving them an opportunity to start their own ventures or get hired by employers.

“Apart from this, it will also help us surf on the Internet and learning what is happening around the globe,” she said.

At least, 81 women are expected to complete the first session of the three -month computer training in August 2018.