Plan Malawi clocks 20
Plan Malawi has clocked 20 years of existence in the country with its satellite office in Mzuzu investing K1.7 billion in various projects.
Speaking in Mzimba on Monday during the commemoration event, area programme manager Esther Chirwa said the funds have supported programmes in maternal and child health, education; water, sanitation and hygiene, child protection and food security.
Said Chirwa: “The chunk of the budget has gone into infrastructure development at Nkhwende and Emvuyeni dams, 65 school blocks, 50 teachers’ houses, nine pre-school blocks, a health centre, three staff houses, 150 boreholes, 90 school toilets, three grain banks and 12 maize mills.”
As an activity to celebrate the milestone, Plan Malawi handed over to the Malawi Government a school block at Buwa Primary School in the district.
Construction of the block was initiated by the community whose contribution is estimated at K4 million whereas Plan Malawi rescued them with an additional K4.5 million.
Director of administration at M’mbelwa District Council, Tamara Nyirongo, who was the guest of honour at the event, said the council has challenges in developing the district due to its vast size and inadequate funding.
“For instance, projects in Local Development Fund [LDF] are usually two school blocks per Traditional Authority [T/A]. This is a challenge for us because T/As have huge areas of jurisdiction whereby two school blocks are not enough. We are thankful to Plan Malawi for providing us with these school blocks,” she said.
