Ungweru’s light to needy communities

Rose Mkandawire, 56, has struggled to raise nine children since her husband died in 1988. To cope with her situation, she joined a group of 23 widows who openly discuss how to surmount their challenges.

Mkandawire comes from Thandazga Village, north of Mzuzu City where her group operates a Community Based Childcare Centre (CBCC), a testimony of their efforts to create a better world for their children.

“It all started in 2008 when we were discussing our plight, chiefly, how to give our children a solid start and protect them from abuse after the departure of their fathers,”  says Mkandawire whose group meets Tuesday and Thursday every week.

Out of the meeting came a resolution that they had to mould bricks and build a nursery school where their children would play, eat and learn the ABCs of life, she says.

The widows moulded bricks on the banks of Katakalamba River, burnt them and carried them to the construction site. They later organised a fundraising walk which jolted some well-wishers to help make the dream come true.

The result—a glass-thatched structure, which now houses 150 chickens donated by Ungweru, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) giving light to communities since 2004.

“Two of my pupils have passed through the same centre and are now learning at Thandazga Primary School,” says Mkandawire.

Ungweru, which literally means “light” was founded by an Irish Priest and Father John Ryan hasbeen giving light to self-help groups since 2004. It primarily promotes community-based groups trying to uplift their localities and surroundings.

Apart from donating the chickens, the organisation has also constructed a new CBCC replacing the dilapidated structure. It empowered the community with pigs- an income-generating activity-that partly sustains the child-centred group and provides manure for the centre’s maize fields. When the pigs multiply, the widows share piglets to boost livelihoods.

Ungweru has further linked needy women with Wells for Zoe, an Irish NGO, which has sunk a borehole at the CBCC. Trained in business management and proposal writing, the group convinced the Highland Malawi Trust of Scotland to finance the construction of an office block adjacent to the childcare centre.

Ungweru executive secretary Dominic Nyirongo says construction of the CBCC cost K5 million. So far, 56 children, including 10 orphans, have enrolled at the centre.

“We thank Ungweru for making our dream come true. The centre is giving our children an encouraging start and boosting their chances,” says Mkandawire.

On a week day, the impact of the initiative is clear. Children who cannot afford private nursery schools interact for early childhood development. Those from struggling households are assured of nutritious porridge each morning.

Once a month, health officials camp at the centre to weigh children under five, vaccinate them and attend to pregnant women.

Ungweru has been working with the department of social welfare to train the caregivers in how to mind  children aged three to five and deliver tasks.

Its footprints are all over Traditional Authority (T/A) Mtwalo. Among other things, it runs an environmental and natural resources conservation in Mzimba North; HIV and Aids management in Msiki, Dunduzu, Ekayiweni, Kadambo and Nkholongo.

In addition, Ungweru has established six child protection committees in the communities it serves.

“We are glad child protection committees are empowering communities to uncover cases of child abuse, report them to police and take them to the Child Justice Court,” says Nyirongo.

Among the success stories, the committees have rescued seven girls from child marriages and saved an orphaned child with HIV and Aids who was dumped at Mzuzu’s Botanic Gardens.

“With Ungweru, we are convinced there is light at the end of the tunnel,” says Mkandawire, who has gone through “a terrible time” since the body of her husband was found dangling in a nearby bush 26 years ago. n