US project empowers Phalombe women

Six young women from Phalombe were all smiles on Saturday when United States of America Pollination Project gave them sewing and knitting machines to empower them economically. 

The project’s programmes manager Dave Sato said in an interview at Nyambalo in Phalombe that the district has the capacity to produce productive young women if they engage in viable income generating activities from a tender age.

He said many women in the district are vulnerable  because they depend on selling firewood sourced from Mulanje Mountain and other protected areas; hence, the project provides an alternative source of income for women.

“The objective is to nurture them into productive citizens who will be able to fuel the socio-economic development of the district as women are the hallmark of national development,” he said.

On his part, Traditional Authority Nyambalo pledged close supervision to monitor performance of the beneficiaries.

He said: “There are many young women in this area who dropped out of school due to lack of school fees and early pregnancies.

“This initiative will rescue many young women from poverty if they commit themselves to the service.”

One of the beneficiaries, Alefa Dafter, 27, from Milambo Village in the district, said since she dropped out of school some years ago, she has had no stable source of income.

“This machine will enable me to set up a reliable business to uplift my life and that of my family,” she said.