Goster to attend Field Production course in Lilongwe

Posted on 13/10/2012 by andiamotrust

Henry Goster, Get Up Stand Up Project Coordinator, leaves Monday, 15 October for Lilongwe to attend a “Field Production” course at the Natural Resources College for two weeks.

“I expect to learn more about field production techniques and farming group dynamics so that I am able to help the farmers to be self reliant in two years time,” says Henry.

Henry Goster, Get Up Stand Up Project Coordinator

The course, financed by CMB-LAMA has been in fact organized in order to achieve leading skills in agriculture to guide the 17 groups of farmers under the Get Up Stand Up Project.

The microcredit project provides about 200 farmers with agriculture inputs in the villages around Balaka.

After finishing the mapping phase in which all farmers and fields were registered, the project will procede with contracts stipulation with each farmer who will access fertilizers in the month of November, just in time before the beginning of the rainy season.

Meanwhile, credit recovery from different groups is on going and the staff is visiting fields, advising farmers on field clearing and ridges making. The program designed by Henry Goster includes the visit to the following farmer groups in the next two weeks:

DATE VILLAGE GROUP
     
16/10/2012 MPEZENI MVUNGUTI
17/10/2012 NJEREKA CHINKHWAMBA
18/10/2012 KAINGA TITUKUKE
19/10/2012 KANYUMBAAKA LIMBIKANI
     
22/10/2012 CHIUJA KULYOLYOPELA
23/10/2012 PETRO NANKHOMBE
24/10/2012 ANDIAMO UMODZI
25/10/2012 MATCHINGO TISANGALARE
26/10/2012 MCHENGA CHISOMO
   

Andiamo Web Office

Share to Facebook
Posted in Education, News from Malawi, Social Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

We are all Africans

Posted on 13/10/2012 by andiamotrust

Africa’s Great Eastern Rift Valley

Running through Tanzania and Kenya, this is where the human story really begins, the earliest signs of Homo sapiens and our predecessor hominids, and it’s therefore where we should go back to when thinking about that great original migration out of Africa, and across the rest of the world, which happened 70,000 years ago.

The Mountain of God or Ol Doinyo Lengai - is part of the Great Rift Valley in Eastern Africa

The Mountain of God or Ol Doinyo Lengai – is part of the Great Rift Valley in Eastern Africa

We are all ultimately from the same family. We are all Africans.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19912733

By AM (Andiamo Web Office)

 

Share to Facebook
Posted in News from Malawi | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

AEI in another construction project

Posted on 09/10/2012 by andiamotrust

Construction work continues in Andiamo Education Institutions (AEI) campus. This time, it is a small room, attached to the boys’ hostel that will be used by students with special needs.

Special Needs Room for AEI Boys Hostel under construction

What is so special with this building is that unlike the just finished girls hostel and the ablution block that were donor funded, AEI is the one building it with its own funds. Once this room is ready, it will be able to accommodate four students.

AEI is following what the founding trustee of Andiamo Youth Cooperative Trust (AYCT), Fr Mario has all along been preaching that the pillars of AYCT must learn to be sustainable.

The just finished ablution block for AEI Girls Hostel

AEI is under Education, one of the four pillars of AYCT. The other three are; healthcare, sports and culture, and health.

By PB Web Office

Share to Facebook
Posted in Education, News from Malawi, Social Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Poverelle Sisters Hospital without electricity

Posted on 09/10/2012 by andiamotrust

Mikoke Hospital, which is run by Poverelle sisters in Ntcheu, is running without electricity since Friday after some people siphoned oil from the transformer in the process leaving one of them dead after he was electrocuted.

According to Zodiak Online the remains of the alleged thief has not yet been identified.

Electrical Transformer

The Mikoke Hospital of Poverelle Sisters, located 12 km from Andiamo, is affected by this electrical fault, as it cannot provide the normal assistance to its patients. People around Mikoke cannot now access the maize mills and other services that work with electricity.

The Ntcheu Police Officer in Charge Assistant Commissioner Griffin Mpumulo has since warned the general public on dangers of vandalising ESCOM property.

(AM) Andiamo Web Office 

Share to Facebook
Posted in Health Care, News from Malawi | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Basket trainer leaves while Basket program continues

Posted on 29/09/2012 by andiamotrust

Alessandro Capelli, a Volunteering Basketball Trainer of Balaka Malawi Basketball Association (BAMABA) left today 29 September 2012 for Italy after a 2-week training program in Andiamo.

ALe and Kantema

Kantema playing Basket with Alessandro Cappelli

“I was happy to have the opportunity of living this experience in Malawi and to work with teachers and students of Balaka on the basket court. I will never forget this time with you and if I manage I will come back again soon,” he says.

Started one year ago after the building of the Basket court financed by BAMABA, the training program will continue with other two trainers who will be in Balaka next week.

Alessandro says the students and teachers have now gained the basic skills, and it is clear that there is a big potential in young students to grow more in this sport, and that is why he believes the project BAMABA is working and should continue.

Asked to share his impression about Andiamo Youth Cooperative Trust (AYCT), Alessandro explains that he appreciated how he was welcomed and congratulated with those responsible for the “great organization” found in the Volunteer House, Andiamo Education Institutions (AEI) and the Cooperative as a whole.

Alessandro Cappelli

“I was impressed with the many projects I found in Balaka, for this reason I congratulate the Montfort Missionaries and the locals, especially in the education sector where I spent much of my time. I realized the big opportunity which is given to the 300 students of A.E.I. for their education and human growth, and I think that sport is part of it.”

Alessandro also shared the wonder about the way time is lived in Malawi, as people often don’t look at the watch but live the natural time. They wake up as the sun rises, accept it is afternoon just after having lunch if they are lucky, whether it is 12.00, 13.00 or 16.00…. a conception of time, which is really based on nature.

“I also wonder,” he adds “how people can walk in the evening without light. I tried it but it was quite difficult for me to reach home in the darkness.”

Finally Alessandro wishes that in the future BAMABA grows with a team for young, junior and senior basket players.

By A.M. Web Office

Share to Facebook
Posted in Culture and Sport, Education, News from Malawi, Social Development | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Saidisan Farmers group leads Get Up Stand Up Project

Posted on 29/09/2012 by andiamotrust

It is not yet time for rains, though the temperatures are growing high in Balaka but the fields of SAIDISAN are just ready for the sowing.

Henry Goster, Responsible of Get Up Stand Up Project visited three of the SAIDISAN beneficiaries on 28 September and found them ready to access the fertilizer loan with the new conditions required.

The 3 beneficiaries, Mr. Daniel Murowere, Fred Boat and Kennet Majawa showed the land that they will cultivate this year, which is now double in size, and in effect have managed to repay all the debt of the previous year’s loan.

Saidisan

One of the fields ready for sowing in Saidisan Village

Meanwhile, a meeting will be held on 7th October with the presence of all beneficiaries to agree on new conditions to access the loan for the new season. Among the new conditions is an adoption of a poor family to be taken care of by the group of beneficiaries in its needs of food security.

The Saidisan Leader, Mr. Murowere, who is asking to introduce two more new beneficiaries in the group, is satisfied and thankful for the project and happy of his group mates who managed to cover up all the credit, despite the scarcity of rains and the terrible economic crises, which Malawi is going through.

He has also granted one of his lands to be used as a common land for all beneficiaries of his group for a pilot project of horticulture, which will require the donation, and installation of a new borehole, which will be used for an irrigation scheme.

“The project is helping the community of Saidisan which is composed of almost 300 people. If we grow more, we shall have enough surplus available in our villages at a reasonable price for all people,” Daniel Murowere adds.

Mr. Henry Goster explained that the team is actually finalizing the mapping of all fields of all groups of beneficiaries and that the next step will be the creation of the new groups of beneficiaries.

Those who didn’t follow the rules and did not pay back the non-interests loan will be disqualified. Even those who will not be able to increase their cultivable land areas will not qualify

“I’m satisfied with some of the groups and their leaders because they have shown full cooperation and we look forward to the success of the project,” says Goster.

Share to Facebook
Posted in News from Malawi, Social Development | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

AEI campus to swell to 317

Posted on 29/09/2012 by andiamotrust

Some of TEVETA apprentices at Andiamo Technical School

The Andiamo Education Institutions (AEI) will now have about 320 students. This follows the selection of 21 and 15 students by Technical, Entrepreneurial, Vocational, Education and Training Authority (TEVETA) to study Automobile Mechanics and Tailoring Designing respectively at Andiamo Technical College.

According to the press release of 26 September 2012, TEVETA says it has released 1, 580 names that will undergo training in various public and private technical colleges in Malawi.

“The selected trainees are requested to report at their respective colleges on Monday 1st October, 2012,” the statement further states that a grace period of three weeks until 22nd October has been granted and those who fail to turn up in their various colleges will lose their places.

TEVETA has revealed that there were 16,236 applicants out of which 3,776 were females and 12,460 were males representing a percentage ratio of 23:77 respectively.

Out of the 36 students that have been selected to Andiamo Technical College, 21 are girls and 15 are boys representing a percentage ration of 58:42 respectively.

Andiamo Technical College is one of the education institutions that belong to AEI. The others are Andiamo Secondary School, Andiamo Computer School, Tiyende Women in Development and a number of Nursery Schools.

By Patrick Bwanali

Share to Facebook
Posted in Education, News from Malawi | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

AYCT in pictures – 27 September 2012

Posted on 27/09/2012 by andiamotrust

Today, 27 September 2012 we went around in different sections of Andiamo Youth Cooperative Trust (AYCT) to see what people are doing. The following is what we found:

Davie Nkunga of Mechanic section cutting a piece of steel to be used on the new tractor

Grant Maseleko looked like a wounded soldier with his face swollen but he was busy working on a tyre puncture

Chikondi Samboko of Mzuzu Technical working on a car engine as part of her attachement with Andiamo

Grant Kaiyatsa was busy in the shoe clinic mending shoes

Ultraviolet water sterilizer was functioning as we found Matilda Subiri, wife to Paul Subiri busy supplying water to Montfort Missionaries community

We counted them and they are 15. Samson Samboko, the one responsible for them was busy preparing the feeds for them

We are told they are going to harvest the fish soon

The water that flows from the fish pond is not wasted as Kolasi Bernard uses it for the afforestation programme as seen below

Kolasi Bernard watering mibawa trees

Alleluya band members, busy rehearsing for the shows scheduled for this weekend. Friday, 28 September Club 21 in Liwonde; Saturday 28 September Nkopola Beach in Mangochi; and finally on Sunday 30 September at Ulongwe Parish Hall

Going in and out of AYCT was not a problem because Aisi Dilli was manning the gate

Share to Facebook
Posted in News from Malawi, Social Development | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Bamaba rejuvenates basketball in Balaka

Posted on 24/09/2012 by andiamotrust

A demonstrative Basketball tournament was held yesterday, Sunday 23 September at Andiamo basketball court after a one-week training with the volunteer Alessandro Cappelli of BAMABA Association from Italy.

Three of the teams that were trained by Alessandro, Andiamo Secondary, Andiamo Technical and St Charles Lwangwa participated in the mini tournament.

The tournament was well patronised with students who supported their favourite teams with joy.

Andiamo Education Institutions and the whole Cooperative is thanking Alessandro Cappelli and BAMABA Association for bringing this opportunity to Balaka, which is creating a big attention for this sport practiced only in few areas of Malawi.

Meanwhile, other two trainers from Italy are expected to visit Andiamo next week to continue the training in Basketball which involves many girls and boys of surrounding secondary and primary schools of Balaka.

Also taking part in the trainings are some teachers and sports masters of Balaka schools in order to get more skills and methods to continue cultivating the sport of basket among the students when the volunteers of Bamaba leave.

During the mini tournament, Andiamo Secondary Team won and walked away with basketball jerseys and a trophy donated by Don Cesare Catelli.

The movie “Space Jam” was also shown in the Andiamo Education Hall to 300 students with the same aim of creating passion for sport.

By A.M. Web Office

Share to Facebook
Posted in Culture and Sport, Education, News from Malawi | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

AYCT commemorates the Literacy Day

Posted on 20/09/2012 by andiamotrust

Learning how to write

8 September is the International Literacy Day and in Malawi the 2012 main commemoration event for the day will take place on 4 October 2012 in Nkhatabay district at Kachere Primary School ground under the theme “Literacy and Peace”, the Secretary for Gender, Children and Social Welfare has announced.

According to the press release in the Nation newspaper of 20 September 2012, the guest of honour at the function will be the Vice President, the Right Honourable Khumbo Kachali.

The press release states that the commemoration of the International Literacy Day is significant for Malawi “considering the high levels of illiteracy despite the free primary school education and concerted efforts by the Government and partner organisations to provide adult literacy services.”

Illiteracy in Malawi is at 36% representing to 4.7 million illiterate individuals, half of whom are economically active adults. The situation is exacerbated by the high waste of the education system which forces the youth in the formal education system to join the illiteracy pool as they drop out of school.

Andiamo Youth Cooperative Trust (AYCT) joins hands with the government of Malawi and UNESCO in commemorating the Literacy Day. Indeed, together we will eradicate illiteracy and poverty.

AYCT works on four pillars and one of them is education. Through its Andiamo Education Institutions (AEI) students have a chance to get quality education at affordable fees.

Share to Facebook
Posted in Education, News from Malawi, Social Development | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment