Nthanda Times

Day: January 7, 2023

  • Lilongwe City Deputy Mayor bans chips, restaurants at Area 18A market

    Lilongwe City Deputy Esther Sagawa has banned restaurant and chips businesses at Area 18A market to control the further spread of Cholera outbreak in the township.

    Sagawa who is also a Councillor for Chimutu ward in the city made the announcement Saturday afternoon when she led vendors plying their trade at Area 18A market in a clean-up exercise.

    “We are all witnessing the rate at which cholera cases are escalating in the country. The best way to fight the outbreak is by observing good hygienic practices among ourselves. I am therefore urging everyone doing restaurant business in the market to stop cooking food until the situation normalizes,” she said.

    Sagawa (left) interacts with people plying chips business at Area 18A market

    On his part, the chairperson for area 18A Market, Mr. Ndawoloka said the development had changed their minds, and he will force everybody to be an eye for each other.

    “We are going to make sure that the healthy committee is working tirelessly in improving sanitation in our market, and also we are asking the council to increase the number of workers in the city,” he said.

    Meanwhile, government through the Lilongwe City Council and the Presidential Taskforce on Covid-19 and Cholera has ordered that those who have restaurants, and those who fly chips in the city markets, should stop.

  • Local NGO in role modelling drive to curb child marriages in Mchinji

    Girls Activists Youth Organisation (GAYO), a local non-governmental organization, is conducting role-modeling and mentorship sessions to curb increasing cases of child marriages in Mchinji District.

    The goal of the activities, which are implemented under Rusa Community Engagement and Sponsorship Project, is to improve the well-being of children through community transformation, according to the organization’s field officer, Karen Seyani.

    Speaking on Friday during role-modeling and mentorship sessions at Rusa Primary School in Traditional Authority Kapondo in the district, Seyani said reports show that there are rising cases of child marriages in Mchinji District which force a number of boys and girls to drop out of school.

    “As GAYO, we came up with role-modeling and mentorship sessions in schools to motivate the learners to stay in school.

    “Today, we came here with different people working in government institutions and NGOs in Mchinji to inspire children with their stories, challenges and successes so that they can appreciate that anything is possible in life,” she said.

    A police officer interacts with learners during the session

    Rusa Primary School Deputy Head Teacher, Jacob Mbewe, expressed gratitude for the gesture, saying it will motivate the learners to continue working hard in school and achieve their ambitions in life.

    “As Rusa Primary School, we are happy because these role-modeling and mentorship sessions will help our learners to work harder in school despite their poor backgrounds.

    “The children are happy to see different people working in various departments, some of them from Mchinji, which is a rare example for the children to look up to as their role models in life,” said Mbewe,

    A Standard Seven (7) learner, Mary Benjamin, 15, commended GAYO for bringing the initiative to her school.

    Benjamin: we have learnt that we should work harder

    “We have learnt that we should work harder in school so that we become responsible citizens in the future. We also have learnt about our rights and responsibilities as children so that we should be able to know when we are being abused by our guardians and other people in our communities,” she said.

    Representatives from Malawi Police Services, Gender and Development, and District Education Offices were part of the role-modeling and mentorship sessions.

    GAYO is implementing ‘Rusa Community Engagement and Sponsorship’ Project together with Anglican Council in Malawi with funding from World Vision Malawi.