Kwathundikwanu – Kwathu ndi Kwanu

Inside the Internship: My Time at Kwathu Ndi Kwanu

Kwathundikwanu — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 07:43:27 +0000

By Theresa Strutt

Nearing the end of my internship, I am realising just how connected I have become to my colleagues and Kwathu Ndi Kwanu as an organisation. My internship placement has definitely been the most fulfilling aspect of living abroad.

Kwathu Ndi Kwanu works to promote financial inclusion and empower survivors of gender-based violence and refugee women. The organisation aims to foster economic autonomy as a tool for empowerment and sustainable development. This is achieved through training in crafts-making, financial literacy, and establishing market linkages for women’s products. Enhancing gender-based violence prevention and responses is also a key component of Kwathu Ndi Kwanu’s work. This aims to increase awareness about gender-based violence and its impact on individuals and communities. In addition Kwathu Ndi Kwanu works to create a support system that emotionally and physically supports survivors is a key aspect of supporting survivors of gender-based violence. Kwathu Ndi Kwanu also engages in feminist movement building. This movement aims to advocate for enhanced sexual and reproductive health rights in Malawi. Much of this work involves engaging with other organisations, advocating for policy change, and providing education on SRHR.

Throughout my undergraduate degree I have taken gender studies courses and learned about the theoretical components of gender, feminist movement building, and contemporary gender rights issues. It has been fascinating to learn about how Kwathu Ndi Kwanu is engaging in feminist movement building in a unique context and encountering various socio-cultural and political barriers. In many ways my theoretical knowledge of gender studies has allowed me to engage more with the advocacy side of Kwathu Ndi Kwanu’s work instead of just focusing on the marketing and communications. This has allowed me not only to learn the gender rights issues that are specific to Malawi, but also engage in movement building that works to advocate for a change in policy and attitudes regarding SRHR.

During my placement, Kwathu Ndi Kwanu has granted me a significant level of independence in my role as a marketing and communications officer. Thanks to this, I have been able to take on some creative leadership in branding decisions, which has been exciting. I have been able to utilise my experience working within a nonprofit organisation in the past, along with my theoretical knowledge of gender rights issues, to conduct communications aimed at enhancing Kwathu Ndi Kwanu’s visibility. In addition to communications and marketing, I have also been working on resource mobilisation. I have been contacting embassies, non-profit organisations, the private sector, and government ministries to explore collaboration or secure additional sources of economic revenue. During my placement, I have also had the opportunity to conduct communications fieldwork in Dzaleka refugee camp.

The opportunity to work firsthand with a women-led and run organisation that advocates for survivors of gender-based violence will no doubt shape my future career choices and goals. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Kwathu Ndi Kwanu and to be so warmly welcomed into the team.

Excitement as Young Women Prepare to WEAVE Their Way out of the Claws of GBV in Salima District and Dzaleka Refugee Camp

Kwathundikwanu — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 07:30:47 +0000

By Aletiru Diana Bibian

Resource Mobilization Advisor

Despite the existence of legal frameworks to empower and protect women being developed and implemented, Malawi registered a 16.7% increase in cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in 2022 from 13,002 in 2021 to 15,178 in 2022 (Malawi Police).

The impact of GBV has significantly lowered the opportunities for the young women to access finance, markets and socio-economic empowerment further exacerbated by social and cultural barriers that limit their participation in economic development.

Kwathu Ndi Kwanu (KNK) is a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) based in Malawi that exists to economically empower survivors and victims of GBV in Malawi including refugee women and it was founded and led by young women.

The situation is worse for refugee young women because the Government of Malawi has an encampment policy which restricts refugees from certain rights such as access to tertiary education and formal employment. Only 6% of women in Malawi among the nationals have access to formal credit. As a result, they struggle to invest in their businesses, limiting their ability to innovate and scale up their operations.

With limited access to formal credit and marketing opportunities, women’s entrepreneurship has been concentrated in low-profit, low-growth sectors with limited market access. With invaluable technical support provided by Aletiru Diana Bibian, a WUSC South-South Volunteer serving as the Resource Mobilization Advisor (RMA), KNK’ developed the WEAVE project proposal which earned approval for funding in August 2023 from World University Services Canada under the IGNI+E Partner Innovation Fund.

Reactions to the News of Success

“It came as a surprise when ED called to tell me the news that the WEAVE Project Proposal had been approved. Very exciting chapter for Kwathu Ndi Kwanu (KNK)”, exclaimed Sharonrose Chilinda the Program Development Lead at KNK.

‘Receiving the Partner Innovation Funding is truly unbelievable to me. It signifies not just financial support but the belief that our (KNK’s) mission to support the Victims and Survivors like me is not only valid but crucial. It is a profound validation that through this support, we can truly make a difference and nurture hope for those who have walked a similar path”

“This could not have been possible without Diana, I thank WUSC for sending her to support us with Resource Mobilisation”, said Ms. Chimwemwe Mlombw, the Executive Director of KNK. The news did not only excite the RM Advisor and the staff of KNK alone but the key stakeholders and the target beneficiaries too. A young woman who participated in the FGD could not hide her excitement when visited by the great news. “I am just very excited right now and can not imagine that I will be able to get the skills I need to work and employ myself”, said Ms. Subira Mushipa, a refugee from Dzaleka refugee camp.

“We are thrilled to share incredible news from our partner Kwathu Ndi Kwanu! Congratulations on your remarkable achievement with the IGNI+E Partner Innovation Fund. We look forward to witnessing your amazing work over the next 2 years as you implement the Women Artisans Economic Value Enhancement (WEAVE) Project”, partly read a Facebook post by Mr. Dirshaye Beyene the Communications Advisor from WUSC Malawi. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=598734095797549&set=a.551735407164085

This transformative two-year project, known as “WEAVE: Women Artisans Economic Value Enhancement in Malawi,” is underpinned by the primary goal of enhancing the socio-economic well-being and livelihoods of young women that are survivours and victims of GBV; targeting both refugees and Malawian nationals residing in Salima District and the Dzaleka Refugee Camp.

This project is thoughtfully crafted to not only strengthen the abilities and economic prospects of these young women but also to foster financial inclusion and improve their access to household incomes, especially for those who have endured the traumatic experience of GBV.

Findings from the focus group discussions (June 2023) held with the young women from Dzaleka refugee camp to inform the design of this successful project revealed that 86% of the young women testified that they became teenage mothers because they engaged in offering sex for financial gains to the men who continuously harassed and abused them sexually because they lacked employable skills and access to economic opportunities to create jobs for themselves.

Therefore, the success of the WEAVE Project could not have come at a better time than this to provide the employable skills and the alternative sources of income to the young women that have interfaced with GBV in their quest for financial gains for the survival and wellbeing of their families.

A Call for Investment in Refugee Women and Girls in Dzaleka Camp to End Gender Based Violence

Kwathundikwanu — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 13:51:06 +0000

By: Aletiru Diana Bibian
Resource Mobilization Advisor

Gender Based Violence (GBV) according to the European Commission refers to violence directed against a person because of that person’s gender or violence that affects persons of a particular gender disproportionately. In this context, my focus is on GBV against refugee girls and young women in Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi. GBV against this marginalized group often results in: physical harm, sexual harm, psychological harm, economic harm, and general suffering to these young refugee women and girls.

Dzaleka is the largest refugee camp in Malawi, established by UNHCR in 1994, that hosts 51,415 refugees and asylum seekers (UNHCR Fact Sheet 2021). The majority of them are from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), while others hail from countries such as Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, and Ethiopia. Children and youth in Dzaleka refugee camp form more than half the population of refugees and asylum seekers in the camp. However, only 2,477 children are enrolled in preschool, 6,292 in primary school and 1,224 in secondary school in Dzaleka refugee camp (UNHCR 2021) leaving over 60% of the young population out of school because the available schools established for the refugees do not have the capacity to accommodate all the children and youth that have interest in joining the schools.

Livelihood projects in this refugee camp focus on agricultural production and aim to achieve self-reliance for the refugees and asylum-seekers in the camp. UNHCR revealed that, due to insufficient funding, only 800 of the 51,415 camp residents were reached by these projects as of 2022, leaving over 96% of the refugees reliant on assistance. A press release by UNHCR on 24th May 2023 confirmed that the agency had only received 9% of the US$ 27.2 million required to adequately support refugees and asylum-seekers in Malawi which crippled UNHCR’s ability to meet the protection, assistance and livelihood needs of the refugees and asylum seekers in Malawi.

Currently a refugee in Dzaleka refugee camp receives monthly assistance of MWK 6.300 an equivalent of USD 5.4 which means that the refugees are expected to live on USD 0.18 a day thus increasing the vulnerability of the women and girls in the refugee camp that continues to drive many of them to accept any offers from men in exchange for sex. What Shakira goes through as highlighted in “Qoute 2” is not an isolated case. Working with World University Service of Canada (WUSC) in Malawi as a South—South Volunteer under the IGNI+E project funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has exposed me to a number of realities the GBV survivors and victims are interfaced with on their day to day basis thanks to Kwathu Ndi Kwanu (KNK) (the WUSC Partner I am attached to support) that exists to economically empower these GBV Victims and Survivors to gain self reliance in a bid to stop the vice in Malawi.

During the selection of young women as beneficiaries of an economic empowerment project that targets young women particularly GBV Victims and Survivors in Dzaleka refugee camp and Salima district by Kwathu Ndi Kwanu(KNK) funded by WUSC under the Partner Innovation Fund (PIF), 88% of the young women assessed testified that they were battered (hit, punched, kicked, slapped, choked, hurt with a weapon, or otherwise physically hurt) by someone in or outside their households. 78% confessed that they were forced to have sex against their will while 76% revealed that they were forced to have sex to be able to eat, have shelter and access to essential services because their family would be in danger of starvation and others if they did not opt to offer sex in exchange during the last 12 months.

This sexual and physical cruelty is not limited to the adults, the men further prey on the young girls too. Two 13 and 16-year-old girls testified to being forced to get married by relatives, being defiled several times against their will by different men and being forced to get abortion among other forms of GBV perpetrated against them in the last 12 months. These revelations by the young women serve as a reminder that all the stakeholders are not doing their best to provide the alternatives the refugee women and girls require to break out of the claws of GBV. These GBV Victims and Survivors are not looking for advice, counselling or information on the dangers of condoning GBV, they see their tolerance to GBV and other sexual offenses including violation of the Protection of Sexual Harassment, Exploitation and Abuse (PSHEA) by partner staff as the only way for their survival.

What they require is targeted ‘investments’ from the stakeholders to learn skills that can help them work and earn an alternative income and the startup capital or kits to start their own businesses they can sustainably rely on to eat and survive. This call for action to invest in the refugee women and girls in Dzaleka refugee camp is directly in line with the global theme of 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence, 2023, which is calling on partners to “UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls” (UNWomen 2023).