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).

Protecting Refugee Women and Girls in Malawi: Why It Matters

gracious — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 13:52:22 +0000

Malawi’s government has set a final deadline for refugees to return to Dzaleka, the country’s only authorized refugee camp. This decision has far-reaching consequences, especially for refugee women and girls who have been living outside the camp and have little say in their future.

According to a recent article by VOA News, Malawi’s government has ordered all refugees living outside of Dzaleka to return by the end of April 2023, citing security concerns and the need to streamline refugee management. The decision has sparked controversy and concern among human rights advocates who argue that the move violates refugees’ rights and could put them at risk of abuse and exploitation.

For refugee women and girls, the situation is particularly dire. Many have been living outside the camp because they have been unable to find shelter or support in Dzaleka or because they have found better opportunities outside the camp. They have built new lives, formed relationships, and contributed to their host communities, despite facing many challenges and obstacles.

Now, with the deadline looming, these women and girls are facing an uncertain future. They fear being uprooted from their homes, losing their livelihoods, and being subjected to overcrowding, inadequate facilities, and limited opportunities in the camp. They worry about their safety and the safety of their children, especially if they have experienced gender-based violence or discrimination.

As we approach the end of April 2023, it is crucial to remember that refugee women are human beings with rights, aspirations, and dignity. Governments and international organizations must ensure that their policies and actions do not put them at risk or undermine their agency and resilience. The plight of refugee women and girls in Malawi is a heart-wrenching one that demands our attention and action. With the deadline for their return to Dzaleka approaching, these women and girls are facing a precarious future with no certainty or hope.

We cannot sit by and watch as refugee women and girls in Malawi face an uncertain future.

Your donation can make a significant impact, not only in the lives of these refugees but also in creating a more just and compassionate world. Let’s stand in solidarity with refugee women and girls in Malawi and empower them to rebuild their lives. Together, we can make a difference.

Please consider making a donation today and help us support refugee women and girls in Malawi. Your contribution can change lives and promote social justice.

“Climate Change, Cyclone Freddy, and the Invisible Victims: How GBV Impacts Women and Girls in the Aftermath”

gracious — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 11:57:55 +0000

It is crucial to recognize the intersectionality of climate change and gender-based violence and take steps to address both. As the quote from Simone de Beauvoir suggests, women’s rights can easily be put in jeopardy during times of crisis, including climate-related disasters. The current situation in Malawi, where Cyclone Freddy has caused the displacement of thousands of people and led to the declaration of a state of disaster, highlights the additional risks faced by women and girls during such emergencies.

Women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate change and its consequences, including displacement, food insecurity, and loss of access to resources and services. This can make them more vulnerable to all forms of gender-based violence, including intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and forced marriage.

It is important to prioritise gender-responsive approaches in disaster management and climate change adaptation efforts. This includes ensuring that women and girls have equal access to resources, services, and decision-making processes, as well as addressing the underlying social and economic inequalities that contribute to gender-based violence. It also involves providing safe and accessible spaces for women and girls, as well as strengthening GBV response services in disaster-affected areas.

Addressing the intersectionality between climate change and gender-based violence is essential to ensuring that women’s rights are protected and that they have the necessary support and resources to adapt to the changing climate. This requires a gender-responsive approach to disaster management and climate change adaptation efforts, as well as addressing the underlying social and economic inequalities that contribute to gender-based violence. This includes investing in GBV response services during emergencies, promoting women’s leadership and participation in climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts, and addressing the root causes of climate change and GBV, such as patriarchy, inequality, and environmental degradation.

It is important to acknowledge that climate change and gender-based violence are not separate issues, but rather a crisis within a crisis. By addressing both, we can work towards a more just and equitable future for all.

Picture: AL Jazeera

Our community needs your help!

Our community located in Neno has been heavily affected by Cyclone Freddy, many have been displaced and are currently living in camps. We aim to raise 5500 USD as our target goal (5.2 MWK); these funds will be used to support families and get them the necessities to support them until they are back on their feet, we intend to support the women and children with food packages, cooking oil, flour, blankets and clothes. Although there have been several reliefs made to support the victims, our target and focus is the rural women and children that have been affected.

Exploring Malawi Remotely: E-Volunteering with Kwathu Ndi Kwanu

gracious — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 11:52:31 +0000

When I was entering the world of post-secondary education after finishing high school, I had virtually no idea what I wanted to do with my life. However, I was certain of the fact that I wanted to work in a field where I could work alongside passionate people towards a cause that is important to me. It is for that reason that I chose the University of Waterloo’s International Development program and its partnership with the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) international volunteer opportunities. Throughout my entire university career, I was looking forward to the opportunity to travel to work directly with an organization for eight months during my fourth year in September 2021, as collaborating with individuals and communities to make positive long-lasting change was to be the highlight of my post-secondary experience.

Unfortunately, as with many things, the COVID-19 pandemic affected my ability to travel to Malawi and work with Kwathu Ndi Kwanu as a Communications and Partnership Officer. Though this was upsetting news to be dealt, the Kwathu Ndi Kwanu team immediately welcomed me to the team with open arms and encouragement. I felt engaged from the very start of my e-volunteering assignment as we spent time getting to know one another, discussing projects over Google Meet and navigating our way around the substantial time difference between Ontario and Malawi.

Flash forward approximately three months to January of 2022, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision to go forward with remotely volunteering with Kwathu Ndi Kwanu. I have discovered so much about myself, the incredible young women I work with, and the communities the organization supports in the last 90 days. I am always thrilled to share my experience and personal anecdotes with loved ones, strangers, and almost anyone who will listen! When entering this position, I thought I had an extensive understanding of how social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter operated, but I was quickly shown that I still had a lot to learn. I have expanded my knowledge and overall marketing skills on social media and improved my content creation while working with the communications team all while continuing to be creative in designing graphics and writing engaging copy for posts.

Personal and professional development matters aside, working with the Kwathu Ndi Kwanu team has been a dream due to the organization’s dedication to its partnerships with local artisans, young single mothers, and survivors of gender-based violence (GBV). I have been a passionate intersectional feminist since my early high school days and had always hoped to work with a cause that aligns with my values. Knowing that the work Kwathu Ndi Kwanu organizes with local artisans directly supports young single mothers and GBV survivors makes the work I do with the organization feel even more rewarding than it already is. Despite the time and space between myself, the team, and our partners, I feel incredibly connected and wholeheartedly welcomed in the organization. If I could travel back in time to let a younger version of myself know that at the age of 22, I would not only be studying a topic I am passionate about but also working directly with an organization that shares virtually every single personal value I hold close to my heart I doubt she would believe me, but she would be elated.

I truly hope to visit the Kwathu Ndi Kwanu and WUSC teams at some point, as I would like to thank them personally for the tremendous life-changing opportunity to work with such an impactful organization in such unprecedented times. I have only reached the halfway point of the duration of my placement, and I have so much more room to grow with the guidance and support from the incredible team I have been paired with. I cannot describe the joy that comes with volunteering for an organization that aligns with your personal values, so I can only suggest you simply do it yourself to feel that joy too.