Report compiled by Josie Tengatenga - Program Director, Anglican Women in Development (AWID)

The Anglican Diocese of Southern Malawi in its quest to promote Gender Equality has embarked on three projects focusing on women. The first is the Micro loan Revolving fund which was launched in 2008. This program is being promoted as a key strategy for simultaneously addressing both poverty and economic empowerment in the diocese of Southern Malawi. Since its inception, the program has demonstrated the following positive impacts among women:

• Increase in women's income levels and control over their income which has resulted in greater levels of economic independence.
• Considerable initiative in using the income generated by women in improving their status in the family and community, particularly after a series of loans.
• Family income channeled through women often benefits children considerably.
• Perceptions of women's contribution to household income and family welfare have been enhanced, increasing their participation in household decisions about expenditure and other issues. This has also resulted in greater expenditure on women's welfare.
• There is now a more general improvement in attitudes towards women's role in households and community.
• On the whole the program has been a welcome corrective measure towards women's productive role in the diocese and society as well as opposed to the previous neglect.

When the program was launched, only fourteen women drawn from Holy Innocent, Ndirande, Chilomoni, Chilobwe and Chileka parishes were the first recipients. This year 2010 a total of 103 women have received loans from the program all from poor neighborhoods of Blantyre. Plans are underway to extend into rural parishes although this will require extra funding.

The women are engaged in a number of businesses which include: fresh produce stalls, second hand clothing, restaurants, grocery stores and sale of rice, beans and maize. They also raise chickens for meat and eggs as well as pigs for pork. We are also exploring ways of venturing into dairy farming for milk especially in the rural parishes. There is an acute shortage of milk in the country. The plan is to encourage women in rural areas to engage in dairy farming because of availability of land. The can also boost income levels of rural parishes and promote cooperatives.

Permaculture Agricultural and Animal Husbandry

The second project under the auspices of the Mothers’ Union is Permaculture, Agricultural and Animal Husbandry. It focuses on women in the rural areas. This undertaking increases the abundance and quality of the food in the village, making food available for the orphans, and creates micro-agricultural and animal husbandry businesses which also increase the economic strength of the village. It also advocates for inter cropping where use of chemical fertilizer is discouraged. There is use of organic manure and growing of nitrogen fixing crops as well as medicinal herbs and drought resistant crops.

Small grants are given to women to enable them to raise pigs, goats and chickens so families can start small Animal Husbandry businesses. The families are also encouraged to grow corn, or soybeans or tomatoes or cabbage or mushrooms or avocados, or oranges or papayas or bananas, or chickens or eggs, or goats or milk, or pigs for food or to be sold at market. Families also create Kitchen Gardens planted with a variety of vegetables where excess produce is sold off to generate income for other households needs.

This project has a far reaching effect as drought, flooding and other effects of climate change continue to become more evident in Malawi and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The third and final project targeting women is the Mothers’ Union Adult Literacy Program. The Mothers' Union is doing a more commendable job among women and a few men with this program.

There are currently 48 circles. Mrs. Joyce Chitete and Temwa Kalimbe are diocesan trainers and coordinators of the program.

The illiteracy level among women is very high in Malawi. The church through the Mothers’ Union has established over 30 adult literacy circle throughout the diocese which comprise the following districts: Mulanje, Chiradzulu, Thyolo, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu and Nsanje. The classes are open to both women and men but the majority of learners are women.

All the three diocesan initiatives directed towards women are geared towards the achievement of the MDGs in particular the call to end poverty, the environment and promotion of Gender Equality by providing financial assistance to women.