Thank You Pencil Project!!

World Camp would like to thank Troop 50832 from Danbury Connecticut for their generous donation of pencils and pencil sharpeners for our Malawi Program.  In January we'll be handing these pencils out to almost 2000 students so they can take notes during our educational camps.  Pencils may seem commonplace to us, but our students in Malawi are very excited and grateful to receive these gifts.  Below are some pictures of the girls collecting and packaging the pencils.  Thanks again!  

      

Malawi's Going Against the Grain

Sort of a Long article, but well worth the read.    

By Yuka Tachibana, NBC News Producer
 
KASUNGU, Malawi – Beads of sweat trickled down Emilie Chawala’s forehead. She was working in her cornfield where the temperature had reached 90 F – October is the hottest month of the year in Malawi.
 
But Emilie had no complaints. She knew it was well worth the long and painstaking days she has invested. Her corn crop should be ready for harvest in a few more weeks. 
 
This year’s harvest is expected to be a far cry from what Malawians call the “crisis.” In 2002 and again in 2005, the country was hit by bouts of severe drought which culminated in catastrophic food shortages and deadly hunger. Nearly a third of the population was left severely malnourished. Dozens of villages reported people dying of starvation. The government was forced to import expensive corn and appeal to neighboring countries for food.

“Those were sad times,” Chawala said. “We only ate once a day. The children couldn’t go to school because we all had to forage for food. We ate a lot of banana roots. Many people died, it was only chance that God spared us.” 
 
After the “crisis” of 2005, the Malawian government launched a bold and costly program which aimed to rid the country of the vicious cycle of drought and hunger.

No more empty stomachs 
The government began a subsidy program for small-scale farmers, providing them with fertilizers and high-tech seeds at roughly 15 percent of the market cost – the fertilizers and seeds were required for a more productive and resilient crop. The scheme cost the Malawian government $60 million, a huge amount for one of the poorest countries in the world where the average annual income is only $250. 
 
Malawi’s major donors, including the World Bank, European Union and the United States balked and warned Malawi to reconsider. They claimed that such large-scale subsidies would cripple the economy. But the government went ahead. 
 
“We knew it was right,” Dr. Jeff Luhanga, who oversees the subsidy program at Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture told us. “They were wrong, and we had seen the suffering. You look at hungry 67faces and it’s not comforting. And food aid is very disempowering. Food aid is, if you need it yes, you do, but yes, it’s humiliating. I wouldn’t want to wake up every morning looking for food for my children. It creates a culture of dependence which should not be.”
 
When the subsidy program was launched, Chawala received a small share of fertilizer and seeds, enough to cultivate her small plot. When harvest time came, she had a bumper crop, and it provided her with more than enough corn to feed her family of 10. Her children no longer had to forage for food, so they were able to go back to school. 
 
“We don’t have to go to sleep with empty stomachs anymore,” she said.  
 
‘Proud to be a self-sustained country’
Like Chawala, farmers across the country took advantage of the subsidy program. Also aided with a healthy dose of rain, Malawi’s corn yields soared to a record high. The culture of hunger and dependence was transformed into one of pride for its self-sustainable farming. 
 
Not only did the bumper crop fill people’s stomachs, it had a direct effect on Malawi’s economy. 

Once farmers sold their surplus crop for cash, they were able to buy new clothes and cell phones, or fertilizers and seeds at market value and expand their farming. 
 
Kapiza’s shop, in the small and dusty town of Mplonena, was buzzing with farmers who had come to purchase supplies. Rain will start falling in early November, and that’s when the next planting season begins. The government’s subsidy vouchers haven’t been circulated yet, but farmers in Kapiza’s shop had enough money to buy seeds and fertilizers at market value.  
 
Kapiza is an “agro dealer” – meaning that she sells farm supplies to poor farmers in remote areas. A non-governmental organization calledCitizen’s Network for Foreign Affairs (CNFA) helped her open her store by facilitating and providing partial credit guarantees for fertilizers through local aid orgnaizations. 
 
They also trained her in some of the technical aspects of the supplies she sells, so that Kapiza could pass on the knowledge to the farmers who frequent her shop. She briefed one of the farmers who had just bought a bag of corn seeds on the merits of planting hybrid seeds. 
 
Before Kapiza’s shop opened, farmers had to trek over 40 miles to buy simple supplies. She is happy not only because her business is thriving now, but also because she can give farmers helpful and valuable advice.

“Most people are preferring to buy their commodities from Agro dealers, because we are able to help them,” Kapiza explained. “Some have built new houses, people are sending their children to school.”
 
She said government subsidies acted as a real kick start for the farmers. “Since they have been empowered through the subsidy program people now have food and are able to work,” she said.

“You know, a hungry person is an angry man. So when you have food in the house, your dignity is preserved. But when you don’t have food, you don’t have money – then you are a useless creature. And even for that matter the country is useless. And if you empower a small farmer at a grassroots level, then the government will be economically stable. That’s the way I look at it.”

Lunchtime for everyone
Back at Chawala’s cornfield, it was lunchtime for her family. There wasn’t enough time to go home for lunch, so she cooked her meal in a shady and breezy spot underneath a spreading tree. 
 
Today’s menu: cooked greens and tomatoes, some fried eggs, and the Malawian staple, a sticky porridge made of cornmeal and water. 
 
By the time the porridge was ready, her elderly mother, sons, daughters and grandchildren had gathered under the tree.

There are now about 12 hungry mouths to feed. No sweat for Chawala – there was plenty to go around. 
 
“Happy, happy, happy”, she said. “I am very happy now, I can even look after two orphans. I have enough food and I am ready to take in more orphans.”

"Branching Out" with MokuZoku

World Camp is excited to announce a partnership with MokuZoku, a very exciting new company that shares in our mission to contribute to happy, healthy communities worldwide. The idea and vision that drives MokuZoku is very cool and empowering. A children's clothing company, MokuZoku seeks to heighten consumers' awarness of global issues by turning their purchases into real-world action. This is how it works...

Thanks to a generous donation by MokuZoku, World Camp will be able to plant over 1300 trees with primary-aged students around Malawi this January. At each school we will be planting a small forest with the students, teachers, and community members. In addition, each student will receive a sapling to take home and plant with their families. Recognizing that planting trees is a lot of hard work, MokuZoku has also made arrangements to provide lunch for every child with whom we work (over 1200 students!!) Aside from expnading our environmental outreach, this tree-planting project will greatly increase the sustainability of our message even after we have left. We're extremely excited for this January and will keep updates coming as we work to implement this project. We hope to work more with MokuZoku in the future to help empower children throughout the World. If you want to find out more about MokuZoku you can...

Working towards environmental sustainability in Malawi

The article below was printed in the Daily Times of Malawi. It highlights the link between sustainable tree consumption practices and poverty reduction. Over the past few years, environmental sustainability and resource management have become increasingly large aspects of the World Camp curriculum. As we work to highlight these critical issues, we also seek to provide practical solutions such as solar energy and tree planting. Our simple solar ovens are always a hit with the students who are amazed that a cardboard box covered in aluminum foil can harness the power of the sun so effectively. We're also excited to expand our tree planting impact this January when we will be planting close to 1300 saplings at schools around Lilongwe. Scroll down to see some images of World Campers in action!

Forests can reduce poverty says govt
BY CLIFTON KAWANGA
12:48:44 - 04 December 2008

Sustainable use of natural resources can contribute to poverty reduction, Minister of Energy and Mines Ted Kalebe has said.

The minister, who was the guest of honour at the opening of an international conference on Forest Governance Learning Group (FGLG) in Zomba on Tuesday, said government recognises the role that the forest sector plays.

“The forestry sector contributes 2 percent to the GDP and employs large numbers of people both in the formal and informal sectors in Malawi,” he said.

The forestry sector provides about 90 percent of energy requirements in Malawi.

“Forests play a significant role in supporting the livelihoods of many smallholder farmers by providing energy for cooking, food, medicines, fruits, shade and water,” he said.

Head of the Natural Resources Group at International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) James Mayers said many forest problems boil down to questions of injustice.

“More powerful interests manipulate the system at the expense of those who have the rights to access and the abilities to manage forests,” he said.

About 85 percent of the population depends entirely on forests and trees for their fuel wood, timber, poles and traditional medicine.

According to the World Development Report, GDP growth originating from agriculture is about four times more effective in reducing poverty than GDP growth originating outside the sector.

Since the majority of Malawians depend on agriculture, population growth has led to the clearing of forests for agriculture.

This has put pressure on natural resources, hence the need for the majority to take part in the management of forests.

According to this year’s Annual Economic Report, the country continues to suffer from forest degradation largely because of poverty, population growth, agricultural expansion, infrastructural development and over dependency on wood fuel for energy.

Malawi departed from the previous strategies with the inception of The National Forest Policy in 1996.

The policy provides the basis for communities to conserve and sustainably use forest resources.

The focus of FGLG workshop is ‘Locally Controlled Forestry’ and it is designed to help the participants to take stock of achievements made by FGLG in the past four years.

FGLG is a groundbreaking initiative of (IIED) with country based teams in Cameroon , Malawi ,Mozambique , Ghana, India, Indonesia, South Africa , Uganda and Vietnam .

Each team brings together researchers, policymakers, NGOs, and representatives from communities and businesses to identify how to manage forests for social and economic benefit in a sustainable way.

The European Union has provided technical and financial support through IIED.

The workshop which started on Tuesday will end on Friday and has pooled together participants from the aforementioned countries under the IIED.

Encouraging news from Malawi

Thanks to Claudia Howell (2008 Malawi volunteer) for the forward.  There's still a lot of work to be done, but it is good to see some progress.   

Christmas cheer for Malawi's Mary and Joseph?

By Jonah Fisher  BBC News, Kawale

Their names are Mary and Joseph and they have a newborn child.

But for this Malawian family this is a time of worry and not of cheer.

Both parents have HIV and when we meet them the status of their baby girl, Idess, is still unclear.

"God has been wonderful to us," Joseph says as he sits outside their small hut in Kawale on the outskirts of the capital Lilongwe.

"With all the medicines which we now take to stay alive, God has been good to us."

Life has not been easy for the Mlothiwa family. Joseph is on his second marriage while Mary, at the age of 24, is already on her third. Her last husband died of tuberculosis, a disease often associated with HIV.

The Mlothiwas are fortunate that they live in Malawi.

It is considered an African success story in the approach the government and international agencies have taken in fighting HIV. Tests are encouraged and anti-retroviral drugs widely available.

During pregnancy Mary was put on a powerful course of anti-retroviral drugs.

Their purpose was to suppress the HIV virus and prevent it passing to baby Idess.

Some 85% of Malawian clinics now offer tests like this and treatment during pregnancy.

At Mary's clinic in Kawale women begin gathering at 6am outside the health centre.

At 9am it is Idess's turn and she has the heel of her foot pricked. As she squeals in shock, a spot of blood is squeezed on to a piece of paper.

"For HIV positive mothers who take anti-retrovirals the chances now are 90% that the baby won't contract the virus," says Edison Bowa, the medical officer at the clinic.

"We've seen a big change here."

The statistics are little comfort to Mary.

The couple are told to return later in the week for the results.

We follow Idess's sample to the laboratory in the centre of Lilongwe.

The normal Aids test can only be done when a baby is 18 months old.

For many babies that is too late. Half of all HIV positive babies die before they reach their second birthday.

Malawi is rolling out a new test that spots HIV at just six weeks.

It involves a complex DNA analysis of the sample and means babies can be put on anti-retroviral drugs before they get sick.

Sunday best

"If the test is positive it means that Idess will be put on treatment right away," says Dr Miriam Chipimo, from the UN children's agency in Malawi, as we watch the sample being rehydrated, shaken and passed through a series of machines.

"And then Idess will be able to live a normal life. She shouldn't be sickly. She should go to school and have ambitions and get a job and live a perfectly normal life."

Both Mary and Joseph dress in their Sunday best for results day at the clinic.

As they wait, Joseph is lectured by one of the nurses. He has stopped taking his anti-retroviral drugs because of the side-effects.

Then with a big smile one of the clinical officers strides up.

He shakes Mary and Joseph by the hand. The drugs have done their job and Idess is clear of the HIV virus.

"I'll look after Idess well now," Mary says. "I'll make sure she goes to school and then I hope she'll become a nurse."

We drop Joseph back at his job. He buys fish in bulk on the shores of Lake Malawi before selling them in Lilongwe. Mary and Idess head home.

There is still no cure for HIV but there are thousands of children like Idess who owe their lives to early tests and anti-retroviral medication.

The war is far from over but Malawi's falling rate of child HIV infection shows that battles are being fought and won.

World Camp Malawi Blog

Welcome to World Camp Malawi's new blog.  We're going to do our best to keep you updated on the happenings in Malawi throughout the year.  Check back frequently to see what's new.  Feel free to comment on the posts and add your own opinions, news, or insights.

Also, I would like everyone to check out our new charity badge to the right.  We're pretty excited about this crazy new technology.  Created and hosted by Network for Good (www.networkforgood.org), this nifty little invention allows people to donate to World Camp (or any other non-profit) from anywhere on the web.  By inserting a piece of html code into your website, blog, myspace page, etc. (they're still working out some kinks with facebook)  you can post this charity badge anywhere on the web.  If you'd like to post World Camp's charity badge send me an email at scott@worldcampforkids.org and I will get you the details on how it's done.    

Lastly, I hope everyone had a great 'World AIDS day' yesterday.  Madonna celebrated by releasing her documentary film "I am because we are".  I haven't seen it yet, but here is what the Nyasa Times (A Malawian Newspaper) had to say:  http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/2050.html

To find out more visit the movies webpage at http://www.iambecauseweare.com/

Thanks for all your support and be sure to stay tuned for more from World Camp Malawi!