Long walks for health, education 60 years after independence
Fetching water also poses challenges with only two boreholes serving 7,000 people in surrounding villages.
CHIKWAWA, Malawi - Communities of Group Village Headman Liston in Chikwawa district's Traditional Authority Chapananga travel up to 20 kilometers to access health and education services even 60 years after Malawi gained independence from British rule, writes Cornelius Lupenga
"People have no option but to get medication from distant health units," Liston said Monday.
According to Liston, residents of Mtseka Mnchiza, Mpindamalata, Kanining'a and Tafatha villages must walk 15 to 20 kilometers to reach the Thambani and Gaga health facilities.
Parliamentarian Susan Dossi promised a health facility in the area by 2023, but nothing has materialized, Liston said.
Children also walk 10 kilometers to attend the nearest primary school since there is none in Liston's area, he said. A new Roman Catholic Church school block for grades 1-2 has yet to open.
"Some children start school at older ages," Liston said.
Fetching water also poses challenges with only two boreholes serving 7,000 people in surrounding villages.
"There are congestions in fetching water," said Bernadetta Mose, a local woman. She worries about waterborne diseases during the rainy season due to the lack of clean, portable water.
Dossi would neither confirm nor deny the situation, saying the communities had declined a health facility in favor of a school.
She provided no further details on her constituents' concerns.