Missio Austria Launches Three-Year Women Empowerment Project in Mzimba, Malawi
MWEE launched in Malawi's Mzimba district to economically empower women and reduce household poverty, writes Susan Moyo.
Mzimba, Malawi-Missio Women Economic Empowerment (MWEE), a project aimed at empowering women economically and reducing poverty at the household level, has been launched in the Mzimba district of Malawi, writes Susan Moyo.
The Missio Women Economic Empowerment (MWEE) project, launched in 2021, is already having a positive impact on the lives of many women at Chimbongondo under St. Augustine and St. Peter’s Parish in the diocese of Mzuzu.
Through the project, 60 women from St. Peter Parish have been trained in value addition and are now able to make and sell peanut butter, groundnut flour, and many other products.
Meanwhile, 50 other women from Chimbongondo under St. Augustine Parish were given seed capital for groundnut farming and training on accessing reliable markets.
According to data from World Vision, empowering women is essential to the health and social development of families, communities, and countries.
Peter Nundwe, the field officer for the MWEE project, said that the project aims to reduce poverty by increasing income-generating activities and empowering women in the economic sector through small-scale businesses.
It also aims to improve the welfare of people by fostering agricultural and community marketing.
Beneficiaries of the project, such as Mary Newa from Kanyangali village, Chimbongondo area, and Traditional Authority Mtwalo, have been able to use the skills and knowledge gained to become economically independent.
Newa said, "MWEE project has taught us how to grow soybeans, which gives us more profit than before. Last year, through farming, I managed to buy a pig, and I am able to pay school fees for my children who are in secondary school."
Another beneficiary, Maria Chirwa from Group Village Man Sumayila Chitaya in the area, echoed Newa’s sentiments, saying that the project has taught them many things, including soya farming and how to manage Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs).
Chirwa said, "Now we also have reliable markets for our soybeans. After selling soybeans last year, I managed to start pig farming and bought fertilizer and bags of cement for the construction of a new house."
Rosaline Londwa, another beneficiary from Chasefu township in Mzuzu under St. Peters Parish, said that after receiving training on VSLAs and value addition, her life has changed for the better.
She said, "Through the peanut butter-making business, I am able to provide for my family, and I have also invested the money into other small-scale businesses."
The three-year project is being implemented with financial support from Missio Austria and is expected to phase out next year, in 2024.
The project is a game changer in the lives of the beneficiaries, who are now economically independent and able to participate in various activities within their villages.