Chiliza Orphanage in Likuni
Program: Supporting Orphans in Traditional Authority Mbwatalika.
Implementing Organization: Empowerment Center, under the name Empowerment Home.
Contact Person
Location of Program: Chiliza Village, Lilongwe.
Location of Head Office: Empowerment Centre Ministries, Likuni, Lilongwe.
Target group: 5 -21 year olds, school going age orphans, vulnerable children, and guardians and Community Members.
Summary:
The program, Empowerment Home under Empowerment Center Ministries, which started in 2012, is in the capability of implementing partner in line with Government of Malawi Development Goals.
The project is principally envisioned to address the difficulties faced by children in Traditional Authority Mbwatalika in Lilongwe district especially in terms of nutrition and educational needs. This is due to rampant child abandonment and HIV/AIDS bane in this geographical location of Traditional Authority Mbwatalika. This situation has amplified the number of orphans and underprivileged children, coupled with abject poverty in the country has made the environment to be so harsh for these vulnerable kids. Conversely, the key objective of this program is to help disadvantaged children get an opportunity to attend and attain formal education for self-sustenance and positively contribute to the society they live in and not to depend on it for their livelihood.
Implementing Organization: Empowerment Center, under the name Empowerment Home.
Contact Person
- Name: Pastor Merayi Ziba
- Address: O. Box 117, Likuni, Lilongwe
- Number: +265 999 615 714
- Email: merayiziba@gmail.com
Location of Program: Chiliza Village, Lilongwe.
Location of Head Office: Empowerment Centre Ministries, Likuni, Lilongwe.
Target group: 5 -21 year olds, school going age orphans, vulnerable children, and guardians and Community Members.
Summary:
The program, Empowerment Home under Empowerment Center Ministries, which started in 2012, is in the capability of implementing partner in line with Government of Malawi Development Goals.
The project is principally envisioned to address the difficulties faced by children in Traditional Authority Mbwatalika in Lilongwe district especially in terms of nutrition and educational needs. This is due to rampant child abandonment and HIV/AIDS bane in this geographical location of Traditional Authority Mbwatalika. This situation has amplified the number of orphans and underprivileged children, coupled with abject poverty in the country has made the environment to be so harsh for these vulnerable kids. Conversely, the key objective of this program is to help disadvantaged children get an opportunity to attend and attain formal education for self-sustenance and positively contribute to the society they live in and not to depend on it for their livelihood.
Background
Brief description
In Malawi, above 60% of orphaned children are as a result of HIV/AIDs. Furthermore, with proliferating poverty, these orphans can’t care for themselves who in many times are left in the care of old people who are well above 70 and helpless themselves. The other orphans not as the result of HIV/AIDS are equally vulnerable with no presence help for them to face the next day with hope and joy. These children, apart from being unable to raise school fees are also not able to meet their day-to-day basic needs; food, shelter, medical care, sanitary care for adolescent girls, and even mere confidantes. It is against this background that Empowerment Center Ministries which is a Multi-Denominational Worship Center founded Empowerment Home as retort to these problems faced by orphans.
The organization is set up to give a hope and a future to the lives of these vulnerable children: To support them with their school fees for their education. To give them significance in life, by showing that there are still people who care about them. Give them nutritional support, making sure they eat balanced diet food that will enhance growth and stay health. To help them find shelters where possible, for them to have a sense of belonging. Responding whenever they are ill or sick through medical care.
Most importantly, have these kids exposed to the world of God, by visiting and sharing the word with them, also inviting all of them to a mid-week service just to have a communion with them as God’s family. Undeniably, the organization is striving to actualize its objectives to alleviate and overcome some of their difficulties.
Furthermore, in spite of government’s effort to facilitate that every child has access to education through the introduction of universal primary education many children in rural Malawi fail to continue with education. this is because they can’t afford accessories such as uniforms, books, pencils, food and other inevitabilities of life. The situation is the same with secondary going pupils where education is deliberately heavily subsidized by the government.
Through commitment, dedication and purpose, the program is assisting 13 orphans out of the many disadvantaged children in Traditional Authority Mbwatalika due to limited resources. Even those that are being supported are not assisted fully, there are a lot of gaps to be filled if it happens that we have good and stable funding.
The organization is set up to give a hope and a future to the lives of these vulnerable children: To support them with their school fees for their education. To give them significance in life, by showing that there are still people who care about them. Give them nutritional support, making sure they eat balanced diet food that will enhance growth and stay health. To help them find shelters where possible, for them to have a sense of belonging. Responding whenever they are ill or sick through medical care.
Most importantly, have these kids exposed to the world of God, by visiting and sharing the word with them, also inviting all of them to a mid-week service just to have a communion with them as God’s family. Undeniably, the organization is striving to actualize its objectives to alleviate and overcome some of their difficulties.
Furthermore, in spite of government’s effort to facilitate that every child has access to education through the introduction of universal primary education many children in rural Malawi fail to continue with education. this is because they can’t afford accessories such as uniforms, books, pencils, food and other inevitabilities of life. The situation is the same with secondary going pupils where education is deliberately heavily subsidized by the government.
Through commitment, dedication and purpose, the program is assisting 13 orphans out of the many disadvantaged children in Traditional Authority Mbwatalika due to limited resources. Even those that are being supported are not assisted fully, there are a lot of gaps to be filled if it happens that we have good and stable funding.
2.5 Interventions and Management
This project is currently being managed on non – residential basis, meaning that each child is being assisted while staying in his/her foster parent’s home. The program is run by volunteers with an executive committee of four members, and some of their responsibilities are as follows:
- Recruitment of children
- Monitoring and evaluation of project activities
- Lobbying for funds from other sources donors to ensure rapid development of the project
- Planning coordination and implementation of project activities
- Keeps all financial records of the project.
- Reports to the Empowerment Centre executive committee.
Objectives, goals and activities:
The main objective is to support orphans and other vulnerable children to acquire education through consolidated efforts of sponsorship.
Activities:
- Pay school fees, buy uniforms and other educational materials.
- Organize meetings with the guardians, committees and Local leaders.
- To support orphans /homes and guardians of the OVCs
- Identify and register orphans, take their pictures, and update their profiles.
- Give them clothing, and provide mosquito nets to for their homes
- Provide spiritual counselling to both the children and the guardians
- Solving logistical problems by buying bicycles for pupils travelling more than 5km to access primary education
Plans:
- Build a feeding shelter and a living quarters for the orphans at Chiliza.
- Build a primary school with 8 classrooms
- Expand services to accommodate more children in the program