About CARE In Malawi

History Of CARE In Malawi

In May 1997 CARE international conducted an in-country programming probe with the involvement of CARE USA, CARE UK, CARE Norge and CARE Canada. The program probe team made a recommendation to begin operating in Malawi by establishing a Country Office presence in a manner that was both ‘light’ and ‘flexible’. In addition, it was recommended that initial program activities be concentrated in the Central Region of the country and to conduct a participatory livelihood assessment exercise leading to the design of CARE’s initial programming in Malawi. These recommendations were accepted by the CARE International board in November 1997, and CARE USA was granted lead member status.

CARE subsequently established a Country Office presence in December 1998 with the opening of its Country Office in Lilongwe.

Through the adoption of its household livelihood security (HLS) framework and rights based approaches, CARE Malawi’s current program has been developed around a thorough analysis and understanding of peoples livelihoods, and currently covers activities in the food security, education, economic opportunities, social and economic empowerment (especially of women), social protection, rural infrastructure and
emergency sectors. CARE works in the Central region of Malawi covering five out of nine districts of the central region i.e. Lilongwe, Dowa, Salima, Kasungu and Ntchisi.

CARE Malawi Funding

Since opening a Country Office in December 1998, CARE Malawi has seen a steady increase in its annual budget. CARE Malawi continues to receive funding from a diverse range of donors, which include; USAID, DFID, AusAID, World Food Programme, Liechtensteinischer Entwicklungs Dienst, CARE USA and a range of Private Donors.

Country Office Initiatives:

Cross Cutting Initiatives

Ndife amodzi initiative (Strengthening CARE Malawi’s HIV and AIDS Workplace Response)

This initiative is funded by DFID through the CIUK program Partnership Agreement (PPA) the purposes of the initiative is to develop, test, implement and institutionalize approaches that meet the needs of CARE staff, people living with HIV & AIDS, and other affected groups. This is to be achieved by promoting best practice & successful models in HIV & AIDS workplace policy implementation and mainstreaming into other development sectors.

This will be demonstrated by: The extent to which learning from experience is incorporated into internal mainstreaming through improved workplace policy implementation, and external mainstreaming through modifying core business to achieve HIV/AIDS mainstreaming objectives;

Specifically the initiative has the following objectives: To facilitate the development of a more friendly work environment at CARE International that encourages positive living and that has a clear strategy for mainstreaming HIV/AIDS issues in programs; To test new approaches in HIV and AIDS Mainstreaming and workplace policy implementation; To promote reflection, analysis, documentation and sharing of experiences in meeting the needs of staff, volunteers, PLWHAs and other groups affected by HIV and AIDS

Village Savings and Loans Technical Support Unit

The goal of the unit is to Increase income and social capital among rural and urban communities of Malawi. This goal complements the higher level country office program purpose of secured livelihoods and human dignity through provision of diversified income earning opportunities and building social safety nets.

The unit will achieve the goal through; 1 Strengthen CARE’s and its partners’ effectiveness in VSL programming; 2 enhance capacity of vulnerable groups to participate in social and economic activities through viable VSL groups; 3 create an environment that fosters participation of communities in social and economic activities; 4 Integrate VSL across all sectors

Economic Development

Access Malawi

Access Malawi is part of CARE USA’s Access Africa program which is aims to enhance the livelihood security of at least 1 1/2 million poor people over three years in sub-Saharan Africa by scaling up CARE’s Village Savings and Loan model in three countries and partnering with microfinance institutions, insurance providers, and MicroVest to link clients with savings, credit, and insurance services. Access Malawi’s goal is to lift about half a million people - 405,000 (70% or more of whom being women) out of poverty by ensuring equitable access to a suite of basic financial services (savings, loans, insurance, remittances) over the coming 10 years across the nation.

This will be achieved through nationwide scale of VS&L, bank linkages, appropriate technology, (cell phones, front and back end solutions, Village Agents, etc) and strategic partnerships.The project will also link members with the formal financial sector for services such as savings, credit, and insurance. Resulting improvements in livelihood security will benefit an estimated five people per household. The project will enable CARE to take its savings-led model to scale, demonstrate the sustainability and replicability of the methodology, promote effective linkages with formal sector financial providers, introduce new technologies to reduce transaction costs, and significantly increase the financial sector’s ability to reach the poor with accessible, appropriate services. The project will enhance Gates Foundation efforts to enhance financial sustainability of savings-led groups by providing important tools, models, and lessons on reaching and sustaining services to poor communities.

Education

Partnership In Addressing Gender In Education (PAGE)

The PAGE project’s goal is to improve the quality of, and access to equitable basic education for all by addressing Gender based violence. The purpose is to reduce incidences of Gender Based Violence (GBV) at homes and in at least 100 Primary Schools in Kasungu district. The expected project outcomes are: i) Increased capacity of children, especially girls, to recognize, address and report GBV; ii) Improved learning environment in schools and households through better understanding and protection of child rights, especially girls’ right to education; iii) Enhanced development and implementation of policies relating to GBV in the basic education sector.

Patsy Collins Trust Fund Initiative (PCTFI)

The multi-million dollar Patsy Collins Trust Fund Initiative (PCTFI) seeks to improve the lives of marginalized girls. With an emphasis on ensuring their rights to education and development, PCTFI seeks to empower girls to fulfill their greatest human potential. With education as a critical entry point, the health and nutritional status of girls are among the explicit concerns of PCTFI. Through this initiative, CARE aims to advance: innovation in education for the most marginalized girls, cross-sectoral collaboration, knowledge generation, organizational learning, and CARE’s global partnerships and influence. PCTFI will run for a total of 20 years in an attempt to develop an evidence base and affect policy change for girls.

Advancement of The Girl Child’s Right To Basic Education (ACRE)

ACRE will enhance equitable access to quality education by promoting vulnerable and marginalized children’s right to education, with emphasis on the girl child. The project will work in 120 primary schools. It will aim to reduce gender-based violence and other forms of child rights abuses in primary schools by 25 percent, improve the capacity of communities to participate effectively in school management, and advocate for policies focused on gender in education. The project aims to improve access to basic education for vulnerable children in the project area and enable girls to complete primary school and take greater control over their lives. ACRE will provide girls with the opportunity to improve their literacy and numeracy abilities and complete basic education. The project will empower girls to take greater control over their lives and be able to make decisions that impact their lives and those around them. Local communities will be empowered to plan and manage their own resources in this case education and to hold local government institutions accountable. It will also improve governance of schools as a result of community involvement, which will in turn position those schools to apply for funds from institutions such as the World Bank that insist on visible evidence of school improvement planning. The project activities will build trust between key community actors, creating more sustainable relationships and structures around education

Food Security

Improving Livelihoods through Increased Food Security Program (I-LIFE)

The I-LIFE program is a five-year $70 million development program which is being co-led by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and CARE International. The goal of the I-LIFE program is to reduce food insecurity among vulnerable households and communities in rural Malawi.. The program is implemented through a consortium of eight private voluntary organizations (PVO) (Africare, American Red Cross (ARC ceased operations in Malawi in December 2004 has therefore dropped from the consortium), CARE, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Emmanuel International (EI), Save the Children US (SCUS), The Salvation Army (TSA) and World Vision (WV)). The program has three strategic objectives 1: Livelihood capacities of vulnerable groups are protected and enhanced; 2: Nutritional status of vulnerable groups is protected and enhanced and 3: Community and district capacity to protect and enhance food security is improved.

Supporting & Mitigating the Impact of HIV/AIDS for Livelihood Enhancement Program (SMIHLE)

SMIHLE’s purpose is to develop and promote operational models and practices that strengthen the delivery of food security services that mainstream HIV/AIDS and gender. The program benefits 30,000 households with 165,000 secondary beneficiaries in 6 Traditional Authorities (TAs) in Lilongwe 3-(Kabudula, Mazengera and Kalumbu) and Dowa 3- (Dzoole, Chiwere and Chakhaza) Districts. The SMIHLE program focuses on: i) Improving knowledge and understanding of the relationship between HIV/AIDS and food security; ii) Strengthening CBOs to manage food security activities that mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS; iii) Strengthening linkages between CSOs, CBOs, Govt and the private sector to facilitate responsive service delivery.

Through work with community-based organisations (CBOs) at the group village head level (GVDCs) the program is expected to potentially benefit over 420,000 people in the two districts. By working through these community-based structures the program ensures that the most vulnerable households (including female-headed households, households hosting orphans, households caring for chronically ill persons, and child-headed and elderly-headed households) are accessing and benefiting from program activities

Integrated Community Based Nutrition Rehabilitation Programme (ICON)

The aim of the project is to strengthen communities and local institutions to effect sustainable improvements in nutritional status through food security, health and caring practice interventions. The focus is on addressing endemic chronic malnutrition as evidenced by high levels of stunting and underweight. The overall objective of the project is to empower community and local institutions to effect sustainable improvements in nutritional status of children under five. The project’s specific objective is to improve and sustain nutrition status of children under five in Salima and Ntchisi districts. The project covers the following five traditional authorities with their target beneficiaries in bracket; Ntchisi district- Chilooko (60,227) and Malenga (30, 437); Salima District: Kambwiri (20, 752), Pemba (15, 134), and Ndindi (27, 659). The ICON focuses on: i) Improving capacity of mothers/ carers to prevent malnutrition; ii) Improving hygiene and sanitation facilities and behaviour at community level, iii) Strengthening understanding of key health care practices of children under five, pregnant and lactating woman an those infected with HIV; iv) Strengthening household food security through diversified foods and enhanced crop production; v) Increasing food and livelihood security of vulnerable households by establishing village savings and loans groups at community level, and vi) Strengthening capacity of local institution to implement nutrition related programs.

Improving Livestock Production for Income Enhancement (I-LINE)

The overall goal of I-LINE is to improve the income and nutritional security of 500 vulnerable farmer households through increased access to animal and fish protein. The project is expected to achieve the following perceived impact: 80 percent of vulnerable farmer households ill have increased animal and fish protein intake; the number of households using appropriate technologies for animal (poultry, small livestock and fish) production and management will increase by 500; and the income levels of households that own livestock will increase. The project’s objectives are to Disseminate information on appropriate technologies for poultry, small livestock and fish production and management, as well as for feed production, processing, preservation and storage through village savings and loans groups and care groups; Increase livestock farmers’ access to veterinary services and create employment opportunities for the rural poor through the Para-vet approach; and Strengthen the efficiency of poultry, small livestock and fish markets. The project is designed to complete gaps identified by I-LIFE interventions and will therefore be implemented within I-LIFE geographical areas targeting the same I-LIFE beneficiaries

Support to Vulnerable groups to achieve Food Security (SAFE)

The Support to Vulnerable groups to achieve Food security is a three year European Union project. The overall objective of the project is to achieve Food Security among the able bodied vulnerable households in Kasungu District. The specific objective is to improve crop production and increase and diversify income amongst 7881 vulnerable households in Kasungu District by the end of the project. The project is implemented in partnership with the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), a non-profit international agricultural research development organisation.

Pathways Linking Poverty, Food Insecurity and HIV/AIDS IN Rural Malawi (Malawi Pathways Project – MPP)

The MPP is a partnership project between the Medical College of Wisconsin and CARE Malawi. The five year longitudinal research project aims to understand 1) how large-scale integrated development projects affect health outcomes and 2) how changes in socio-economic conditions and food security in a community affect an individual’s risk of HIV infection. The project seeks to understand the dynamic and interacting roles that poverty, food insecurity play in spreading HIV. The longitudinal research will draw its sample from the SAFE project beneficiaries and non SAFE beneficiaries will be sampled as control group.