By Deborah Nyirenda Nkhata Bay, December 31, Mana: Kovyana Widows Group of Nkhata Bay Wednesday shared its Christmas celebrations by donating assorted items to Chintheche Health Centre. The items included sugar, bread and soap worth K150, 000.00 which was distributed to patients at the facility. Chairperson and Founder of the Group, Lizzie Sapawa said the group decided to share their joy during the festive season with those who can’t meet the needs meant for celebrating especially people who are admitted to the health facility. “We wanted to demonstrate our charity spirit by cheering the sick as one way sharing our love through material donation. We are grateful for having fulfilled our goal,” she said. Sapawa urged all members to continue being cooperative so that our operations are of benefit to the needy. She appealed to individuals and organizations for support for the group to be reaching more vulnerable and needy people. Nurse In-Charge for Chintheche Rural Health Centre, Chrissy Nkhata commended the group for their gesture saying the donation was timely. “On behalf of all health workers at this facility, I would like to thank the Kovyana Widows Group for sharing their love to our patients. Sometimes patients need this kind of support especially when they are away from their families,” she said. One of the patients, Gaston Banda commended the group saying most the relatives of patients admitted to the facility are far and can’t afford to come cheer them. “We are excited because we have received a gift which we never expected and from people whom we do not even know,” he added. Kovyana Widows Group was formed in 2011 with the aim of helping the needy, promoting girls’ education and supporting it’s member’s businesses. The Groups membership comprises 50 widows from within Chintheche.
Author: Leyman Publications
Maloto Set To Release An Environmental Advocacy Song
By Ireen Kayira Lilongwe, December 31, Mana: Lilongwe based up and coming artist, Maloto Chimkombero has said he is set to release an environmental advocacy song titled Mudzi on January 4, 2021. Maloto who is an Environmental Activist told Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Thursday in Lilongwe that the song was part of the environmental advocacy project which would be officially launched in February 2021. “The song Mudzi is exposing how the human activities have contributed to the environmental degradation and climate change making the world unsafe to live in. “Examples given in the song are the practice of setting up bush fires which have destroyed forest, the only home of wildlife,” he said. Maloto cited that the song talks of the companies that produce fossil fuels, thin plastics and other products that destroy the environment. He said the song said these human activities have made it difficult for people to survive and develop for instance due to land pollution, agriculturalist are struggling. The Artist said what motivated him to come up with the song was how people behave towards the environment. “Humans think that they are more important than the environment but the truth is that the environment is the most important and it can survive on its own but humans cannot survive without the environment,” he said. The Song which has been produced at kings of strings records at Biwi in Lilongwe is advocating for mindset change and is urging people to start taking care of the environment. Maloto advised that it is important to explore all areas that can be used to advocate for the care of the environment such as art and music is specific so that the fight can be won. “Adayambisa company zopanga katundu,kuononga zachilengedwe Ati technology ,technology zachilengedweso sasamala,kumaotcha tchire ati kufunamo mbewaMoto waononga nkhalango,” these is part of the song.
Hora Mountain Set To Become A Tourist Attraction Centre
By Pachalo Gondwe Mzimba, December 31, Mana: Paramount Chief M’mbelwa V of Mzimba celebrated the birth day of his wife, her Majesty Inkosikazi by among other things climbing Hora Mountain where the Ngonis of Mzimba hold their annual cultural event dubbed Umuthetho. He said the couple decided to climb to the top of the mountain to experience cool breeze as one of the events to mark the birth day celebration. Commenting on the development, Vice Secretary for Mzimba Heritage Association (MZIHA), Kingsley Jere said what the point chief clearly indicated that the site was a potential tourist attraction centre. “We are currently working on our plans to turn Hora Mountain which is in the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Chindi in Mzimba into a fully equipped tourism attraction centre,” he said. Jere said to start with MZIHA would employ a tour guide who would be taking care of the site and guiding tourists who may to visit and climb the mountain. “It is high time local and international tourists started visiting Hora Mountain. We will make the place more attractive so that In the end result we generate through tourism activities. What the Paramount Chief and her Majesty Inkosikazi have done has set a pace in recommending this site as a tourist centre,” he added. Director of Planning and Development for M’mbelwa District Council Director, Precious Kantsitsi said tourism Industry was one of key areas that can economically lead to transformation of Mzimba as stipulated in the District’s Development Plan (DDP). He said the mountain has all the necessary potential of becoming a tourist attraction site because it preserves the rich cultural heritage of Mzimba and the Ngonis. Kantsitsi said the cultural heritage of the Ngoni would be preserved for the younger generations to come as most people would be visiting the site to learn and appreciate the Ngoni Language and culture thereby putting Mzimba and Malawi on global map. “There will be activities besides Umuthetho that tourists both within and outside the country will be patronizing. Most importantly, this will help to generate revenue for the council and central government,” he stated.
Seven Steps for Making Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick
Maybe you plan to ring in 2021 with a new resolve to quit smoking, lose weight, exercise more, not sweat the small stuff. And maybe these resolutions sound familiar — maybe just like the ones you made a year ago! So how can you ensure that your determination to get healthier in 2021 sticks around past Valentine’s Day? By creating new habits. Creating new habits takes time and energy. A new behavior won’t become automatic overnight, but you may enjoy some of its benefits fairly quickly. Also, as you start to take walks regularly or engage in stress-soothing practices frequently, you’ll find you won’t feel quite right if you stop. That’s a great incentive to continue. So, keep nudging yourself in the direction you’d like to go. And try the following seven tips to help you create long-lasting change. Dream big Audacious goals are compelling. Want to compete in a marathon or triathlon? Lose 50 pounds or just enough to fit into clothes you once loved? With perseverance, encouragement, and support, you can do it. An ambitious aim often inspires others around you. Many will cheer you on. Some will be happy to help in practical ways, such as by training with you or taking on tasks you normally handle in order to free up your time. Break big dreams into small-enough steps Now think tiny. Small steps move you forward to your ultimate goal. Look for surefire bets. Just getting to first base can build your confidence to tackle — and succeed at — more difficult tasks. Don’t disdain easy choices. If you start every plan with “Make list,” you’re guaranteed to check one box off quickly. That’s no joke: a study on loyalty programs that aim to motivate consumers found giving people two free punches on a frequent-buyer card encouraged repeat business. So break hard jobs down into smaller line items, and enjoy breezing through the easy tasks first. Understand why you shouldn’t make a change That’s right. Until you grasp why you’re sticking like a burr to old habits and routines, it may be hard to muster enough energy and will to take a hard left toward change. Unhealthy behaviors like overeating and smoking have immediate, pleasurable payoffs as well as costs. So, when you’re considering a change, take time to think it through. You boost your chance of success when the balance of pluses and minuses tips enough to make adopting a new behavior more attractive than standing in place. Engaging in enjoyable aspects of an unhealthy behavior, without the behavior itself, helps too. For example, if you enjoy taking a break while having a smoke, take the break and enjoy it, but find healthier ways to do so. Otherwise, you’re working against a headwind and are less likely to experience lasting success. Commit yourself Make yourself accountable through a written or verbal promise to people you don’t want to let down. That will encourage you to slog through tough spots. One intrepid soul created a Facebook page devoted to her goals for weight loss. You can make a less public promise to your partner or child, a teacher, doctor, boss, or friends. Want more support? Post your promise on Facebook, tweet it to your followers, or seek out folks with like-minded goals online. Give yourself a medal Don’t wait to call yourself a winner until you’ve pounded through the last mile of your big dream marathon or lost every unwanted ounce. Health changes are often incremental. Encourage yourself to keep at it by pausing to acknowledge success as you tick off small and big steps en route to a goal. Blast your favorite tune each time you reach 5,000 steps. Get a pat on the back from your coach or spouse. Ask family and friends to cheer you on. Look for an online support group. Learn from the past Any time you fail to make a change, consider it a step toward your goal. Why? Because each sincere attempt represents a lesson learned. When you hit a snag, take a moment to think about what did and didn’t work. Maybe you took on too big a challenge? If so, scale back to a less ambitious challenge, or break the big one into tinier steps. If nailing down 30 consecutive minutes to exercise never seems to work on busy days, break that down by aiming for three 10-minute walks — one before work, one during lunch, one after work — or a 20-minute walk at lunch plus a 10-minute mix of marching, stair climbing, and jumping rope or similar activities slipped into your TV schedule. Give thanks for what you do Forget perfection. Set your sights on finishing that marathon, not on running it. If you compete to complete, you’ll be a winner even if you wind up walking as much as you run. With exercise — and so many other goals we set — you’ll benefit even when doing less than you’d like to do. Any activity is always better than none. If your goal for Tuesday is a 30-minute workout at the gym, but you only squeeze in 10 minutes, feel grateful for that. It’s enough. Maybe tomorrow will be better.
Media To Raise Awareness On Looming Cyclone
By Tione Andsen Lilongwe, December 30, Mana: Media have been challenged to raise awareness to the public on the looming cyclone and what was expected of them to save lives and property. Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs, James Chiusiwa made the challenge Wednesday in Lilongwe during the Press briefing on the State of Preparedness for the looming Tropical Cyclone Chalane. He said the media has a very big role to play in reducing disaster risks and losses in the country. Chiusiwa said tropical cyclone Chalane was coming at the time the Department of Disaster Affairs (DODMA) enhanced awareness of the public on flooding and lightning. “A week ago, one national radio station started airing early warning jingles and three more national stations and 23 community radios across the country,” he said The Commissioner said in total, the Department would air about 4,000 early warning slots between December 2020 and March 2021 through funding from United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF)-Malawi, World Bank and Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS). Chiusiwa added the Public Communication Cluster has developed messages to raise awareness to the public on Cyclone Chalane and what was expected of communities at risk, to save lives and property with emphasis on calling people in flood-prone areas to move upland. “The developed messages have since been shared with district, town, municipal and city councils for airing on community radio stations and loud hailing,” he pointed out. Director of Climate Change and Meteorological Services, Jolamu Nkhokwe said the onset of any rainfall season is a tropical cyclone season in the Indian oceans. He said Cyclones do form on oceans not on the ground because they are full of water and are source of humidity Nkhokwe said cyclones develop in the oceans when temperatures are above 27 degrees Celsius within tropics, within equator zone. He said cyclones are a group of thunder storm bound together in the ocean.
National Contingency Plan For Disaster Pegged At MK2.4 Billion
By Tione Andsen Lilongwe, December 30, Mana: A National Contingency Plan for disaster management for 2020/2021 has been pegged at K 2.4 billion, Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA) has revealed. Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs, James Chiusiwa revealed this Wednesday in Lilongwe during the Press briefing on the State of Preparedness for the looming Tropical Cyclone Chalane. He said cabinet has already approved the budget in full after developing the plan in November, 2020. Chiusiwa said the budget was submitted to Treasury and have started disbursing the funds in trenches. “We have received K500 million for the first trench which we started using since the onset of rains in helping disaster affected communities throughout the country. The current interventions, we are implementing we are tapping the funds from the trench,” the Commissioner explained. He said the Department has been keen to discouraged displaced communities to use schools as the permanent shelters. Chiusiwa said some instance communities would seek temporary shelters in schools if they don’t have evacuation centres adding if information reaches us, we respond by erecting tents to free the school premises. “We don’t want to disturb learners because their premises have been turned to temporary shelters for displaced communities. We are now running a project with support from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office in the construction of evacuation centres in some disaster prone districts,” Commissioner added. He said the evacuation centres have been construction in Mangochi, Balaka, Zomba, Phalombe and Chikwawa. Head of Disaster Management at Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS), Aston Mulwafu commended government through DODMA for the support as we had some financial challenges to deploy Search and Rescue (SAR) cluster members. He said this has helped our SAR cluster to have standby members in Nsanje and Chikwawa in readiness of the aftermath of the Cyclone Chalane. “We have developed a response plan in providing shelters for the displaced communities. We are issuing alerts to communities on the impending threat,” Mulwafu pointed out. He said MRCS has a national response team which has been trained and are ready to be deployed at any time. Director of Climate Change and Meteorological Services, Jolamu Nkhokwe has assured Malawians that they would continue updating them on the development of the tropical cyclone Chalane which has landfall in Mozambique but heading west towards Zimbabwe. He said the effects of the cyclone would see most districts having heavy rains which might result into flooding in some areas.
Mzuzu Hospital to Have Oxygen Plant
By Tione Andsen Lilongwe, December 29, Mana: Government set to install oxygen plant at Mzuzu Central Hospital in order to handle serious Covid-19 patient cases. Epidemiology Officer for Public Health Institute of Malawi (PHIM), Daniel Mapemba said this Tuesday at Hillside Lodge in Mponela, Dowa during Covid-19 Media Interface meeting for central region. He said the installation of the oxygen plant at Mzuzu hospital would help to reduce referral cases from northern region to the two central hospitals. Mapemba added that Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) and Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) have been installed with oxygen plants in order to handle admissions for Covid-19 patients. “Covid-19 admissions require three cylinders per patient per day. The installation of the plant will have an impact in the management of patients,” he said. The Officer revealed that the country had 14 admitted Covid-19 patients at QECH and KCH and the two had seven patients each. He said all the three central hospital have been designated to manage Covid-19 serious cases. Mapemba said with the second wave of Covid-19 there was need to scale up rapid testing in order to determine cases. He said the Country was still weighing options of Covid-19 vaccine adding by April 2021 might be put to use. Acting Deputy Director of Preventive Health Services for Heath Education Service, Mavuto Thomas said the country has over 257, 000 testing kits. He said if the country has the capacity to test over 1,000 people a day and it would last 157 days. Malawi has recorded 6,377 cases with 5,465 recoveries and 188 deaths. Over 67 percent of the deaths are men that were at high risk with illnesses of diabetes, cancer, hypertension and HIV.
Mask 4 All Malawi Calls For Support
By Moses Nyirenda Lilongwe, December 30, Mana: Mask 4 All Malawi has said there was need of over K 200 million to support its work of producing masks which are intended to be distributed to 400, 000 people in the country. Speaking on Wednesday during a press briefing in Lilongwe Mask 4 All Malawi, Resource Mobilization Chairperson, Wilkins Majiga said that his organisation was in mediate need of funds to assist in the production of masks. “When we recently had a meeting with the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, it was revealed that there was an instant need of 400, 000 masks in the country. “For this reason as an organisation, we are currently looking for more than K 200 million to help us in producing the masks, with the money we want to have not less than 400, 000 masks,” Majiga said. He added that the masks would be freely distributed to vulnerable people in the country who cannot afford to buy a mask. “In the country there are a lot of underprivileged people who cannot afford to buy a mask, so the masks which we will produce will be distributed to these vulnerable people in order for them to be protected from Covid-19 while at the same time reducing the spread of the pandemic in the country,” the Chairperson said. He said that his organisation envisions reaching out over eight million people in the country with the masks and this would cost at least K5 billion in order for the mask to be produced. “Our vision is to reach out over eight million people with the masks and this would cost K5 billion. Previously our organisation distributed close to 5 million masks in the country and the budget for this was about K 2.5 billion, so to us reaching eight million people with the masks is something which is doable,” Majiga explained. He asked the well wisher to support Mask 4 All Malawi monitory in order to achieve its goal of assisting in reducing the spread of Covid-19 through distribution of free masks in the country. Mask 4 All Malawi Programme Manager, Aggrey Masi Junior said that his organisation was committed to supporting the Government in fighting against Covid-19 pandemic by providing free masks to needy Malawians. Mask 4 All Malawi was established in April, 2020 after the country started registering cases of Covid-19 and is one of the country’s organizations that distribute free masks to fight Covid-19.
Agriculture Minister Launches Covid-19 Rapid Response Initiative
By Mercy Chirwa Lilongwe, December 30, Mana: Minister of Agriculture, Lobin Lowe Tuesday launched Covid-19 rapid response initiative which seeks to avail to smallholder farmers with crops that are resilient to weather shocks. The event took place at Mwatibu Primary School in the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Chadza in Lilongwe. The Minister said the aim of the programme was to encourage smallholder farmers’ plant resilient crops such as cassava and sweet potatoes to recover from the negative effects of Covid-19. The project is being implemented by Seeds Company Limited (MUSECO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture with funding from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) “Due to climate change the country continues to face numerous challenges including hunger hence bringing in of the plants that are drought resistant and mature faster,” Lowe said. He added that, “We want farmers to be having food all the time since the advent of corona virus; farmers are failing to participate fully in the farming activities.” Lowe said the effects of Covid-19 were having a toll on the lives of people in many aspects including health and food security. He said small holder farmers who derive their daily livelihood from farming are already bearing the brunt as they cannot carry out farming operations as before since movements are restricted and with social distance in place it is hard to get money for inputs. Lowe said the two crops are being taken for granted where people only value maize but the two have advantages of maturing quickly, drought tolerant and they grow without the application of inorganic fertilizers even under poor soils and they are resilient under climate change. The Minister requested Malawians to accept and accommodate diverse food and change the eating habit and embrace the non-traditional food crops such as cassava and sweet potato. MUSECO Board Chair, Martin Isyagi said Malawi has diverse crops of variable adaptation, production and value which puts it at an advantage when it comes to its ability to mitigate and adapt to a wide range of situations including Covid 19, climate change and biotic factors. He added that the sad part is that seed companies have not been producing seeds for some of these crops like cassava, sweet potato, ricedespite the importance of these crops as they are resilient to climate shocks. Isyagi said that MUSECO as an indigenous company, was taking the needs of Malawians at heart, apart from producing and selling diverse crops the organization engages small holder farmer, women and youth in seed production as a means of job creation. TA Chadza added, “Am happy that my area is to benefit from this initiative as people will have enough food to eat while concentrating in preventive measures. “Lilongwe is one of the districts which depend on agriculture, so with this initiative I hope many are to benefit and lives of these people will be transformed.” He asked the Minister to extend the period of selling the Affordable Input Programme (AIP) as a lot of people have not yet bought the fertilizer saying they are still queues in the selling points which shows that a lot of people have not yet bought the fertilizer.
Deputy Minister Launches 2020/2021 Constituency Forestry Season
By Lusayo Singogo Lilongwe, December 29, Mana. Stakeholders in Lilongwe South West Constituency have been urged to stand and protect the district’s forest cover by planting and conserving more trees. Deputy Minister of Defence, Jean Sendeza made the remarks Monday during the launching of 2020/2021 Constituency Forestry season held at Chadza Primary School in the area of Traditional Authority (TA) M’bwatalika. She said each and every constituency has been mandated to plant more than 1,000 trees hence the launch of the activity. “As a Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency, I have the responsibility to lead the reforestation activity. I chose to launch the activity at Chadza because the school has a challenge of its infrastructures’ roofs being blown off easily because of the strong winds and there are only a few trees to block such. “So with the help from the Ministry of Forestry and Natural Resources, we have planted over 700 tree seedlings and I have organized with the TA to lead the planting activity of more trees in each and every village. If these trees are well looked after, then the school and surrounding places will be protected,” the Deputy Minister pointed out. Sendeza said planting a tree was simple but conserving it was a challenge and therefore urged every stakeholder in the constituency to exercise their responsibility in planting and protecting trees in order to enjoy more benefits which they provide. Lilongwe District Council Chairperson, Luciano Botomani asked chiefs in the communities to honour this activity by forming by-laws which would offer security to the planted trees. “The launch would not only help to develop the constituency but the district as well as the country as a whole. As a Council, we have been planting trees each and every year but only a few have survived due to the rampant deforestation so there was need for chiefs to formulate by-laws which will ensure that the planted trees are conserved,” he said. Chief Forestry Officer, Titus Zulu said government decided to engage various stakeholders including MPs in tree planting so as to recover the forest cover which has been lost over the past years. “Government has been planting many trees over the past years whose survival rate has always been on the lower side. So this is why we changed the strategy and decided to engage several stakeholders including MPs, ward councilors, schools and chiefs, so that together, we increase the survival rate of the planted trees,” he said. Malawi is reportedly losing 32, 000 hectares of her forest cover to deforestation annually. President, Lazarus Chakwera launched this year’s National Forestry Season on December 16, 2020 through which the country will plant and manage at least 60 million trees.