A very special day at Atsikana Walani College and a highlight of the Herrnhuter Missionshilfe (HM) project trip to Malawi: in addition to the German ambassador Ute König, important representatives from UNHCR, TEVETA, the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) and the police were also present in mid-October. Everyone was enthusiastic about the work that is done here every day to enable young women to have a better future through education. For the girls, but also for the HMH staff, it was an unforgettable highlight that once again emphasized the importance of education and training. The local project partner, MoHDevS, was also highly praised for its commitment. A day full of inspiration and appreciation for everyone! Here is a brief overview of the people present: HE. Ute Konig - German Ambassador, Roberline Flore Tozwen Teunkwa - UNHCR Senior Protection Officer/Deputy, Priscilla Kalumo - UNHCR Education Associate, Gloria Nyang'iye - UNHCR Public Relations, Elwin Sichiola - TEVETA Executive Director, Dr. Duncane Batizani - MUST Deputy Registrar - Academics, Dr. Bonet Kamwana - MUST Senior Lecturer, Dr. Petros Chigwechokha - MUST Senior Lecturer, Superintendent Mwakasyaya - Station Officer Lumbadzi Police.

The first women's project of the Moravian Church in Mzuzu, Malawi has now officially started. There is an active Moravian Congregation in Lumbadzi, 20 kilometres north of Mzuzu. Under the name "Our hope, our business", 18 women started a sewing and handicraft group with great support from the congregation. They were equipped with sewing machines and have been trained in business management for over a year. In addition, numerous meetings and creative sessions were held to discuss topics such as customer acquisition and goals. Rev Juliana Miamba and Kristin Hentschel see the project as a great opportunity for the women to generate their own income in the near future and thus take a first step out of poverty. Good luck!

Empowering Women, Creating Tomorrow - This is the motto of the Walani women's project in Malawi. Together with the project partner MOHDEVS and the trainees, a new Instagram account was launched on 1 June 2024. The content comes directly from a newly founded social media team at the school and is intended to show the girls' everyday life during school hours as well as in their free time. The channel will also provide project information and facts about Malawi. A logo has also been designed for the project. The young women are highly motivated and, together with the Moravian Church in Malawi and Herrnhuter Missionshilfe, are looking forward to every new follower. To the Instgram channel here.

The construction of a small health centre in the Walani women's project of the Moravian Church in Malawi is already in full swing. The 80 young women will be able to use the new facilities to receive medication and treatment in the event of illness, but also to receive counselling in a safe environment in the areas of menstrual problems, family planning, malnutrition and hygiene. This will also eliminate the need for costly visits to a distant infirmary/health centre in the future. As the number of women will continue to rise in the near future, the realisation of such a ward is urgently needed. Herrnhuter Missionshilfe is grateful for the support that has made the start of the project possible.

Maren from Freiburg is a psychologist and has spent the past three months doing an internship with the partner organisation of the Moravian Church in Malawi and Herrnhuter Missionshilfe Movarian Humanitarian and Development Services (MoHDevS). The core topics of the internship were mental health, resilience and communication. After a short but intensive familiarisation phase, she carried out training in these areas in the Walani and Light of Hope projects. For Maren, her time in Malawi was very formative and valuable. She reports: "I got to know Malawi as a wonderful country with very friendly, open people - the description "Warm Heart of Africa" really came true for me. The three months in Malawi have flown by and I'm back home in Germany with lots of new ideas, friendships and a good 30 degree difference in temperature. Tiwonana Malawi - goodbye!"

The Moravian Church's new women's centre was officially opened in Mzuzu, Malawi, on 3 February 2024. The opening was celebrated together with numerous members of the congregation, local politicians, choirs and church staff. Finally, the ribbon was cut by Rev. Mussa Mwangulukulu. There was also a colourful supporting programme full of music, dance and joy. After the official ceremony there was a barbecue and a meal together. Afterwards there was a guided tour with an insight into the work of the women. The focus was on medicinal plants, composting and sustainability. Kristin Hentschel, who is supporting the project on behalf of Herrnhuter Missionshilfe and Bread for the World, reports on the celebration: "It was a very emotional and beautiful day. We have completed this project together and are looking forward to our time in the new women's centre. Many thanks to everyone who supported the project."

Before Christmas, Herrnhuter Missionshilfe launched a private appeal for donations of sports shoes and clothing in Bad Boll. The donations in kind were intended for the children and young people in the Dzaleka Camp and Walani project. Soccer in particular is very important in the projects, but there are not enough sports shoes available, neither for the male and female soccer teams at Dzaleka Camp nor for the children and young people in the projects. After an overwhelming number of shoes had been collected (almost 500), the transport to Malawi had to be organised. With a few obstacles and hurdles, the 30 parcels finally made it to Lilongwe and were handed over to the beaming children and young people during a festive ceremony in both projects. The joy was immense and the campaign proved to be a complete success. The (additional) efforts of the HMH team paid off. Even the local daily newspaper wrote a major report about the campaign, see here. Many thanks for the great support!

Full of anticipation, 80 girls and young women moved into their accommodation at the Walani Women's Vocational Training Centre AWTC in Malawi in the first week of January. Many of the young women come from the UNHCR refugee camp in Dzaleka and can now live and work in the new dormitories on the vocational training centre grounds for a year. For many of them, this is the first carefree time in which they can concentrate on their training and prepare for a self-determined life in dignity. They are trained in two training programmes: Solar/Electrical and Tailoring/Design, each led by female teachers. The girls are taught in two classes in the new school building and you can feel their enthusiasm when they sew their first simple items of clothing in the workshops or explore the construction of a solar module. For many, this is a unique opportunity to learn a profession, because in Malawi it is not a given that girls and women have access to vocational training. During the last project trip, the Herrnhuter Missionshilfe team met many of the young women in person during a "training trial run" and is convinced: "They will seize their opportunity!" Unfortunately, many of the girls come from very poor backgrounds and cannot afford school fees or a contribution towards board and lodging. They are therefore dependent on support from HMH. You are welcome to sponsor a girl's vocational training or support the Walani project.

The Atsikana Walani Technical College in Malawi offers young women a safe place to live and the opportunity for vocational training. Many of the trainees come from the UNHCR refugee camp Dzaleka. With a sponsorship, you enable a girl from the Dzaleka camp or the surrounding villages to receive vocational training at Walani College. It covers the costs of training, accommodation, food, basic medical care, school materials and access to clean water. Our local partners look after the women during their 12-month training. As a sponsor, you accompany a young woman during this time and receive letters and photos. The cost of a sponsorship is 60 euros per month. But even smaller amounts can help. For further information, please contact markus.kuhn@ebu.de

Girls and young women in Malawi often have no opportunity to attend school or learn a trade to secure their own livelihood. In the traditionally male-dominated society, they have little decision-making power. They have to help out in the household at an early age, are often married off at a young age, have their first child early and then no longer have the opportunity to finish school or even start vocational training.  Sexualised violence is not uncommon. The current Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation for girls. The key issue in enabling girls and young women to lead a self-determined life and earn their own living is therefore to offer them a real opportunity on the labour market and to strengthen their own rights. The Walani project has created a shelter for girls and young women in need of protection, where they can live and learn without fear of violence, learn a trade and prepare for a self-determined life in dignity.

The aim of the Walani project is to build a holistic women's education centre, starting with a vocational school for young women, dormitories and living quarters for the girls, a women's shelter with small residential units and a small kindergarten for single mothers, a sports field as well as adjoining gardens and livestock farming, so that the young women can complete their training in a protected space. They can concentrate on their vocational training and prepare for a self-determined life with new self-confidence. The daily work at the Light-of-Hope School at the UNHCR Dzaleka refugee camp (over 70,000 refugees, half of whom are under 18) has shown that it is extremely difficult for girls and young women from the refugee camp in particular, but also from the surrounding very rural communities, who receive little to no support from home and mostly come from very poor backgrounds, to find access to a vocational school or start an apprenticeship. However, vocational training is a central element of a self-determined life. The focus is therefore on enabling disadvantaged girls and women, including those who have already graduated from the Light of Hope School, to receive vocational training and providing them with accommodation in the adjoining dormitory building.

In a first project in 2022/2023, the vocational school - the Atsikana Walani Technical College (AWTC) - was built, including classrooms and workshops, a protective wall and the dormitory and recreation room with kitchen and sanitary facilities for the young women.

Since summer 2023, two training programmes have been offered, one of which is in the rather "male-dominated" field of electrics (with a focus on solar) to give women "fear-free" access to promising professions. In addition to the one-year training programmes, the vocational school also offers various short courses that teach general basic skills, such as bookkeeping or English, as well as compulsory courses on sustainable agriculture. Computer courses are also planned as soon as funds allow and a computer room and equipment can be built. The training courses will be run by female teachers, so that the young women will already be able to act as role models.

A dormitory and living space enables girls from the Dzaleka refugee camp in particular to live on the premises of the vocational training centre for the duration of their training, so that they can concentrate on their training independently of home and support each other.

The long-term plan is for the training centre to be self-financing in the long term, not only through self-sufficiency but also through smaller income-generating activities (selling food, sewing and selling clothes/school uniforms, repair services, training courses, etc.) or renting out the premises during holidays or in the evenings. At the same time, the women learn to live independently and provide for themselves and prepare for an independent life outside the vocational training centre.

Courses and lectures on sexual reproductive health, women's rights, early pregnancies, HIV/AIDS, equal rights and sustainable agriculture/cultivation methods are held regularly in the evenings in the classrooms and are intended to shape the self-image and role of women in Malawi in the long term.

Over the past few months, the first step has been to build and equip a training centre with two classrooms and two workshop rooms as well as a dormitory and sanitary facilities. Currently, two training programmes can be taught in parallel and a total of around 80 girls can start their training and live in the adjoining dormitory. The aim is to train a total of 4 - 6 classes in the vocational training centre so that 160 - 240 girls per year can benefit from it.

This requires the following measures, which are to be realised in the coming years:

• A computer room with equipment for 40 workstations as well as a solar system that enables an uninterrupted power supply for work on the PC (the school is not connected to the public power grid and is supplied exclusively by solar power)
• Two additional school buildings with 2 classrooms each, including desks and chairs for a total of 80 girls each and a blackboard/desk
• A workshop building with 3 workshops including equipment for three additional training programmes
• An administration building with office, staff room, materials store and meeting room (assembly hall) including furniture
• Two dormitories for approx. 80 girls each on the school grounds incl. 40 bunk beds, mattresses and shelves each
• Dining hall (canteen) incl. tables and chairs: In view of the number of female students and teachers living on the premises for the duration of the training year, it is important to strengthen the social interaction and self-confidence of the women. Communal meals, which can be prepared in the kitchen, can be eaten together in a new dining hall / canteen. At the same time, the dining hall can be used to do school work, form small groups for various study groups or serve as a social meeting place for the girls and women.
• Tree planting and landscaping: Now that the first school and workshop buildings have been completed, the barren, previously treeless grounds urgently need to be landscaped so that trees and shrubs  provide shade and prevent the sun, wind and heavy rain from eroding the soil. The access road must be paved and gravelled so that there is an access route to the school grounds even during the rainy season. The school grounds also need to be partially levelled and drainage around the buildings is required to prevent flooding during heavy rainfall. In addition, trees and shrubs urgently need to be planted to provide shade for the girls as well as to provide fruit and protect the soil from erosion.
• Residential buildings for female teachers: Well-qualified teaching staff are essential for a good level of education, but are very rare in Malawi. It is therefore necessary to offer female teachers incentives to keep them at the vocational training centre. Long journeys and a lack of living space make conditions more difficult. Small residential units for female teachers are an incentive (common in Africa) to get well-qualified teaching staff to train the girls and keep them at the school.
• Farm project (school garden / vegetable patches): A farm project (school garden / vegetable patches) is to be set up on a field adjacent to the training centre, which is to be used both for the self-sufficiency of the residents and for training purposes (farming and sustainable agriculture). This requires the purchase of the surrounding land and the procurement of working materials (rakes, seeds, etc.).
• Sanitary building with approx. 4 toilets for women and 2 for men
• Small kiosk / sales container on the main road not far from the training centre including furniture (shelves) to sell self-produced goods (sewing items, food, etc.) and generate a small income
• Stables for small animals / shelter for chickens for the self-sufficiency of the girls and women on the site and to teach sustainable cultivation and livestock breeding methods
• Small sports field / volleyball court: In addition to the lessons, the disadvantaged young women live on the site. It is therefore important to create a balance alongside the strenuous school day. As the school centre is very remote, the girls are largely confined to the grounds in their free time. A sports field and smaller leisure facilities offer variety in everyday life
• Solar system workshop building: A solar system has so far been installed on the kitchen building, which supplies all the buildings with electricity from sustainable energy for lighting etc. Some electrical appliances are used for training. Some electrical devices are used for training (sewing machines, electrical/solar etc.) as these have a greater power requirement, it is necessary to expand the existing system with some solar modules including storage.
• Women's shelter for approx. 10-15 single young women (mostly with experience of violence) as well as associated childcare and a small playground
• Scholarships/ sponsorships: Most of the girls and young women come from very poor backgrounds (mainly from the Dzaleka refugee camp and neighbouring communities) and have no income or support from home. Scholarships that support the girls for a year of training are therefore necessary in many cases.
• Tool kits for starting a career: After successfully completing their training, the girls receive a career starter tool kit with initial equipment for self-employment or employment, such as basic electrical equipment, screwdrivers, sewing machines and materials, etc., so that the young women can successfully start in the profession they have learnt.

You can now also follow the young women on social media. To the Instagram account here.