Ritual Cleansing: Cultural Practices that Steal Young People's Innocence “I think there is so much we can do for the women and children who are victims of hyenas, gender-based violence, and all the other social evils that are out there”. This is what Malawi’s 2013 Big Brother Africa representative, Natasha Annie Tonthola, said during an interview with BBC’s Michael Wendling. Natasha explained the ordeal she went through as she was being traditionally ‘initiated’ into adulthood. Just as various national and international media channels were awash with a story about a man who was arrested for sleeping with young girls to cleanse and initiate them into adulthood; the celebrated entrepreneur cum girls’ rights activist, Natasha, came to the open and exposed the evils and dangers of such cultural practices. Honestly speaking; our society is full of different harmful cultural practices that lead to various sexual reproductive health challenges. Many young people like, contraction of Sexually Transmitted Infections including HIV, fueling child marriages as well as teen pregnancies and other associated consequences. These aforementioned challenges have been faced and still affecting new victims year in year out. Young people can avoid this kind of abuse by knowing their sexual reproductive health rights. No one is supposed to force you into having sex no matter what kind of influence that person has. When you get pregnant or an STI; it is the very same people who start discriminating and stigmatizing you. They are quick to force you into sex cleansing but they are always late to support when the ritual lands you in trouble. Young people; do not trust others to make sexual reproductive health decisions on your behalf. It is your life and when you are troubled by your community to undergo a harmful cultural practice you can report this by calling toll free child helpline on 116, Community Victim Support Unit or any nearest Youth Friendly Health Service Delivery Point that is close to your area. Remember; you have your sexual reproductive health rights and make wise and informed decisions. Do not let cultural beliefs and ritual steal your innocence …be assertive and report any form of abuse to remain cool and happy!

Promoting Youth Friendly Health Services Among young people Malawi should address the issue of unwanted pregnancies among young girls who are dropping out of school because of pregnancy. Heartrendingly, most of them do not go back to school after delivery as they dedicate their time to raising their babies and most are held back by the fear of how their schoolmates and teachers will treat them. The issue of teenage pregnancies in Malawi has also led to unsafe abortions among the youth. As a way of putting an end to this, young people should be practically accorded their right to sexual reproductive health and family planning services. Furthermore, the policies that are aimed at promoting young people’s sexual and reproductive health should be operationalized without much ado because the issue at hand requires immediate action. Investing in young people’s sexual reproductive health will greatly empower them so much that the youth will remain healthy, attain their education and realize their goals in life. Young people have the right to make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health, including the number, timing, and spacing of their children and the right to the highest attainable standard of health. All young people, regardless of sex or marital status should have access to sexual and reproductive health services, which includes access to safe, effective, affordable, and youth friendly health services of their choice. There is also a need to facilitate the process of encouraging peer education which also helps young people to obtain clear information about sensitive issues pertaining to sexual behavior, reproductive health, STIs including HIV and AIDS. Provision of youth friendly health services in tertiary education institutions and workplaces and other places where young people congregate is also viable and cost effective The youth in Malawi need to increase their knowledge base on current and relevant information about sexual reproductive health. Of late, behavior change campaigns for young people have also been neglected and the consequence of this has been strongly felt in all parts of the country and that is in both rural and urban settings. The government and non-governmental organizations need to maintain and develop effective monitoring systems of such initiatives to inform programing and improve service delivery. On the other hand, when all is said and done, my fellow young people should also know that the onus is in their hands. No matter what the government and NGOs will do, the youth themselves are key to this. A lot of money, time and resources have already been spent on the promotion of young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights but the youth themselves are also to blame for not being active. Posted by Unknown at 02:21 No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest TUESDAY, 2 MAY 2017 YFHS and Social Economic Development of Young People “I have a 2 year old child and living positively mainly because I had no access to HIV”, these are words that were spoken in a discussion whereby young people were debating the importance of accessing Youth Friendly Health Services (YFHS). The narrator of this heartrending account, a youth worker from Mangochi district, told me that the girl continued to explain that she firmly believed that if she had access to YFHS about 3 years ago, the turnout of events in her life could have been different. When a certain youth worker who was facilitating this session told me about the statements, I felt that the whole nation failed this young girl big time. Why would someone grow from childhood to adolescence without knowing critical issues about sex and sexuality? As I have always argued, parents and older relatives also know that they are supposed to discuss such matters with young people. Every adult realizes the need to discuss SRHR issues with a growing up young person. However, shyness forces people to continuously curtail such important sessions until it becomes too late to so. The consequences are so dire and at times irreparable. I for one believe that older citizens as well as duty bearers should know that they are also to blame when the country is registering increased cases of unintended teen age pregnancies and shockingly high prevalence rate of HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). We need to acknowledge our failure to protect innocent young lives as it is our responsibility to ensure that the young people are going into the adult world which they are conversant with and prepared for. It is illogical to leave things to chance and expect that young people will one way or the other know about their sexual reproductive health. If one does not take that initiative to discuss SRHR issues with a young person who is growing into adolescence, the end result is that young person gets wrong information from their peers. Let me share with you what a group of adults told me about the most misleading SRH information they once got from friends and realise after some years that it was all a lie. Here are some of the misconceptions that were mentioned; · sleeping with boys or men helps a girl to get vitamin K · A girl can avoid conception by having a bath immediately after having unprotected sex · Infertility in men is caused by failure to undergo sexual cleansing during adolescence These and many other factors are the reasons why allowing young people to access YFHS is the best option which parents and guardians of adolescent young boys and girls should choose. Young people’s access to YFHS will help everyone serve a lot in terms of time, money and other resources as problems that are caused by young people’s SRH challenges are costly. Furthermore, parents and guardians should accept that they are not experts in SRH. Sometimes, if parents or guardian are feeling shy or hesitant to discuss SRH issues with their adolescent boys or girls then they should let the YFHS Providers do the needful. Leaving the specialists to do the work is paramount in as far as prevention of SRH challenges which young people face is concerned. There is a need for all to know and understand that access to YFHS among young people is very key to social and economic development of young people. The welfare of young people and their lives in future is shaped by how their sexual reproductive health is taken care of today.

The Plight of Young People Living with HIV in Malawi

It is now a known fact that HIV is now manageable as compared to how the situation was in the last two decades. People living with HIV are now able to live healthy and productive lives without the fear of death which loosely became the synonym of HIV some years ago. 

Through various ways, more and more young people are living with HIV. The coming in of Antiretroviral Drugs is a major step towards having healthy and strong young people. Both those Living with HIV and those who are not are able to contribute positively to the development of the country in their capacities as young people.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about providing necessary support to young people who are living with HIV. However, I have not really seen a lot in terms of action towards ensuring that Young People Living HIV/AIDS are given the much needed support. If there is a group of people who need to be heard and their concerns addressed are the young people who are living with HIV.

The inattention that is given to YPLHA has led to increased number of them to default drugs and eventually develop AIDS. Many young people have been lost due to our uncaring attitudes.

Having HIV is a health issue and just like any other personal healthy issue, YPLHA have been longing for privacy. They have always wanted to make sure that their HIV status is not known to others. This is due to a number of valid reasons and it would be good to work on the issues that are there to guarantee them this wish. For instance, YPLHV who are in boarding schools face a lot of challenges to get a permission to go to hospital to collect ARTs.

Why do teachers have to ask so many question?

Why do teachers disclose this to every staff member who later go out to tell other students?

This leads to the worst stigma ever on the school compass. When their status is known, YPLHA have to brave and endure discrimination in all its various forms. However, it is hard to concentrate when the whole compass seems to be sidelining you and maybe a few others. We should not except such young people to excel in their studies because the position they have been places on is worse than I a prison cell where everyone treats another as a fellow prisoner and not an outsider.

There are so many situations that have put the lives of YPLHA in danger. We need to work on this as a nation. Let us listen to the voices of YPLHA…even their silence has to be properly comprehended, it is a communication and we need to know what it means.  

21 Year Old Youth Hails YONECO Internship Programme

YONECO’s Youth Development Programme was designed to prepare young people to ably fit as leaders and enable them to positively contribute towards the development of Malawi. Thus, in thois programme area, YONECO also established a Youth Internship Programme whereby young graduates from various tertiary institutions are recruited to gain hands-on experience.

The story of 21-year old Vita Mithi is one of positive outcomes of the youth internship programme. Vita joined YONECO after obtaining his Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health from Livingstonia University. Vita’s internship was for six months, a period which he calls “a transition stage from a young graduate to an employable and responsible youth”.

During his tenure as an intern, Vita was imparted with knowledge on various practical aspects of work including; facilitation skills, community mobilization, as well as case management.

“I was motivated by the way YONECO operates and I knew that passing through the institution will help me in terms of gaining more knowledge and skills”, said Vita.

 “This prompted me to apply for internship at YONECO with the hope to learn what really transpires on the ground, as well as giving out the knowledge that I had acquired from school in my field of study.” Explains Vita.

Apart from having a hands on experience, Vita was also given an opportunity to support other young people and he contributed positively to the development of other young people as well.

Mithi was also tasked to handle computer lessons that targeted young people at YONECO’s Drop in Centre in the district so much that over 20 young people benefited from his services.

Soon after his internship, Vita got employed by World Vision and below were his parting words; ‘As an intern, you get exposed to various things within the work environment - internship is a very important journey which young graduates should go through. I am now very confident that I will be able to perform.’

Drug and Substance Abuse as a Survival Tool: Where the Youth Miss the Point

Apart from the escalation rate of unemployment and bulging population in urban areas in the country. Young people should be able to rise up, wise up and sense up the sole goal benefit of self-reliance and self-sufficiency.

Since independence, we were made to believe that education would attain us better employment and earn extra exorbitant remuneration packages. But, today, the reality is far from what we expected - a paradise in psychological limbo.

Young people both graduates and non-certificated ones are all struggling and they are finding hard to survive. A cross section of young people belonging to various youth groups are financially dependent on their parents or guardians. Frustrations and agony lead them to find ‘refuge’ in using hard drugs and cheap liquor. These are the substances which are locally available in the streets: marijuana, liquor, glue ect. Disappointment after being let down by girlfriend, changes in their socioeconomic status or just a bad moment in everyday business. Despite the fact that these are temporal matters that could be solved by other means and the last one being resorting to drug and substance abuse.

One could question that this dependency syndrome is it drug abuse first and the syndrome second or the venture is interchangeable. It is important for parents to give hope to struggling young people who are addicted to drugs and substances so that they should see the light at the end of the tunnel and find a reason to quit.

Too much drug abuse tarnishes the vision of prosperity. I as a once-addicted survivor, I had lost hope as I was staying with my parents. I almost resented virtues of academic brilliance and progress to achieve great things in life. Long term plans like building my own house and investing in certain business ventures seemed pointless. The following are quotes which many young people used to break free from the cocoon of drug and substance addiction.

o   “I got sick and tired of living the same way day-in-day-out, until a sense of sobriety flashed my mind like lightening”. In its crystal light, I decided to take Total control of my life.

o   “I can pull myself together and willingly achieve better things in life”. That drew my focus and made me to have an affinity of being creative in everything I do. I began to pay attention to sound advice and people who had and are killing it big time.

o   “Stop brooding about trivial things which do not amount to your vision and strategy”. I had to make a decision and surely I did.

o   “Assert yourself in readiness to change and to represent yourself”. I decided to clean myself up and free my soul to be vibrant and independent.

o   “Reflect on positive values more often”. I realized that negativity will take me nowhere and it was true because a few days after focusing on positive vibes, I was a different person all together.

On last thing: Keep on listening to Total Turnaround Radio Programme on YONECO FM every Saturday evening between 19:30 – 20:00! 

The Blog was written by Mabhuchi Nyasulu - A Counsellor as well as Presenter and Producer of Total Turn Around Radio Programme 

Women, ‘How are You Today?’

The world today needs to take stock of what has been achieved in the promotion of women’s rights and their participation in political, social, and economic spheres in the past 41 years.  This stock taking exercise being proposed here begins in 1977, the year in which United Nations General Assembly invited member states to declare 8 March as the UN Day for Women’s rights.

The question we need to ask ourselves is on whether as an individual, Civil Society Organization (CSO), and governments have really contributed towards attainment and realization of women’s rights at various levels. This is a battle that started long time ago even before the actual International Women's Day (IWD) was proclaimed by the UN and its member states.  

Narrowing this issue to Malawi as a country, I can see a commendable progress. There are some areas we have tremendously done well while some aspects still need to be accentuated. It may not be fair to use a relative measure in terms of finding out how Malawi has performed in terms of promoting women’s rights and welfare. Malawi and many other southern African countries had serious challenges that emanated from deep rooted patriarchal tendencies that were inherited from the ‘ancestors’. Thus, comparing where we are coming from and what we have done so far is a clear indication that with effort and sustenance of the current momentum, we will achieve!   

According to the current Malawi Demographic Health Survey (MDHS), the country has an average of 4.4 children. This is a decrease from 6.7 children per women in 1992. This represents a dramatic decline of 2.3 children and translates to improved health and welfare of women in the country. Further to this, the enactment of the Gender Equality Act, Marriage Divorce and Family Relations Act as well as other gender-related laws really prove how serious Malawi is in its efforts of trying to achieve gender equality. Malawi once had a female president who was voted as a presidential running-mate and became president after the death of the then incumbent President, the late Bingu Wa Muthalika. Let us also note the progress in terms of university selection at the University of Malawi whereby the 2015/2016 intake shows that a total of 1,919 students were selected to pursue various courses. This is a move away from the time when a very few females had a chance to reach secondary school.

CSOs in Malawi also deserve a pat on the back for raising awareness about women’s rights, women empowerment initiatives, spearheading the war against Gender Based Violence (GBV) and many other commendable efforts. CSO should really be applauded - ‘Ending GBV starts with reporting GBV’ and YONECO’s toll-free Gender Based Crisis Line is there to fill this gap. It helps to ensure that women have a confidential alternative reporting mechanism. Further to this, the line is a source of information as well as a tool where women access psychosocial counselling on GBV. GBV awareness campaigns that have been conducted across the country have contributed to increased understanding of women’s rights so much that women are now able to voice out their rights. 

Despite the numerous milestones, there is also a need to acknowledge that GBV is still prevalent in the country and in 2014 USAID included Malawi as one of 35 GBV priority countries due to the high rates of child marriage in the country. Women’s participation in decision making processes is still a challenge and the country is still grappling with the problem of child marriage.

This year, the World is commemorating the #IWD under the theme; Time is Now, Urban and Rural Activists Transforming Women’s Lives. This theme befits the current efforts in women empowerment programme by various players. 

The International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. Let us further remember that the fight for women’s rights is not a once off activity and let the fight continue after the commemoration.

Further to this, women should be given more spaces. Sometimes we may feel we are making positive strides while we are creating new problems. For instance, we can increase the number of women in politics but then their meaningful participation is the democratic processes could be limited. This is why there is a need to understand that it is more than just the figures.

This is your day: women, how are you today?  

The Fruition of Meaningful Youth Empowerment Interventions in Mangochi.

By Esnart Priminta

Whoever thinks that the youth are incapable of bringing about positive change in their communities should properly examine this claim.  This entry is based on positive outcomes of youth empowerment initiatives that really technically refute the misguided view of young people as individuals who are wayward, irresponsible, naïve and defiant.  

YONECO strongly believes in the youth. The institution looks at young people as capable human beings who are dynamic and able to contribute positively to the development of their society. For quite some time, the youth have been sidelined in different decision making processes and even denied access to critical information. This has led to a lot of young people making uninformed decisions which have led to negative outcomes in their lives and to an extreme extent, this has costed their lives. The environment has not been friendly for youth development.

 In countries like Malawi, a lot of young people have suffered the cruelty of the world in the hands of socio-cultural norms and beliefs.  All these things have in one way or the other contributed to the overall stagnation of development in the country. HIV prevalence rate among the youth is shockingly high, with an increased rate of child marriages which is currently at 47%, increased teen pregnancies and school dropout rates among other things.

In 2016, YONECO with funding from Simavi embarked on a programme called Get Up Speak Out (GUSO). The five-year programme is aimed at contributing towards ensuring that all young people, especially girls and young women, are empowered to realize their SRHR in societies that are positive towards young people’s sexuality.

Justin Yusuf who hails from Nankumba, which is YONECO’s GUSO project impact areas, said young people are now able to take active part in different developmental activities as well as voicing out their rights

“YONECO organized a training for community leaders and young people in Meaningful Youth Participation and I was one of the young people who attended the training.

“After the training I went back to my village and held some discussions with chiefs and other community leaders to start considering young people in various community development processes. As I’m talking to you now, I am an influential member of the Village Developmental Committee.” 

Yusuf further stated that currently there are 4 young people in the VDC a thing that has greatly contributed towards ensuring that young people’s needs and aspirations are considered in the formulation of community and district development plans and activities.

“Older community members are now appreciating the role which young people are playing in the society,” said Youth Network Chairperson at Nankumba – William Phiri.  

Among other things, the youth have managed to lobby for the establishment of two under five clinics so that children can be accessing medical services easily as was not the case in the past. Young mothers were unable to travel long distance to access postnatal care services but now, this issue is water under the bridge.

According the Youth Network Chairperson, youth involvement in developmental work has also increased their access to sexual reproductive health service. The change has come about dude to the fact that they are now able to take up issues and engage the right authorities to address the issues.  This has further nurtured young people’s commitment in taking care of their reproductive health and there is hope that by 2020 the issues of child marriages and teen pregnancies will be history in his area.

Yusuf said “As young people, we know that we have a greater responsibility of developing this nation. GUSO project has helped to stimulate our action towards improved SRHR and other essential services.

He continued to say that increased uptake of sexual reproductive health services will ensure that young people are protected from unplanned pregnancies and contracting sexually transmitted infections and HIV.

“At first parents would not allow their children to access SRH services and use contraceptives but after the training we reasoned with them and are now able to appreciate the need for  us to access SRH services. Even chiefs are now taking an active role in fighting harmful cultural practices and socio norms that bars young people from accessing SRH services,” said Yusuf.

As if that is not enough, Yusuf added that they have now planted tree seedlings as one way of dealing with issues of climate change. He said they are now able to coordinate and collaborate with different organizations and networks and currently a construction of a bridge is under way which will help ease the challenges people were facing particularly during the rainy season.

Yusuf thanked YONECO for still believing in young people and equipping them with the necessary information and the needed skills. He said as the youth, they are planning to do more to improve their communities as time goes.

“Let me also take this opportunity to ask my fellow youths that we should utilize these kind of opportunities and not wasting them. We are leaders of today and tomorrow hence the need for us to be proactive in whatever we do,” concluded Yusuf.

GUSO Project is being implemented by a consortium of 6 organizations that formed what is called the Malawi SRHR Alliance. Apart from YONECO, other implementing partners are; Centre for Alternatives for Victimized Women and Children (CAVWOC; Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR); Centre for Youth and Civic Education (CYECE); Family Planning Association of Malawi (FPAM); and Coalition of Women Living with HIV (COWLHA. The project is being implemented in Chikwawa and Mangochi district where YONECO is targeting T/A Mponda and Chimwala.