Updates from HELP Malawi: Nanthomba Health Centre, Road Construction and Nanthomba Schools
HELP is continuing to work hard complementing the government efforts to provide for the people of Nandumbo Area with socio-economic amenities. These amenities focus on the Education and the Health of the Nandumbo area residents.
Nandumbo Health Centre
The construction of the clinic has now become extremely popular among Nandumbo’s community leaders. Matt and I once picked Teaching Aid (TA) Kalembo, her subordinate and the Group Village Headman (GVH) of Nandumbo to appreciate some of the projects HELP Malawi is implementing in her area. She was amazed with the tremendous work in both Nandumbo and Nanthomba. The TA Kalembo and the GVH of Nandumbo gave extra land around Nandumbo clinic for the health centre’s development. They all appreciated the life-long, impacting developments HELP Malawi is implementing to serve future generations.
Road construction
The construction of the road that I had been mentioning in the previous reports has started on June 9th, 2009. Since then over 100 people have come to work on the road almost every day. This 2km- road will connect Nandumbo and Mkamwana as shown below:
HELP Malawi is becoming a popular way to mobilize the community because Nandumbo had once been known as area filled with poachers, development participation resisters and good handouts receivers. Having organized the people for such a self-help project is a great achievement. As seen above, Nandumbo is locked between 3 rivers (Shire, Mkasi A and Mkasi B). There is no way a road can be constructed without crossing waters. However, over the last five years, Mkasi from Ulongwe has changed its course from A to B. This change provides residents with a means to cross River A during the rainy season when the river turns into a gully. Because of this occurence, the community decided to construct this road to the Main Road in Ulongwe so it is accessible during every seasons.
Currently, people are trying to raise the road in order to help drain the river. The only problem is that these community workers need to cross the old river in order to raise the road.
Community working on Nandumbo -Mkamwana Road
ESCOM
I have submitted an application to ESCOM for electricity to Nandumbo Health Centre. I will keep you posted on this…
Market
For your own information, the district assembly came last week to talk with the leaders and decided to establish a market at Nandumbo. Soon afterwards a market organizing committee was established – a development people link to HELP Malawi initiatives.
The road, electricity and the health centre will greatly impact the livelihoods of the people for the rest of their lives.
The all-season road will be very useful for ambulances that operate from the health centre, trucks which travels from the market, and guests who are visiting the National Park and Mvuu Camp. More businesses will also emerge because of the electricity such as maize mills, barber shops, electrified houses for rent, etc. Currently women travel about 8km to the nearest maize mill; a task that consumes an excessive amount of time. The road’s construction and future maize mills will help to alleviate this problem.
Nanthomba School
For the first time Nanthomba has received 12830 exercise books, 800 pens, 1020 pencils, 60 boxes of chalk and 3 flip chart rolls.
