Ndirande

NDIRANDE is a poor suburb of Blantyre, Malawi's commercial capital.

In August, 2007. The Australian AIDS Fund Incorporated began a new project in Malawi-to provide:

THE TITHANDIZE ORPHAN CARE CENTRE with a solidly-built MULTI -PURPOSE HALL

The Tithandize Orphan Care Centre is a Community Based Organization founded and registered in 1998. It is situated at Matope Village, Traditional Authority Kapeni, Blantyre district.

The site for the new multi-purpose hall.

The TOC organisaation sees the project as a valuable key to supporting its day to day activities which include :

Providing infant feeding and nutritional programmes to orphans and underserved children aged five and below.
Providing daycare services and pre-school teachings to children aged 5 and below.
Providing Home Based Care Services to the old aged and the chronically ill.
Conducting HIV/AIDS ,and HUMAN RIGHTS awareness campaign meetings.
Providing domestic needs to orphans/vulnerable and people affected/infected by HIV/AIDS
Counsellings services and civic education on Health,Environmental and Human Rights.

The villagers gather for an AIDS Awareness function.

But there's always time for some soccer! This photograph was taken at the Tithandize soccer finals for the under-10's. Zex Thambo, who heads up Tithandize Orphan Care is the man in the colourful shirt wearing the blue jeans. See the boy holding the trophy aloft? It was presented by the District AIDS Co-ordinator (in white cap)

MISSION STATEMENT OF TITHANDIZE ORPHAN CARE

To serve the community affected/infected by HIV/AIDS through community participation and care.

OBJECTIVES:

An improved health status to people affected by HIV/AIDS including orphans,widows ,the aged and vulnerable children.
Disseminating messages on dangers,prevention ,care and support methods on HIV/AIDS .
Basic needs in form of food,education support,medical,etc to be provided to the affected/infected.
Self sustainability of the orphan care organization.
Quality kind of care and support provided by volunteers and caregivers.

THE MULTI-PURPOSE HALL WILL PROVIDE:

Room to accommodate children on our orphan daycare services.
Room for infants feeding and nutritional programmes.
Income generating activity facility for the orphan care center.

TARGET:

This project is targeting the following as beneficiaries:
Orphans and under-served children
The chronically ill and the old aged
People affected/infected by HIV/AIDS
The community at large

THE PROJECT WILL ALSO PROVIDE:

Two toilets
An on-site water supply

The HALL shall be used as:

A classroom for children on preschool lessons
A feeding room for children
Stores for orphan care materials
Offices for administration purposes
A Hall for rental functions.The hall shall be booked especially in weekends and shall thereby be also generating some income to sort out some minor needs.

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

Community participatation on this project as follows:

Land to build is freely offered by the Group Village Headman Matope
Water for building works shall be drawn and carried by community women
Excavation,planting vegetative covers surrounding the project site
Burnt bricks provided by community
Sand provided by community

News Update - August 2008

It's the pictures that always tell the stories...and here are the latest photographs from Ndirande showing the AIDS orphans feeding and joining together at the Multofunction Hall...it also serves as a kindergarten too when they're there.

News Update - June 2008

OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE TITHANDIZE DAYCARE MULTIPURPOSE HALL AT MATOPE VILLAGE IN NDIRANDE ON 23RD MAY,2008

8:30am - 9:00am Invited guest take seats
9:00am - 9:10am Opening prayer by Bishop I.A.Phiri
9:10am – 9:30am Welcome remarks by Master of Ceremonies
9:30am – 10:30am Guests view Tithandize activities
- Water source
- Water Tanks
- Dam/Fish Pond
- Multipurpose Hall,Office,fence and Toilets
- Vegetables garden
10:30am - 11:00am Poems, Dances and Drama performed by Tithandize Women, Children and Youths
11:00am -12:30pm Speeches by:-
- Tithandize Committee Chairman [SINIZIO MAKAWA] Background of Tithandize Orphan Care Centre.
- Rev.Rabson Chilewa – Background and cost of the Hall and other projects
- Group Village Headman Matope
- Group village Headman Nogwe

Guests from:

Iponga Supermarket
Feed the Children International-Malawi
- Eye of the Child Organisation
- Mary's Meals organization
- Chifundo centre
- Blantyre District commission
- Blantyre City Assembly
Ministry of child, Women & Social Welfare [Guest of Honor]
- Population Services International- Malawi [PSI]
- Ubale Network
Mr. ZEX THAMBO (Director)

GUEST OF HONOR SPEECH & RIBBON CUTTING SYMBOLIZING THE OFFICIAL HALL OPENING
- 12:30pm - Announcement by Master of Ceremonies that Invited guest and everybody else are invited to an opening Ceremony and get-together party
- 12:30 - 14:00 Get-together party [soft drinks, Nsima and Rice]
- 14:00 – 14:30 INTERVIEWS BY JOURNALISTS FROM NEWS PAPERS, RADIO AND TV
- 14:30-14:35 PM Closing prayer by Pastor Makwiti
- 14:35 pm Farewell

REPORT ON THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE TITHANDIZE ORPHANS DAYCARE 7 MULTIPURPOSE HALL ON MAY 23,2008, AT MATOPE VILLAGE, TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY KAPENI, NDIRANDE -BLANTYRE

The weather was cool, with some breezes,Matope Village was alive with the movements of its villagers and the host of visitors for the occasion...meeting together at the site of the new centre located almost a hundred metres down the beautiful Ndirande Mountain ,a mountain that is blessed with some trees,vegetations as well as water sources that help to supply water to the villagers through the Tithandize Gravity Water Felled Projects.

The event got underwayEverything started with the welcoming and registration of Guests who came from various organisations,Government departments,State Media such as Television Malawi[Takondwa Mtumodzi],Malawi Broadcasting Coorporation-[Pamella Mitunda] ,Malawi News [Reporter Justin],Nation Newspaper[Reporter Chimpweya] backed by some songs,dances and ulutations by Matope Village women an d Tithandize Committee.

The Master of Ceremony[Evans Khobidi],after registering and welcoming the guests,urged them to take their seats,then Bishop Isaac Phiri opened the programme with prayer,after which;the master of ceremonies made a welcoming speech to all guests,villagers and the entire gathering that included Group Village Headman Nogwe and Shaibu from Mulanje

After the welcoming remarks,the master of ceremony handed over the programme to Tithandize Orphan CARE Centre Chairman-Mr Sinizio Makawa to lead the guests and entire gathering to projects for them to see for themselves how Tithandize is utilizing its resources,what it is doing with funds,its achievements and areas that it needs some more fundings.

It was very interesting indeed when Mr Makawa lead us all firstly to the

Vegetables garden where tithandize grows vegetables such as lettice,cabbages,chineese cabbage,chomolia,chana,eggplants,tomatoes,beans,bananas- 300 metres up from Tithandize center used to feed orphans

Water sources in Ndirande Mountain where Tithandize water pipes have started from.

Water Tanks -three of them in different positions

Dam/Fish Pond -used to store water for domestic usages and keep fish to feed orphans

Multipurpose Hall,Office,fence and Toilets

Former chicken kraal that was later being used as a learning/feeding room for orphans

ALL PROJECTS AND WORKS OF TITHANDIZE

This programme of showing works of Tithandize were finished by questions and remarks from the guests and answers and remarks from Tithandize Committee on the same

Later ,Master of Ceremonies advised all to go back to the meeting place,to proceed with the programme.However,everybody was very pleased and encouraged with Tithandize's Activities.

The programme proceeded with tradional dances,choirs and poems by children,men and women and was seconded by speeches by various people as follows:

Sinizio Makawa

Tithandize Chairman who gave a brief background about Tithandize Orphan Care Centre that was founded in 1998,struggled to survive up until now that it is being supported by the Australian AIDS Fund in its projects such as the water projects ,crop-growing projects,the Mukltifunction Hall ,The Australian primary School at Shaibu/Nogwe...due to be iopened on June 23 and other projects in the pipeline..He finally thanked the village headmen,community,committees and the Australian AIDS Fund for their collaboration to enable these projects be implemented to help the people affected and infected by HIV/AIDS.

Concurring with the chairman's speech, Rev.Rabson Chilewa also gave a brief background on how the Australian AIDS Fund came in to start supporting programmes at Ndirande and Nogwe through Tithandize Orphan Care Centre;number of projects supported,items received from Australia and costs for each project namely:-Water project,crops,Hall,School project,to ensure transparency and accountability.Rabson further appealed to all stakeholders and guests for an additional support towards Tithandize's efforts to address the needs of food for orphans at the Ndirande Center,additional plastic chairs for the hall,Curtains for the hall,office carpet and additional utensils,to add to the ones that the Australian AIDS Fund donated.Finally,he thanked the committee,community,and village headmen for joining hands on the projects. The Group Village Headman Matope also thanked The Australian AIDS Fund for its role in the developments of his village.He also thanked Tithandize committee for facilitating the project,and apealed for a continued support on various projects.

Group Village Headman NOGWE stood up after Matope and thanked Tithandize committee for inviting him and Village headmen Shaibu among the invited guests and as co-workers.He thanked Tithandize for facilitating and the Australian Donors for funding the school project at Nogwe.He finally appealed for continued support towards secondary education,Tertiary and skills education,Roads aninfrastructuredevelopment,Enviromental,sanitation/Health and capacity buildings.''Shaibu and I,wish to invite you at the official opening of the Australian Primary school at Nogwe on 23rd June,four weeks from now.once again,thanks very much'';said Nogwe in concluding his speech.

Among the guests who made speeches were from Blantyre District Assembly,Blantyre City Assembly,Ministry of Women and Child Development,Population Services International,Ubale Network,Feed the Children organization and Eye of the Child organization.All of them spoke much but highlighted on the words of encouraging Tithandize to keep on fighting AIDS,Poverty,Illiteracy and other diseases.

ZEX THAMBO---DIRECTOR

The Director for Tithandize Orphan Care centre[ before asking the Guest of Honor from the Child Development and Social Welfare Ministry to cut the ribbon],thanked all guests for their coming to grace the opening occasion.He also appealed to stakeholders for sponsorship on Vocational skills programmes,HIV/AIDS Advocacy,Capacity building trainings and other developmental initiatives,for the sake of improving the communities and living standards of the orphans and people affected by HIV/AIDS Pandemic.

GUEST OF HONOR

MS MKWANGWANYA from the Ministry of Women,Child Development and Social Welfare Development also thanked all AIDS Service organizations in the District and more specially;Tithandize for standing firm in fighting against AIDS through its interventions in all pillars namely:Advocacy,Care and Support and Impact Mitigation.

She also finally urged the new committee that would be responsible for the newly built Multipurpose Hall,to be accountable,transparent and make efforts to care and maintain the Hall at all times.

''Ladies and Gentlemen,with these remarks and advices,I hereby today;this 23rd Day of May,2008-Declare the official opening of TiTHANDIZE DAYCARE CENTRE MULTIPURTPURPOSE HALL.''

Get together party followed after the official opening.People were served with rice,nsima and soft drinks.

8. Closing prayer by Pastor Makwit

News Update - March 2008

The writing's on the wall...literally !!

The Tithandize Orphan Care organisation is using its brand new Multi-Function Hall as a billboard to promote its many services. Now a prominent landmark in Ndirande, it's expected top be officially opened in April.

The care of AIDS orphans is a special work of Tithandize...and a vital need is to translate that concern into meeting the demand for regular and wholesome food.

The Australian AIDS Fund provided the money to buy seeds, fertiliser and gardening tools.....and now it's harvest time!

CLICK HERE FOR THE PICTORIAL REPORT

News Update - February 2008

The Multifunction Hall in Ndirande is now all but finished and is already a landmark! It's now awaiting the painters.

The work had been delayed because of weeks of heavy rains which hit much of southern Africa.

News Update - December, 2007 / January, 2008

The roofing works on the impressive new Multifunction Hall is now well advanced.

The local children are already daily visitors to the project site, keeping track of developments.


children outside the old Tithandize daycare room...adjoining the new building.	Director,Zex Thambo (right) with a carer chatting with the children	Women,care -givers and children sharing lunch

The Australian AIDS Fund has also been able to supply quantities of fertiliser, seeds and gardening tools so that the community can set the scene for a bumper crop now that the rains have arrived.

Already, the greenery of the young crops is a great sight!

By early February ('08) the maize crop was more than head-high, almost hiding the Committee members of the Tithandize Orphan Care organisation , who'd gone to inspect it!

The Ndirande major water Supply Project

Our water supply initiative at Ndirande -very much an emergency measure to relieve the plight of some 4,000 rural people, to provide a more sophisticated supply from two Ndirande Mountain sources through 3 new underground pipelines...some up to 4 kilometres long... is now complete.

The project was completed by February ('08)...and the Committee members of Tithandize Orphan Care marked the occasion by bringing out the miniature Australian flags...and attaching them to the row of brand new brass taps fitted to the supply wall...with its helpful shelf on which the containers will be stood.

Behind the wall, are situated two of the 3 storage tanks, each containing some 70,000 litres each. The third tank is located up the mountain, more than 3 kilometres away. There are 3 supply pipelines!

Click here to read about ...Our part in World Water Day 2008

Two of the big storage tanks are virtually completed and work on the third is well advanced.

There was a huge community response to the financial assistance fromThe Australian AIDS Fund for the project.

People came from everywhere to help...seeing a solution to what's been an ongoing nightmare!

The photographs that have just come in look like something out of a biblical film epic directed by the Hollywood legend...Cecil B. De Mille !!

The captions for the 8 photos are as follows:


The community digs the 3rd Water trench in readiness for the pipes.	The local women prepare to pick sand and rocks from the Ndirande Hill ..up to 4 kilometres away ..using their heads and pails, baskets and other containers.	The volunteers...men and women...wait for Zex and Rabson and the Matope Village chief to allocate tasks.


Time for a rest!Gathering stones and sand is heavy work.	The men prepare to dig the third water trench	Women and girls volunteers to gather stones, rocks and sand for the project.


Gathering the rocks and sand.		Resting in their respective groups at the end of a long day's work in the heat

Zex Thambo, spade in hand, and a plumber monitored the business of positioning the pipes into the meandering trenches down the mountainside.....watched by officials of the Forests Department and the City Assembly...

Plumbers and a builder ensured that the pipeline was firmly fixed....adding concrete to the rocks alongside the pipe in the trench.

Heavy rocks were used to pin down the pipes and then a concrete mix was added to stabilise the fixture.

As the pipeline rapidly snaked its way downhill, the workers paused to allow a group of needy women draw fresh water from it....their days of straggling up and down the mountainside ...in rain or heat...now over.

News Update - November 2007

Ndirande's two-storey Multi-function Hall is now literally reaching for the sky...where it'll prove to be a significant social welfare landmark!

These are the latest photos, but the actual race to finish the building work always outstrips the delivery of the photographs.

The Australian AIDS Fund has also funded the construction of two 70,000 water storage tanks for Ndirande to transfer water supplies through two pipelines from the mountainside sources, down some 4 kilometres into the village areas where it's so badly needed. This will provide a hugely improved supply to almost 4,000 people!

How bad is Ndirande's water problem?

These are the latest local newspaper reports covering the situation.

The Multifunction Hall complex and its associated toiler facilities in the Matope village of Ndirande is now just weeks away from completion.

Workmanship's been everything, as the excellent pointing on the ground floor walls testify.

Soon the upper floor section will be roofed.

In the meantime, work is progressing well on the construction of the two 70,000 litre water storage tanks....and the two trenches needed to take pipelines to separate mountain-side supply sources....one 4 kilometres long and the other 3 kilometres long.

Project Director Zex Thambo is indicating the existing pressure of the present supply, which will be dramatically improved when the pipelines are connected.

The young people of the Matope village also pitched in to dig the long, second mountainside trench.

"A prayer being answered: this little boy's name is Pemphero, which means Prayer! Clean water is especially vital for the children in these slums."

News Update - October 2007

The teeming humanity of Ndirande........on the edge of Blantyre....thousands in need of basic services and facilities!

Work is now well advanced on the Multi-function Hall that'll meet some of those key needs. Note the mountain of home-made bricks!

The two project toilets are virtually finished and the Hall will now be given an upstairs area to provide storage and office space, freeing up the entire ground floor areas for the priority feeding and care service programs.

September 2007

Many hands make light work!...... and that's certainly to be seen in this pictorial report with the work underway on the Multifunction Hall itself and the two toilet systems.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION:

The project management committee comprising of ten members shall manage all projects
Tithandize orphan care committee shall supervise the project
Community and volunteers shall take part in monitoring
Evaluation process shall be done every weekend to gauge the progress.
Community shall ensure and provide environmental mitigation measures.
Maintenance shall be done by community

SUSTAINABILITY:

Rentals and other bookings shall bring income for general running and maintenance works
Hall shall help as a classroom and feeding center and shelter for children
Community participation and contributions

PREVIOUS FUNDING BY THE AUSTRALIAN AIDS FUND INCORPORATED IN 2004:-

It funded a gravity fed piped water project referred to in the following Malawi newspaper report:-

The Malawi News September 18-24, 2004

NO END IN SIGHT TO BLANTYRE CITY WATER WOES

Ndirande residents struggle to tame water

By Mcdonald Bamusi

Mai Kalichero (not her real name) is a resident of Ndirande, a housewife and a mother of six.She wakes up very early in the morning, at about 3.30, and goes on to wake up her female neighbours.

Within a few minutes, a sizeable n

umber of the womenfolk around the vicinity makes their way towards Ndirande mountain, just above the Makata Primary school, in search of the precious commodity, water.

"We are forced to rise up this early because in critical times like these when the tap water has stopped, there is a big scramble for water at the fountain (high up the at the mountain) If one rises up late, one is bound to stay in a queue for hours on end", she says.

Although initially they thought they had beaten their friends and were the first to rise up, they are surprised to discover a lot more women at the water fountain.They join the queue, anxiously waiting and hoping against hope that they would still be able to draw water for domestic use.

"We usually get back home tired and we go straight to use the water without boiling it", she said.

Many women in the densely populated Ndirande townshipand indeed the whole of Blantyre City will certainly identify with Kalichero's story.

Water and electricity problems have over the past few years become an eyesore for residents in big cities and townships in the country.

Although power failures are now becoming fewer than was the case last year and the beginning of this year, residents of Blantyre have over the past six weeks been subjected to one of the worst water shortages that will go down in the annals of the history of the industrial city.

For a period of at least one full week, there was virtually no water anywhere, a situation which forced residents to source water from wells and other such places, igniting fears that the water crisis might lead to an outbreak of waterborne diseases.

In Blantyre alone, a day hardly passes without people experiencing a water problem,

City residents stay for over 18 hours almost daily without water. If and when it does come, by sheer luck or divine providence, it does so in dribs and drabs.

As the situation is at the moment, it appears the authorities that have a say on the water situation have run out of ideas.Why can't Malawians be proactive just for once?

Some people have argued that electricity and water problems will never improve ubntil such a time when the country shall have several companies to provide the same services. This, they argue, would enhance competition thereby automatically improving the quality of these services.

Realizing the hassles that are always synonymous in getting potable water for daily use in Ndirande, Tithandize Orphan Care Centre in the township situated just below the Ndirande mountain, a few metres from the newly constructed Makata Primary School, has embarked on a project that aims at tapping water from a perennial fountain located at about six hundreed metres from the orphanage.

"It is hard for the women to buy water at K2.50 a pail. Water in Ndirande can stop for a week or more. This has forced us to look for alternative sources" says Zex Thambo, the Executive director of Tithandize Orphan Care.

This project comes after residents had earlier mobilized themselves and constructed a slab at the site of the fountain, which was designed to bring some hygiene to the spot.

But this particular venture will involve constructing a big reservoir at the Tithandize Orphan Care Centre and connecting pipes between the fountain and the reservoir which lies at 560 metres below the fountain. The project will cost about K 300,000.

When completed, water from the reservoir, which is being constructed at the Tithandize Orphan Care Centre will be available for use by all the residents of the township.

Last month, an Australian journalist, Brian Haill, who heads up The Australian AIDS Fund Incorporated (an AIDS-care charity) donated K100,000 towards the safe water project.

This donation was made through a Malawian journalist, Felix Mponda, who works for Agence France Presse (AFP)

Haill was motivated to be involved in the AIDS field after witnessing the plight of the first Australian child to be infected with HIV/AIDS through a blood transfusion, Eve van Grafhorst. Eve was later treated like an outcast by her community.

It is strange though that although Malawi boasts the largest fresh water bodies in the world, people still are experiencing thesee water shortages. This perhaps is a wake-up call to the new Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika government to sort out this public menace once and for all.