The Agricultural Unit at Nogwe

The Agricultural Unit........a mini- foodbowl project at Nogwe....... funded by The Australian AIDS Fund Incorporated, comprises the purchase and cultivation of some ten hectares of land to not only provide for the future food needs of the children of The Australian Primary School at Shjaibu/Nogwe but also other needy people in the community under the wing ofTithandize Orphan Care.

In addition to tools,fertiliser, and initial labour costs, the funding has also covered the purchase of:-

150 kg of soya seed
150 kg of rice seed
50 kg of maize seed and
1,500 banana suckers

With the 10 one hectare plots of land bought, they were quickly cleared to get the planting underway.

Healthy banana suckers were the first priority...with many willing hands put to work. Bananas are highly nutritious and easy to grow.

Sacks of seeds have also been delivered to produce other crops. Soon we hope to see a widening sea of green!

As the United Nations has declared 2008 as the International Year of the Potato, it is hoped potato crops will also be harvested here.

FACTS ABOUT MULANJE AND NOGWE

MULANJE IN BRIEF

Mulanje is one of the districts in Malawi,the warm heart of Africa.

Located to the eastern side of Blantyre almost 80 Kilometres,Mulanje shares its boundary with other districts namely:- Chiradzulu,Thyolo,and Zomba. Mulanje is populary known for its physical features that attract tourists from various parts of the world more especially from overseas.

Mulanje is well blessed with many mountains ,hills,rivers,and swamps. Likhubula is the biggest river and it is the one that supplies water for domestic usages to locations not only in Mulanje but also to as far as Blantyre,Chiradzulu and Thyolo.

The Mulanje mountain is also the biggest mountain not only in Malawi but also in the Central Part of Africa including Zambia and Zimbabwe. At the height of more than 3 Kilometres, the Mulanje mountain marks a boundary between Malawi and Mocambique, and is also a tourists attraction ...featuring rivers,vegetations, and animals rarely seen elsewhere.

The Mulanje mountainside contains a fertile soil ideal for plantation crops such as tea and coffee;Cereal crops such asmaize,miller,sorghums,and rice;Legume crops such as beans and pigeons and Fruits such as mangoes,bananas,oranges,pineapples,etc

Mulanje, like other districts, is divided into areas called Traditional Authority Territories[T/A] some of which are :-

T/A Mabuka
T/A Chikumbu
T/A Njema
T/A Nkanda
T/A Nthiramanja
T/A Juma

From within these T/A s , are some small areas called group villages and small villages.

The Nogwe village is situated in T/A Nkanda’s territory.

In turn, it's divided into sub-villages some of which areTotholo,Makanda,Kuntamba,Shaibu,Mangwere,Ng’ong’ola,Sadibwa,Chitimbe 1,Chitimbe 2,Chabwera, Magombo etc Nogwe is based in Mulanje 20 kilometres off Mulanje/Chitakale- Zomba Road

Being located in rural and primitive areas of this nature, a big percentage of the inhabitants are uneducated,fail to access health services,etc.

This has led into a high rate of infections such as HIV/AIDS,STI’s and water borne sicknesses among others, hence people are unable to know and unaware of healthy measures such as HIV risky behavioural patterns,prevention,care and support alongside with treatments on the above said.

This has led to high rates of orphans,deaths of HIV/AIDS/Water borne related illnesses,vulnerability and poor livelihoods on the inhabitants from these areas

It is from this background therefore, that Tithandize Orphan Care Centre decided to make its interventions in this area of Nogwe with a core objective of serving the community through care,support ,developmental and participatory works inorder to improve the living standards of people in the area for a better,productive, and self reliant livelihood.Tithandize is aimed at providing services such as :

Trainings on health,sanitation and HIV/AIDS awarenesses
Developmental projects such as schools,health and environmental
Charity such as care for orphans,the sick,elderly,etc

TRANSPORT From Blantyre/Ndirande to Nogwe/Mulanje, movements is very miserable we travel by public lorries and minibuses in the main roads BUT 20 Kilometres off Mulanje –Zomba Road we travel by pushing bicycles on hire

Nogwe area can be accessible to travel by 4 x 4 vehicles.