News

Chrissy Antonio holds her premature twins in the KMC position. Born less than 1500 grams each, the babies were released from the unit five days after delivery.

Before coming to Malawi I would never have guessed I would become an advocate for babies.

It is 5:00AM, the weather looks promising, the day looks very bright as well. Tiyamike* smiles as she yawns and reluctantly wakes up to face the day, after all its Monday, and she needs to go school. Tiyamike* 16, has always dreamt of becoming an influential woman in her society and country, an Education Minister. She goes to school everyday eager to learn something new that will shape her future.

They may be from the same household, but compared to their older brother, Musa’s twin sisters Hanifa and Hajira started their lives a world apart. Just shy of 2 years, the twin girls have spent their first 22 months in a condition that no child should have to endure. Since birth, they have not had proper diets, and today – are on the brink of being severely malnourished.

Born in March 2015, the twins came in at a difficult time for their family as well as for the nation of Malawi when the country was barely recovering from the worst floods to hit it for decades.

Fanny stands confidently in front of a small crowd while demonstrating how to properly breastfeed a child. She holds her son in her arms and explains the importance of direct eye-contact and exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of a child’s life. As a member of the Chipando village care group in Nkhotakota District, Fanny knows the importance of proper nutrition for herself and her family. Why? Because just one year ago, Fanny was the mother of an underweight child.

As a way of empowering girls to be effective advocates for girls’ education issues, the DfID funded, Keeping Girls in School (KGIS) project plans to implement school based girls’ advocacy weekends in all its 10 implementing districts in Malawi.

The activities are aimed at providing a platform for girls to share issues that they face and to build their capacity as champions and advocates who can effectively bring out their issues to duty bearers – actors who have a responsibility and obligation to realise the rights of the girls.