History
Catholic Relief Services began working in Malawi in 1997 at the invitation of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi. Our initial work focused on improving food security, with CRS carrying out Malawi's first programs with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) food aid. In response to a major drought across southern Africa in 2001, CRS and seven other agencies formed the Consortium for Southern Africa Food Security Emergency (C-SAFE). The consortium later transitioned into a 5-year Food for Peace development program, led by CRS and CARE and funded by USAID. Over the years, CRS has continued to develop innovative, high-quality programs to also address health, HIV, economic empowerment and justice.
Partners
U.S. Agency for International Development
The
U.S. Agency for International Development has provided assistance to Malawi since the early 1960s. Today, USAID primarily focuses on promoting Malawi's political and economic development, improving the delivery of and access to health and education services, strengthening food security through agricultural investments, decreasing the country's dependence on humanitarian assistance, and increasing its ability to make positive contributions to security in the region and to participate in the global community more broadly.
The
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is a family foundation established in 1944 providing assistance through nonprofit organizations that work to improve the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people throughout the world. Broadly, the Conrad. N. Hilton Foundation priority areas in development include, but are not limited to, provision of safe water, support to children affected by HIV and AIDS, and responding to disasters. CRS Malawi's partnership with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation started in 2012 and is aimed at improving the early childhood development of children affected by HIV and AIDS.
CRS works in close partnership with the Catholic Church of Malawi to reach the poorest of the poor. CRS is active in 7 of Malawi's 8 dioceses, implementing projects through various Church commissions. Agriculture and microfinance projects are implemented in partnership with the Catholic Development Commission; health and HIV projects in partnership with the Catholic Health Commission; and justice-related programs with the Catholic Justice and Peace Commissions.
Programs
Agriculture
The Wellness and Agriculture for Life Advancement (WALA) project is an integrated food and nutrition program implemented by a consortium of 9 partners led by Catholic Relief Services and funded by USAID for Peace.
The programs works to reduce food insecurity in almost 215,000 chronically food insecure households in southern Malawi by providing comprehensive services to strengthen communities' resilience to help them to effectively prepare for and cope with shocks and hazards affecting food security; build livelihoods; and improve nutrition and health. The program promotes irrigation, improved argonomic practices and natural resource management to increase agricultural production as well as to link farmers to markets to raise their incomes. The program also supports Village Savings and Loans groups and improves nutrition and health by promoting improved maternal and child health and nutrition practices using a care group model.
Catholic Relief Services is enhancing opportunities of disadvantaged children to succeed in school by ensuring that children attend appropriate early childhood education programs, communities demand and support quality education for girls and boys and that education facilities are safe and conducive for learning for all children.
CRS Malawi is one of the countries implementing the THRIVE project which is aimed at delivering culturally appropriate early childhood development services to 15,000 children in Malawi, Kenya and Tanzania. Through the project, CRS is building the capacity of volunteers in management of community-based childcare centers for improved quality of care and support for vulnerable children, provision of education and training to parents and guardians to support their children's development in the home and conducting child health days where children receive a wide variety of services, from immunizations to vision screening and growth monitoring.
CRS' disaster response programming ensures that households in disaster prone areas are able to quickly recover from future natural disasters and resume normal lives, with minimal loss of life and property. CRS is currently implementing the Karonga Empowering Emergency Preparedness project in Karonga diocese in northern Malawi, an area regularly affected by multiple natural disasters including earthquakes and floods. The project addresses gaps in disaster preparedness by working with Civil Protection Committees and direct authorities to strengthen early warning systems and train community members in identifying and responding to disasters. The project also promotes sanitation and hygiene initiatives in communities as well as in evacuation centers, and enhances food storage infrastructure including promoting savings and lending initiatives.
Health
Catholic Relief Services works to enhance the physical and mental well-being of vulnerable communities. This program is focused on improving the well-being of 60,000 orphans and vulnerable children and enhancing access to treatment and care for 40,000 people with HIV in 9 districts in the central and southern regions of Malawi. The project is implemented as a wrap-around to the WALA program through 6 of the 9 WALA partners. In an effort to improve the well-being of orphans and vulnerable children, the project addresses nutrition, child protection, education and economic strengthening. Additionally, the project provides a continuum of care that increases access to HIV testing and counseling for adults and children and supports Malawi's transition to community-based pre-antiretroviral therapy services, as well as reinforcing the importance of adherence and follow-up for clients on antiretroviral therapy and prevention of mother to child transmission.
Peacebuilding
Catholic Relief Services works to ensure community members exercise their social, political, cultural, environmental and economic rights and fulfill their responsibilities as citizens. In this respect, CRS implements two projects: The Transparent Initiative With Our Natural Extractives (TIWONE) and Promotion of Equality and Access to Justice (PEACE).
The TWIONE project addresses issues of transparency and accountability with the mining sector as a way of minimizing corruption, maximizing benefits and ensuring that all Malawians eventually benefit from extraction of mineral resources. It builds the capacity of communities to advocate for corporate social responsibility while reporting and working on community level grievances that emanate directly from extractive activities.
The PEACE project addresses issues of gender-based and domestic violence by equipping local justice systems with the skills, knowledge and competencies to handle cases of gender-based violence as well as working with communities to change behaviors, attitudes and cultural values that promote violence.
