WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

•  Majority of population in Luwinga ward at Mzuzu city are women living in poverty but having a major role in the family.

• Empowering women is to make them independent in all aspects from mind, thought, rights, decisions, etc. by leaving all the social and family limitations. It is to bring equality in the society for both male and female in all areas. And the positive change through trainings in different skills to women can bring hope to many women.

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT

• Young people make up the largest and fastest growing proportion of the general population in Malawi with 80% of them being of ages below 35. It is also noted that a lot of the youth are facing unemployment challenges as the formal employment sector is unable to absorb all employable youth as a result the youth are frustrated and end up indulging in activities that are not productive for the communities they come from and the nation at large.

According to the National Youth Policy of 2013, one of the main contributing factors to the issues of unemployment and poverty among the youth is lack of employable skills resulting from very few skills training centres available in the country. Kwithu CBO therefore, seeks to be part of the solution by offering a space for such skills to be imparted to the youth within the location it is operational in Luwinga, Mzuzu. Luwinga has a population of over 23,000 people and a lot of its youth is unemployed

• Youth can help change public perception of young people from being “the problem” to an important part of making life better in the community. Involving young people in the community helps them see themselves as part of the whole; they really do become less likely to cause problems and more likely to want to look for solutions.

• Kwithu CBO has formed 3 youth groups. These groups will work as Pilots of the program and they will be trained in different skills allowing them to carefully develop their leadership potential. Young people are usually all too aware of the issues that affect them, whether those issues include violence, suicide, or anything else. And Looking at the energy and creativity of the youth, they can be of help in bringing change to the community.