YAACC VISITS TEMWA ORGANISATION, NKHATA BAY

Temwa Office, Mzuzu

In a bid to enhance programme delivery capacity, YAACC on Friday, 11 November 2016, toured programme sites for Temwa, a charity organisation working in communities in Nkhata Bay district.

YAACC was represented by six members: Evans Lwara, Herbert Shumba, Dan Katete, Tuwani Chirwa, Fiscian Nsini and Chimembe Junior. The team arrived at Temwa offices around 9 am where a briefing on what the two organisations do was done. After that, YAACC was led to Mzgola and Njiri areas where Temwa is running the Nkhata Bay Natural Way programme.

Lwara with Mr Chavula

Mzgola tree  nursey 

At Mzgola, YAACC was introduced to a lead farmer Mr Custom Chavula who led the team down the valley where nursery tree raising and demonstration garden is done. At the site, YAACC met one Chimwemwe Mhango who is the area's Extension Volunteer. Mr Mhango explained how Temwa has helped the community in terms of not only conservation but also household nutritional support.

"They give us various seeds for vegetables for each family to improve its nutrition," he told us.

Mzgola Village Nutural Resources Management Committee carters for two villages: Katemanga and Kapazuka villages.

Njiri pine woodlot initiative

At Njiri area, we visited a Village woodlot initiative where pine trees are being planted on a sloppy hillside. The site revealed total commitment by the community to ensure vegetative cover.

In his remarks to Temwa officer responsible for agriculture, YAACC team leader, Evans Lwara expressed gratitude for being allowed to tour Temwa and their programme areas.

"We have learnt a lot from our visit. We hope that this is the beginning of more good things to come in the near future," Lwara said.

The visit was organised to expose YAACC members to what other organisations are doing. it was also aimed at sharing with Temwa what YAACC does so as to open  opportunities for information sharing on issues of climate change and climate smart agriculture.

an after visit photo with Temwa Officers

YAACC HELPS COMMUNITY CONSERVE FOREST

Destruction by miners in Tchemba Forest

YAACC has helped communities surrounding Tchemba Forest complete consultation process for the establishment of Forest management Plan (FMP) and By-Laws.

Tchemba Forest, which is about 26 hectares, is found about 12 kilometers west of Mzimba Town at Tchemba Hill at Kamilaza in the area of Group Village Headman (GVH) Yesaya Shumba. it was annexed for conservation over half a century ago. It consists of largely deciduous indigenous trees of various species.

YAACC's involvement in conservation efforts of the Forest started in 2013 when GVH Yesaya Shumba approached YAACC for help in the protection of  the forest against destruction due to illicit mining activities that were being perpetuated by various small-scale mining groups. The miners were digging the forest for precious rocks little regard to conservation.

YAACC begun the intervention by helping to suspend all mining activities until proper procedures are laid down. This was met with stiff resistance from the miners but having educated the community on sustainable mining activities, all miners were forcefully evicted.

During the 2016 commemoration of the World Environmental Day organised by YAACC at Kamilaza, the District Forest Officer for Mzimba, who was Guest of Honor, reiterated the need to urgently come up with a Forest Management Plan and By-Laws to facilitate effective conservation of the Forest. YAACC begun facilitating this process in September 2016 and finished it on October 17, 2016.

In the consultation sessions, which were four in total, we had chiefs, Village development representatives, women and youths  participating actively. All contents of the FMP and By-Laws are entirely what the community members agreed upon. Some issues were very contentious but consensus was always reached despite lengthy deliberations.

YAACC looks forward to the finalizing of the first draft copies of the two documents. With these two documents in place
, conservation of Tchemba Forest will no longer be a problem.

YAACC TEAM OF VOLUNTEERS: FULL IST

Below is a list of volunteers who are behind the restructured YAACC, 2016-2017. They were recruited in January and officially oriented on 15 January, 2015. This is a team of dedicated young people who are willing to sacrifice their all, for the sake of saving mother earth and lives in communities. Their driving force is the desire for a better future. That future can only be created now and not tomorrow.

Evans Lwara, Executive Director

Herbert Kango Shumba, Programmes and District Coordinator

Daniel Katete, Finance and Administrative Officer

Nyengo Timothy Kumwenda, Program Officer, Public Awareness Creation

Masida Chinula, Program Officer, Adaptation and Mitigation

Lotti Mbale, Program Officer, Capacity Building and Resource Mobilization

 

Precious Soko, Program Officer, Public Awareness Creation

George Nyanjagha, Program Officer, Capacity Building and Resource Mobilization

Julius Chimembe Nyirenda, Program Officer, Environmental Justice and Advocacy

Fiskani Nsini, Program Officer, Environmental Justice and Advocacy

                                                                                                                   

Tuwani Chirwa, Program Officer-Adaptation and Mitigation

Cecilia Manda, Program Officer, Environmental Justice and Advocacy