Advertisement
Published: September 23rd 2006
Edit Blog Post
The Kaliya Youth Group
First meeting with the Kaliya Youth Group (L to R: Rev J Mwase, Emmanuel, Martin, Ophanuel, Ellias, Abel, Manasseh Chiumia, Carolyn, Chimemwe, Mirriam) After my first encounter with the half completed Kaliya Vocational Training Centre, I was a little nervous about meeting the group - did they actually exist? I’d seen the video prepared by Christian Aid for the launch of their report highlighting the impact of climate change on developing countries (see www.solar-aid.co.uk) so I hoped that I would recognise a few faces. I had already met Emmanuel who picked me up from Njaya and took me to meet Mr Chiumia for the long trek up the hill and had also seen Chimemwe (meaning “happy”) in the video, hacking down trees with alarming ease.
The first meeting was wonderful. Everyone was enthusiastic (although some expressed it much more reservedly than others) and all were eager to know more about solarthan John Keane had been able to cover in just two days back in May.
As school finished, spectators of all ages started to gather to see the strange ginger “Mazungu” and I managed to get some nice photos of Bwelero’s future solar engineers.
The Kaliya group
The Kaliya Youth Group meets every Thursday afternoon and acts as a focal point for the young people in the Bwelero community. They discuss
Emmanuel and Ellias
Emmanuel(L) and Ellias (R) after checking just how much work is left to do on the building. how they can make life in Bwelero better for young people and also try to help the old and sick of the community as much as possible by raising funds to buy soap and paraffin.
Chimemwe Banda Chimemwe is 22 years old and was born in Nkhata Bay. She’s a big Liverpool fan and thinks that Gerrard is God! Her mother is sick with AIDS but is taking Anti Retro Viral (ARV) drugs which have vastly improved her condition. Chimemwe has 3 brothers and 2 sisters and 2 children of her own. She’s been using her simple solar powered lamp since May and is the envy of her neighbours. The prospect of being able to solar-cook Nsima (the staple food made from maize or cassava flour) without having to sit and stir for hours makes her bubble over with excitement.
Emmanuel Madongo Emmanuel is 20 years old and was also born in Nkhata Bay. His father died when he was younger but his mother is still healthy. He has a young daughter called “Rose Grovantina Madongo“ who is 9 ½ months old. He has 4 sisters and 2 brothers and in his spare time acts as
Ellias and Mr Ciumia
Ellias and Mannaseh (Mr) Chiumia inspect some of the work they did back in May. the treasurer of the club. He’s the man who always turns up on time and is very active in the Kaliya Group - second time I met him, he was mixing mortar for the bricklayers to try and get the to work faster!
Mirriam Nyirenda Mirriam, at 18 years old, is one of the babies of the group. She has 2 children, lives very close to the Bwelero School and has one brother and one sister. Her father died of AIDS and her mother is now also sick with HIV AIDS. This is a much repeated pattern but ARV drugs have improved her mother’s chances of a longer survival.
Ophanuel Chibowa Ophanuel is 24 years old and has the furthest to walk - Dindano Village is a 25 minute hike away. He is nearly always on time - which I like! He was born in the South of Malawi (Chikwawa Nchalo) where his now retired father worked in a sugar mill. He describes himself as a bachelor, is very good at slicing onions very finely, has 2 younger brothers and 2 older sisters and is an avid Chelsea supporter.
Martin Mwase Also 18, Martin is an
Spectators - 1
The local school finished lessons just before I started mine - so a few extra students turned up ! active member of the Kaliya Youth Group. He was born in Bwelero and is still studying hard in Form 3 of the Nkhata Bay Kunyanga Province Secondary School.
Ellias Chirwa Ellias was born in Tanzania but now lives in Bwelero Village with his wife and 4 children. He works occasionally as a brick layer and labourer but volunteers as much of his time as possible to the Kaliya Youth Group. He has 2 sisters, supports the local Nkhata Bay Police football team (who I saw brawling with a team from Blantyre last year) but is also an undercover Arsenal fan.
Carolyn Mwase Carolyn is the quiet one of the group. Born in Nkhata Bay 24 years ago, she has one child but still finds time to help plan the building of the Vocational Training Centre. I think she is a secret supporter of Blantyre’s MTL Wanderers and probably cheers them on in fights!
Abel Longwe A close neighbour of Mirriam, Abel is 21 and, like most of the group, was born in Nkhata Bay. He has 4 brothers and 1 sister and loves playing football with the Chimbota Youngsters team. His favourite team is Man United but
Spectators - 2
The local school finished lessons just before I started mine - so a few extra students turned up ! he’ll settle for MTL Wanderers when they’re playing.
So that’s the group. Manasseh Chiumia and Rev Mwase (the two trustees of the Kaliya Youth Group) wanted to involve a cross section of youngsters from the community to maximise awareness and I think that they have succeeded.
We talked about how the group had been using their trial panels since May’s initial training and how other people in the village had been excited about the prospect of cutting their spending on batteries and fuel for lighting. A bit of “PV envy” has developed in the village!
The Kaliya group still has lots to do on finding materials locally and determining the real costs (homework for them before I come back in November) but the group should be able to present their friends and neighbours with a “no brainer” proposal:
“Would you rather spend 2,500 kwacha a year on batteries or buy this panel now for 1,000 kwacha with a 2 year guarantee” - that kind of thing. (Price of panels may go up or down, offer limited to one per family, terms and conditions apply)
Advertisement
Tot: 0.148s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 18; qc: 75; dbt: 0.0749s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Larraine
non-member comment
Beautiful people!
Just reading about the Bwelero Kaliya Youth Group - what amazing young people. So full of admiration for what you are doing - you can change their lives so dramatically and they in turn can teach others. Well done!!!