Caregivers assured of their honorarium

Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare says government is committed to ensuring that early childhood development (ECD) education caregivers are put on government’s honorarium payroll.

The ministry’s regional (North) ECD trainer Mercy Salimu said this on Tuesday in Mzuzu during the graduation of 61 caregivers who underwent a two-week ECD training under the Synod of Livingstonia’s Church of Central Africa Presbyterian ECD department.

She said: “Government appreciates the key role caregivers play in nurturing children in their respective community-based childcare centres.

“Government is not sleeping over this. It is working around the clock to have them on payroll as a token of appreciation.”

Synod of Livingstonia general secretary the Reverend William Tembo commended World Vision Malawi for the financial support and government for accrediting the synod’s ECD department to offer the training.

He said: “If you look at the Malawi 2063 development plan, it talks about creating an inclusive wealthy and self-reliant industrialised upper-middle-income nation.”

A caregiver from Karonga District, Gomezgani Kaonga described the training as an eye-opener.

He said they learnt to make footballs, dolls and other playing materials using locally available resources.

World Vision Malawi programmes manager for Nkhata Bay and Mzimba districts Elarton Thawani said they are committed to providing resources towards children’s education and spiritual welfare.

The 61 ECD caregivers were drawn from Mchinji, Nkhata Bay and Karonga districts.