Child caregivers to start receiving honorarium

Director of Early Childhood Development (ECD) in the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare says discussions to start giving childcare givers honorarium are at an advanced stage with government and other stakeholders involved.

Archie Malisita said this in Blantyre over the weekend when he closed a two-week training for childcare givers drawn from traditional authorities Chamba and Mposa in Machinga.

He said there was need to motivate childcare givers so that they work effectively and observed that due to lack of motivation, many childcare givers are abandoning their jobs to look for other means of survival.

“To us, such scenarios tell us that we need to do something fast. We are spending a lot of money training childcare givers so that they conduct their duties effectively and if they leave their jobs just like that we are on the losing side,” said Malisita

The training was financed by World Vision to the tune of K6.5 million (about $8 845).

World Vision Project coordinator Nancy Makamo said the organisation sponsored the training in response to the ministry’s request to have more childcare givers trained.

Said Makamo: “This training is part of our support to government. As World Vision, one of our critical goals is to ensure that children attain age-appropriate literacy that will expedite their social and intellectual development. We believe that, if properly trained, these childcare givers will help us achieve that.”

A participant to the training, Witness Kazemba, thanked World Vision for the training, saying it has enabled him acquire special skills in child caring.

He urged fellow participants to be patient and dedicated as they wait for stakeholders to address the honoraria issue. n