Empowering girls in cyclone paths

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gnes Chunga, 18, from Sekeni Village in Chikwawa District, has immortalised bitter memories of Cyclone Idai, which affected hundreds of thousands  of people across southern Malawi.

“It rained for two days without stopping and our house was surrounded by water,” she says. “It was either we risk wading through the floods to higher ground or be submerged together with the house.”

The cyclone struck in 2019.

“We couldn’t carry anything from the house as our main focus was to get out alive,” she explains, adding, “But the journey to safety wasn’t easy. The water levels were quickly rising, and we had to hold each other’s hands to avoid getting swept away by the floods.”

After hours of painstaking efforts in the floods, the family finally made it to Sekeni Primary School, where classrooms had been turned into emergency shelter for the displaced.

Although this was a big relief, the family was immediately confronted with the shortage of space at the overcrowded camp.

They had to make do with the veranda of one of the classroom blocks for temporary shelter.

“We had been in the rain for hours, and we felt cold, but the classrooms were already full. We stayed like this for days until one organization came to give us blankets and cooking utensils,” she recalls.

Although relief aid eventually came for the displaced, it wasn’t enough.

The camp had no toilets, and the lighting was bad, posing risks to the women and girls, especially those sleeping outside the classroom blocks.

“I didn’t feel safe at all,” says Agnes.

Like many other girls, she had to drop out of school as many educational facilities turned into camps.

“Every day, some men from the village would come to entice girls to sleep with them in exchange for money or food. And some would just loiter around as we slept in the evening,” she recounts.

As part of its response to the disaster, UNFPA partnered with Chikwawa District Council through the Out of School Comprehensive Sexuality Education funded by the Government of Norway.

The initiative aims to reach and empower young people, particularly girls who are out of the formal education system, by providing them with information on a broad spectrum of topics, such as sexual and reproductive health and rights, including family planning, and prevention of gender-based violence.

During the crisis, UNFPA supported the district by training sexuality education facilitators who were dispatched to the many camps that sprouted across the districts to reach out to young people displaced by the floods.

Odala Adam, 25, took charge of the project at Sekeni camp, where Agnes was staying.

“In times of crisis, women and girls are always vulnerable,” said the facilitator. “And this vulnerability may make them make wrong decisions that may put their lives at risk. Our goal was to make sure that young people, especially girls, have the information to make the right decisions about their bodies and their lives.”

Sekeni camp had more than 100 adolescent girls.

Through the project, the girls were put into four groups. This allowed for effective interaction during the comprehensive sexuality education sessions, which took place once every week.

“UNFPA also supported the girls with dignity kits to enable them to manage their health better,” added Odala. “In addition, we also got teaching materials, which helped to make the sessions livelier and more engaging.”

When the situation returned to normal, Odala and other facilitators continued to support the girls within their communities.

Agnes is one of the girls who benefitted from the support.

 “Since we had lost everything, my focus was to drop out of school and help my mother to fend for my siblings,” she explains. “This made me drop out of school. However, after getting counselling from our facilitators, I realized that it wasn’t the right decision and re-enrolled to finish my primary school.”

Agnes is now in form three and is determined to finish her secondary school.

“I am grateful because if it wasn’t for the sessions we had while at the camp, I could have been forced to make some bad decisions that could have affected my dream of becoming a nurse,” she says.