Centre for Conflict Management and Women Development Affairs has trained 35 waste collectors in Bangwe Township, Blantyre on how to manage their business.
Speaking after the training on Saturday, the organisation’s programme associate Christopher Misuku said they decided to equip the women with entrepreneurship skills as waste collection is considered a challenging activity for women.
He said: “Waste collection is an activity mainly dominated by men but these women have shown bravery to join it. Therefore, we felt that these are the kinds of women that need empowerment.
“We want to give them necessary skills under the Green Jobs for Women to boost their waste collection businesses, but also diversify to other businesses that can add more income to their families.”
Misuku said the organisation was targeting to equip 100 women waste collectors in Blantyre.
One of the participants, Grace Mchiwi from Minyanga Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Machinjiri, thanked the organisation for the training.
She said: “As women waste collectors, we face verbal abuse, especially when we are collecting waste. Again, we lack protective gear, capital and entrepreneurship skills to manage our business.
“So, through this training we have learnt how we can grow our business and we have confidence that after applying those skills our business will grow.”
Green Jobs for Women is a six-month project implemented in Blantyre with funding from the Canadian Government
