World Vision invests K8bn in infrastructure

 World Vision Malawi has invested K8 billion in the construction of 512 education, health, water and sanitation infrastructure in 16 districts nationwide.

Speaking in Lilongwe on Thursday during a national handover of the projects, World Vision Malawi board chairperson Lucy Kachapila said the structures including boreholes, clinics, school blocks and community-based childcare centres, were constructed between 2022 and 2023, and are benefiting over 295 000 people.

She said the goal is to reach every Malawian with the required infrastructure to improve their livelihood.

Said Kachapila: “These structures will also ensure that children, especially girls are maintained in school and become useful citizens of the country. We will continue to do more.”

She said that through World Vision projects, Malawi has reduced child and maternal death rates and further managed to retain more children in school.

In her remarks, Minister of Water and Sanitation Abida Mia hailed World Vision for the projects which she said are critical to attainment of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Malawi 2063 vision, the country’s long-term development strategy.

Said the minister: “The projects are aligned with the government’s development agenda. We appreciate World Vision for all the work they are doing. As government, we will continue to provide a conducive environment for these NGOs to thrive in their endeavours.”

Both Deputy Minister of Education Nancy Chaola Mdooko and Deputy Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture Owen Chomanika urged Malawians to desist from vandalising the structures.

Paramount Chief Kaduya of Phalombe said she felt honoured that people in her area are among the beneficiaries of the projects.

One of the beneficiary students, 15-year-old Anna from Nkhoma in Lilongwe, said with the washrooms that World Vision has constructed at her school, she will no longer skip classes when she has a period