By Cathy Maulidi:
State Vice President Michael Usi has hailed the United States Agency for International Development (USaid)-funded five year Titukulane Project, describing it as a landmark initiative that has resulted in the sprouting of resilient communities across Malawi.
Usi made the remarks on Tuesday at the Project’s Close-out Learning Event, which marked the closeout of contributions of the project.
Care Malawi and partners were implementing it.
He said the project had demonstrated that when stakeholders join hands, they can move mountains.
“The name Titukulane, meaning ‘let’s develop together’, is a fitting testament to what this initiative has stood for; [that is], a hallmark of collaboration, resilience and shared purpose.
“Today, we celebrate not just the closeout of a five-year journey but the legacy of resilience, hope and self-actualisation. This is what Titukulane Project is leaving behind for the communities of Zomba, Mangochi and beyond,” Usi said.
The Vice President said the project was the first of its kind, adding that it was designed around the National Resilience Strategy (NRS of 2018 to 2030)—coordinated through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs—which aimed to shift from a reactive cycle of disaster response to a proactive approach of risk management, preparedness and resilience building.
“This shift is no small feat. For years, Malawi has been at the mercy of climate shocks, from floods and droughts to devastating cyclones that have exacerbated hunger across the country. Yet, with initiatives like the Titukulane Project, we are proving that vulnerability is not our destiny.
“By embedding climate-smart agricultural practices, diverse livelihood packages, community-driven disaster risk management and inclusive governance mechanisms, the project has shown us that resilience is achievable and sustainable,” Usi said.
Usi said he was elated that the project had empowered community members not only to recover from shocks but
to build stronger systems to withstand future ones.
“I am greatly impressed with the figures from the project, impacting a total of 613,826 individuals with interventions in agriculture, irrigation, livestock, marketing, youth vocational skills development, Wash [water, sanitation and hygiene] and nutrition, including improving coordination of NRS interventions at national and district levels. Malawi can only develop if investments are channeled into building resilient systems,” he said.
He further hailed the project’s alignment with the Malawi (MW) 2063 vision, saying this was another milestone worth celebrating.
“Under MW2063, we envision an inclusive, self-reliant and industrialised middle-income nation. The Titukulane Project has contributed meaningfully to two pillars of this vision,” Usi said.
Project implementer Care Malawi, through its country director Pamela Kuwali, also hailed the project’s successes.
“The Titukulane Project has exemplified the power of collaboration, focusing on three key areas: increasing diversified incomes, improving nutritional status and enhancing institutional capacities.
“This approach has ensured women are at the forefront of our efforts. Notable achievements included empowering communities economically through village savings and loans associations,” she said.
Chief of Party for Titukulane Resilience Food Security Activity Jones Chimpukuso said despite registering successes, there were challenges including the slow start of the project due to the Covid pandemic in 2020-21.
“Major hurdles included tropical cyclones Gombe and Tropical Freddy, cholera, and, most recently, El Niño,” he said.
The five-year Resilience Food Security initiative, which USaid was funding, was implemented by Care International Malawi in partnership with Emmanuel International, IFPRI, National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi, Save the Children, and WaterAid.
The project targeted Zomba and Mangochi districts with the primary goal of achieving sustainable, equitable and resilient food and nutrition security for ultra-poor and chronically vulnerable households.
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