UNB / Malawi In-Country Hosts

Background:

The primary focus of the UNB/Malawi Internship program is building local, national and international capacity relating to governance, youth, environmental sustainability, health, education and the private sector. The program is administered by the Centre for Property Studies at UNB and interns are selected based on their education, skills, experience and qualities. Interns are offered an opportunity to experience real world challenges in their field of expertise.

We have six (6) in-country host providing work experience and supervision for students and Young Professionals in their respective fields of expertise. The tremendous support and dedication of these organizations are the key to our very successful program, and we would like to thank them for their partnerships.

Mzuzu University 

The CPS / Mzuni partnership began in June, 2007 with the first internships funded through the AUCC Students for Development Program. The purpose of these internships was to increase the capacity of the Department of Land Management in the areas of Geomatics and Law. Over the past 3 years we have expanded our program to include any UNB undergraduate student from any faculty and all Faculties and Departments at Mzuzu  University.  The students focus on many areas and have represented the Faculties of Engineering (Geodesy & Geomatics, Computer, Chemical and Mechanical),  Foresty and Environmental Management, Law, Nursing, Kinesiology and Education.  These students have taught, mentored, conducted survey camps, raised funds for equipment, books and materials and had an opportunity to view their discplines from a totally new perspective.  We are pleased to say this program has been review through AUCC for another 5 years.

One one biggest outcomes of the partnership so far is the donation of Survey Equipment from the Province of New Brunswick, the City of Saint John and Terrain Surveyors (Trainor Surveys) enabling UNB students to design and deliver a hands-on survey camp for senior students. Moving their curriculum from theory to practice.

In 2010, the UNB/Mzuni partnership secured 4 internships a year for 3 consecutive years to work on Sustinable Land Management issues in Malawi. The internships include: GIS/GPS/Remote Sensing Specialist, Natural Resource Management Specialist, Survey Camp Instructor and a Urban/Rural Planner/Climate Change Specialists and are supervised by Professor Lucky Kabanga, acting Chair, Department of Land Management.

Kauma Village:  Lilongwe Youth Organization / Activity Youth Organization

The LYO was established in Kauma Village in 1994 with a general mission to provide care and support to needy people and to advocate human rights, especially for those affected by HIV/AIDS.  It is an entirely youth-run organization and thus operates much of its programming on the basis of peer education. The LYO strives to help disadvantaged children in our community to afford daily subsistence and secondary education and help illiterate adults obtaining basic literacy skills. 

 For over 15 years, the LYO has had experience operating community-level education campaigns in the following topics: HIV/AIDS, gender equality, and human rights.  Since 2006, the organization has operated without external funding on the basis on small income-generating activities.   

 The organization has an eight-member board of directors managed by an Executive Director, Finance Officer and a Farm Manager. All members are volunteers.  An objective Board of Trustees comprised of community members ensures the transparency and accountability of the LYO.   It is a modest enterprise and consists of land for farming, a school building with two classrooms, an office with library, and a toilet for girls and one for boys. 

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The AYO strives to improve the health and nutrition of children under-five—especially HIV/AIDS orphans—in Kauma Village through the provision of daily nutritious meals and health education to their families. The AYO works in three communities within Kauma Village (KV). KV is an informal settlement of approximately 28 000 people, of which about 5000 are under the age of five. Owing to its existence as an informal settlement, government funding to KV is limited, despite the striking poverty within this community.

 The AYO operates three care Centres as daycare facilities. Each day (Monday through Friday), the children are given nutritionally enriched porridge that specifically targets micronutrient and protein deficiencies.  The organization has five care volunteers at each facility for a total of 15 caregivers. It also has a volunteer board of directors and 5-10 volunteer staff members who support programming.

AYO partners with Feed the Children, an international NGO which supplies the Vitameal (porridge) to feed the children daily.  The AYO has an office in the heart of Kauma Village and three separate buildings for the children. Currently, the only program offered is the daycare/feeding program, which has successfully run since 2007 on a volunteer basis.

Together the LYO and the AYO accept 3 AUCC interns and 1 CIDA IYIP intern each year.  These interns build capacity in governance, health education and youth development through creating courses and developing skills/knowledge at the local levels.

Department of Public Service, Government of Malawi:  Gender Unit

In 2010, we were pleased to add the Government of Malawi Gender Unit to our list of Malawi Partners. Despite constituting the majority of the electorate (52%), women are grossly under represented in political and decision-making positions. In the public sector, from the super scale grade (P8 to above), there are 338 women against 1416 men in the Civil Service, 23 females against 104 males in the police service, 24 females against 54 males in the Judiciary, 8 females against 25 males Law Commission while in the Office of the Director of Public Procurement there are 2 females against 12 males. Men therefore continue to dominate the public domain in Malawi. (Gender and Media Southern Africa). Limited levels of education and technical training, societal and employer attitudes act as barriers for women making it to the top. Lack of career guidance for girls perpetuates their choice of female "traditional" careers.

The UNB/GoM partners have secured 2 interns a year form 2010 - 2013 to work in the area of Gender Equality in Malawi. The Province of New Brunswick Team lead by Dale Wilson and Kim Mathisen has been working under the IPAC Project in Malawi for several years. IPAC's new Good Governance Program (GGP) focuses on strengthening institutions and public services in developing countries through the provision of technical assistance utilizing senior public servants. The Gender Specialist will be focusing on capacity building and identifying policies and procedures which hinder women from advancing in the civil service.

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The Guidance Counseling and Youth Development Centre for Africa

Guidance, Counseling and Youth Development Centre for Africa is an inter-governmental non-profit organization established in 1994.  The Centre seeks to develop and institutionalize guidance, counseling and youth development services as non-academic support with needs of girls as a special focus. The ultimate aim is to give both girls and boys the information and skills necessary to handle complex social issues that are part of their daily life.

The Centre has been established with the aim of building capacity among participating countries to address issues affecting girls and boys in Africa including HIV/AIDS, Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health, Alcohol and Drug abuse, Outdoor Education/Recreation, Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), Enterprise Education and Youth Leadership among others. Capacity building is mainly done through Training of Trainers approach.

At international level the Centre works closely with UNESCO, UNICEF,WFP,WHO ,UNDP and  UNAIDS as well as the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC). At country level the centre works with National Commissions for UNESCO, Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Youth.

Under the supervision of Dr. Kenneth Hamawaka, the GCYDCA hosts 2 UNB SFD Interns a year from 2011-2014 to work in the areas of Youth Development and Health Education.