By Vincent Gunde
An organization that is focused on preventing sexual and gender-based violence, Ujamaa Pamodzi Africa, says it is preventing and responding to violence against learners with special needs to improve access to education in Dowa district.
Ujamaa Pamodzi Africa envisions an empowered society free from violence against women and children believing in evidence based interventions, is implementing its interventions in some primary schools under traditional authorities Chakhaza, Msakambewa, Mkukula, Kayembe, Dzoole and Mponela in Dowa district.
The project “Preventing and Responding to Violence against Learners with Special Needs (PREV-LSN)” is transitioning to scale-up “Empowerment Transformation Training (ETT) program that by 2028 Ujamaa wants to reach out to 5 million learners with ETT.
Presenting the project progress report to the Dowa District executive committee (Dec), Ujamaa Pamodzi Africa’s District Coordinator for Dowa Ernestiner Kamalo, said the project has the objective of empowering girls and boys with albinism in targeted communities with skills to actively participate in their own protection to improve access to education.
Kamalo said the project is equipping special needs teachers with skills and knowledge to effectively implement ETT program in resource centre and strengthening referral pathways and linkages in access to legal medical and psycho-social services and care for survivors of violence.
She said among the activities lined up for the project include special needs education teachers, identification of 20 survivors of violence, 20 psycho-social violence receiving medical and other referral services.
“The project is being implemented alongside with key stakeholders Unicef, police, Law Commission, MACODA, Social Welfare, Gender, Health (Dermatologists), Education and APAM,” said Kamalo.
However, Kamalo said the project is meeting challenges in the course of implementation such as low completion rate among children with albinism saying some children with albinism from Dzaleka Refugee Camp were unable to complete the training program due to competing priorities and a greater focus on immediate material needs and delayed implementation due to funding constraints.
In her remarks, Dowa District Council’s Director of Planning and Development Mercy Mpakule, appealed to all partners implementing their various interventions to share quarterly progress reports of what they are doing in the district to enhance cooperation, transparency and accountability.
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