A governance and human rights organization, Millennium Information and Resource Centre [Mirece] says Dowa is now being recognized as a historical district as evidenced with the holding of a big event commemorating 100 years since the Holy Bible was translated from English into Chichewa.
Kaso site in Dowa is known to have been a site where the Dutch Reformed Church Mission [DRCM] through Andrew Charles Murray was founded to be a good site for settlement and no wonder Mvera in the district became the headquarters of the church.
Dowa was also the headquarters of WENELA-THEBA where Malawians going to South Africa were assembled together to start a journey through different means of transport and this was way back that Lilongwe, Ntchisi and Salima districts were in Dowa.
Contrary to the expectations of the Dowa people that the event marking 100 years of translating the Bible from English into Chichewa would be held at the historical site-Kaso being the first time in the history for such event to be held, the event was held in Lilongwe through Nkhoma CCAP Synod of which Kaso site and Mvera CCAP Mission falls under it.
Mirece’s Executive Director Reverend Flywell Somanje, said he is now happy that Government has started recognizing Dowa as a historical district saying this is good news not only to Malawi as a country but the neighboring countries of Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania.
Reverend Somanje said he would have loved if the 100 years event was held at the Kaso site in the district saying this could add colour that Dowa besides being regarded as one of the poorest districts in Malawi, it is rich with some historical sites.
He said it would have been better for the leaders of Mvera CCAP Mission to lead the event alongside chiefs of that area claiming that a graveyard has its owners expressing his concern that people are now visiting the historic Kaso site without the knowledge of the custodians of the land.
The Reverend appealed to Government that since it has started recognizing Kaso site this should not be the end saying there is a great need to make it a national event where celebrations should be held annually as John Chilembwe Day following Bishop Charles Mackenzie who settled at Magomero in Chiladzulu district.
…..’’Let the event be celebrated annually at the Kaso site, this will be a tourist attraction centre which in the end the money realized from tourists will be used for the benefit of the Dowa people,’’….said Reverend Somanje.
He expressed hope that the Tonse Alliance being a listening government will consider next time to take the event to where the early missionaries established themselves at Mvera in Dowa district than holding the event somewhere else for the sustainability purposes of the historical sites in the district.
Meanwhile, some other people in Dowa district are consulting one another through a proposal to have their own event of marking 100 years since the Holy Bible was translated from English into Chichewa claiming that the owners of Kaso site were not invited in Lilongwe at the event which was graced by President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera.
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