By Loness Gwazanga

Maideni and her family sitting on the remains of her house–Photo by Loness Gwazanga, Mana

Blantyre, Mana: When Patricia Maideni heard she was confirmed to be part of the Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme (CSPWP) implementation in the year 2022, she started smiling.

The 28-year-old mother of two from Nnesa Village, Traditional Authority Sunganinzeru in Mulanje, immediately set a priority list on how she intended to use her wages from the programme, especially her first ever pay which was supposed to be paid in January this year.

“We already had a house but it was grass thatched. So, my priority was to buy iron sheets and do plastering so that I and my two children can have a safe shelter,” said Maiden.

However, things started falling apart when the payment which was supposed to be done in January never came.

Adding salt to the wound, Maideni’s house was completely washed away due to the tropical cyclone Freddy that has claimed hundreds of lives and lots of property in the southern region.

Currently, Maideni, husband Christopher and their two children are putting up at Likole Primary School camp where she says things are not going well as she is used to do things at her house.

Nonetheless, Maideni’s story will be a bit different from her mates because she has found a stepping stone towards her come back.

As the saying goes, better late than never, the CSPWP payments have now started and coincidentally, they have come at a time when the participants whom some of them are victims of the cyclone are in dare need of basic necessities.

“This is a blessing in disguise. Much as the money was delayed, it has come at a very convenient time.

“At least, we have somewhere to start from. I am planning to start renovating my house so that I and my children move out of the camp and restart our lives,” explained Maideni.

Mulanje District Liason Officer Aubrey Jazah Naphimba said in an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Monday that Maideni was among the 17, 385 participants that the district has in all its 18 catchments.

Jazah said the project which aims at creating visible, durable and quality assets to improve household resilience to shocks among others has received a warm welcome.

“Participants have warmly welcomed the project. They are anticipating it will change their livelihoods for the better through the wages they will be getting.

“Due to the nature of the project’s activities such as land reclamation and afforestation, they also want to bring back their lost environment in their respective areas,” he explained.

CSPWP is one of the two sub-components under Improving Social and Economic Inclusion component in the Social Support Rural Livelihood Programme (SSRLP) that targets about 70,000 ultra-poor households with labour capacity in all the districts across the country.

The participants work for 12 days a month and are paid every two months after completing 24 days’ work and five days community contribution.

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