Since 1st March, 2014, Church and Society Programme, with funding from KNH through the facilitation of Deloitte, has been implementing an empowerment project using Self Help Group Approach (SHGA) in the area of Chief Principal Group Village Headman Jalira and other surrounding areas that include Chanyoli, Bowe and Matunkha in Traditional Authority Chikulamayembe, Rumphi district. Locally, the project is known as “Jovwira”, which is synonymous with self-help. The project is in its fourth year 0f implemetation.
The SHG is a rights-based approach which views poverty, which is multidimensional, as any form of deprivation, including the denial of rights. Poverty alleviation, on the other hand, is a process of reclaiming one’s rights, especially amongst women who are most vulnerable. The SHGA puts equal emphasis on the economic, social and political empowerment of women.
In order to achieve these goals, the approach offers a framework and guidance for establishing a ‘Peoples Institution’ which provides an environment of trust and cooperation through which people come to realize that they are able to help themselves and achieve the economic, social and political goals that they themselves define. Implementation of the SHGs revolves around a number of key steps, among others, identifying the very poor, mobilizing them and helping them realize their rights by building their capacity so that they can participate equally in public life.
Project objectives
This project is premised on the following objectives:
- Improving the economic condition of the members and their families;
- Enhancing better power balance and harmony within the family;
- Increasing the self-esteem of women;
- Improving the welfare of children;
