Despite sharply rising food and energy costs and the negative impact of climate change that have affected the global community, Malawi has been able to achieve food security for the past three years, The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)’s Director General, Jacques Diouf, said here Thursday.
Speaking to journalists on arrival at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) in the capital Lilongwe, he said many countries in Africa and beyond are struggling to attain food security due to different global impacts which have negative affected their goals.
"Malawi is another country in Africa which has for the past few years made its success stories of making food security a reality by having surplus in three years in a row, while other countries within Africa are not able to do the same due to conflicts, wars, climate change, land management and poor leadership," he said.
He said the successes in Malawi have come due to a large part to the adoption of several strategies, including the agricultural input subsidy programme and the good leadership of President Bingu Wa Mutharika, which have substantially contributed towards transforming its economy from a state of food deficit to becoming a net exporter of maize.
Diouf therefore expressed appreciation to people of Malawi, the leadership and other players for achieving food security in the country within a few years.
Due to this, FAO will Thursday night honour Mutharika the Agricola Award for his excellent work towards achieving food security in Malawi.
Thursday, 27 November 2008
An end to the AIDS epidemic? Study provides new reason for hope
New scientific study states that there may soon be an end to the AIDS epidemic. The study says that the AIDS virus could be eradicated in the next ten years.
Seattle - A new scientific study states that there may soon be an end to the AIDS epidemic. The study says that the AIDS virus could be eradicated in the next ten years. The way to accomplish this goal is to have regular testing and treatment in countries where there is a high rate of AIDS cases.
The man who headed this scientific study is named Charlie Gilks. He is an AIDS expert at the World Health Organization.
The study used information from Malawi and South Africa. These two countries have high AIDS infection rates. The residents of these countries were tested every year and if they were found to have HIV then they were given the proper medications to treat the virus.
Within a decade, the number of HIV infections dropped by ninety five percent. This would cut the number of AIDS deaths between 2008 and 2050 from 8.7 million people to 3.9 million people. This would be about a fifty percent reduction in AIDS deaths over forty two years.
However, there are problems with this idea. If a person tests positive for AIDS then they will have to immediately take the proper medications to treat the disease so that they do not get sicker or transmit the disease to other people. The medications can make HIV patients sick because they have side effects. The medications need to be taken continuously in order to have the proper medical effects.
If a person is diagnosed with HIV sooner and does take the medications that are needed and they do not work then they do not have many other treatment alternatives available to them. There are approximately three million people in the world who are currently taking AIDS medications. Approximately seven million people need the medications but have yet to be able to receive the necessary treatment. More than three million people were diagnosed with AIDS last year.
The cost of carrying out the strategy of testing people every year and immediately putting them on HIV medications would cost 3.4 billion dollars. The expenses would decrease as time goes on. It costs between six hundred thousand and 1.2 million dollars to treat an AIDS patient over the course of their lifetime.
Approximately ninety seven thousand New Yorkers have HIV and of those people, sixty one thousand have AIDS.
This is a good investment in the health of people worldwide. AIDS is a terrible virus that needs to be eradicated. It is always fatal because you can only live with AIDS so long. Many people can live a very long time if they take the right medications to treat the virus.
Early detection and prevention is the key. People all across the world need to be tested for HIV. If they are found to be HIV positive then they need to seek the right medical treatment. You can help to prevent HIV by not having unprotected intercourse and not sharing needles with anyone. Hopefully, AIDS will be eradicated in the next decade. It is a terrible virus that has taken many lives.
Seattle - A new scientific study states that there may soon be an end to the AIDS epidemic. The study says that the AIDS virus could be eradicated in the next ten years. The way to accomplish this goal is to have regular testing and treatment in countries where there is a high rate of AIDS cases.
The man who headed this scientific study is named Charlie Gilks. He is an AIDS expert at the World Health Organization.
The study used information from Malawi and South Africa. These two countries have high AIDS infection rates. The residents of these countries were tested every year and if they were found to have HIV then they were given the proper medications to treat the virus.
Within a decade, the number of HIV infections dropped by ninety five percent. This would cut the number of AIDS deaths between 2008 and 2050 from 8.7 million people to 3.9 million people. This would be about a fifty percent reduction in AIDS deaths over forty two years.
However, there are problems with this idea. If a person tests positive for AIDS then they will have to immediately take the proper medications to treat the disease so that they do not get sicker or transmit the disease to other people. The medications can make HIV patients sick because they have side effects. The medications need to be taken continuously in order to have the proper medical effects.
If a person is diagnosed with HIV sooner and does take the medications that are needed and they do not work then they do not have many other treatment alternatives available to them. There are approximately three million people in the world who are currently taking AIDS medications. Approximately seven million people need the medications but have yet to be able to receive the necessary treatment. More than three million people were diagnosed with AIDS last year.
The cost of carrying out the strategy of testing people every year and immediately putting them on HIV medications would cost 3.4 billion dollars. The expenses would decrease as time goes on. It costs between six hundred thousand and 1.2 million dollars to treat an AIDS patient over the course of their lifetime.
Approximately ninety seven thousand New Yorkers have HIV and of those people, sixty one thousand have AIDS.
This is a good investment in the health of people worldwide. AIDS is a terrible virus that needs to be eradicated. It is always fatal because you can only live with AIDS so long. Many people can live a very long time if they take the right medications to treat the virus.
Early detection and prevention is the key. People all across the world need to be tested for HIV. If they are found to be HIV positive then they need to seek the right medical treatment. You can help to prevent HIV by not having unprotected intercourse and not sharing needles with anyone. Hopefully, AIDS will be eradicated in the next decade. It is a terrible virus that has taken many lives.
Malawi: Adamson Muula, "Are educational standards going down?"
Malawi's education system (primary, secondary and tertiary) has experienced a number of changes and faced challenges prompting those concerned to ask whether standards are going down or not.
The system has been overwhelmed since the United Democratic Front (UDF) government introduced free primary education, which meant recruiting additional teachers (at times untrained), building more secondary schools and hiring more lecturers.
Adamson Muula, a lecturer at the Malawi College of Medicine, one of the five constituent colleges of the University of Malawi, in Blantyre, Malawi's second city, said people worried too much about standards without giving a clear definition.
"Standards can be the goal, the yardstick, or what we desire to achieve; so, we can say that the standards have continued to be high, but we have not always met those standards.
"The Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE), which is an equivalent of O Level [Ordinary Level certificate in the British education system, when students aged 16 can leave school], is a standard.
"Unless people can suggest that the current MSCE - I mean the examinations and not the certificate - are low, then we cannot always say that the standards are low.
"And the challenges which the educational system faces are many, from the proliferation of private schools to denominational universities. We should not prevent these schools and colleges from getting established, but we should be careful in ensuring that we do not promote a policy of "everything goes".
"The University of Malawi, and Mzuzu University [in northern Malawi] too, should not escape our scrutiny because they also must meet standards. The large primary and secondary school enrolment is a challenge, especially without trained teachers to fill posts.
"We can argue that free primary school is the problem; yes, it contributed to the problem, but, much more so the problem is that we have not invested in infrastructure and teacher training.
"Should we, in 2008, be saying that some pupils should be prevented from getting enrolled in school because of lack of fees? No.
"But we can ask what sort of education, if any, the pupils are getting? I will send my sons to a government primary school when you tell me one name of ... [a cabinet minister] sending their children to a government primary school.
"And it is wrong to say that the universities should be exclusive to the cream, in the name of quality education and good standards; it should be for people who will benefit from the education, and from whom society will later benefit.
"If some people already know what is being taught in universities, why should they be enrolled? Unless you define 'cream' in a rather holistic way, cream in character; cream in service; cream in respect for others; cream in academics.
"If standards have gone down at all it's not because of free primary school education alone. The investment in the Ministry of Education is the highest among all ministries in this country.
"We are not always sure that all the money being spent in the Ministry of Education goes into education; maybe we need to start differentiating between Ministry of Education and the education of our children.
"Lecturers too need some motivation. From the strikes that we have observed in the past few years, I would say lecturers lack motivation. But I also know that a strike can be a way of expressing dissent for a variety of issues, including the working environment.
"Often the money issue is the easiest and, regarding promotions, the University of Malawi has at least stipulated how promotions can be attained: we do not get promoted when we have not asked for it.
"You ask, and it is granted or denied, and when denied you are supposed to get the reasons for such a situation. I would not say one gets this feedback all the time.
"We need to find money for research, and not just from overseas but also from local resources, to take education to another level.
The system has been overwhelmed since the United Democratic Front (UDF) government introduced free primary education, which meant recruiting additional teachers (at times untrained), building more secondary schools and hiring more lecturers.
Adamson Muula, a lecturer at the Malawi College of Medicine, one of the five constituent colleges of the University of Malawi, in Blantyre, Malawi's second city, said people worried too much about standards without giving a clear definition.
"Standards can be the goal, the yardstick, or what we desire to achieve; so, we can say that the standards have continued to be high, but we have not always met those standards.
"The Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE), which is an equivalent of O Level [Ordinary Level certificate in the British education system, when students aged 16 can leave school], is a standard.
"Unless people can suggest that the current MSCE - I mean the examinations and not the certificate - are low, then we cannot always say that the standards are low.
"And the challenges which the educational system faces are many, from the proliferation of private schools to denominational universities. We should not prevent these schools and colleges from getting established, but we should be careful in ensuring that we do not promote a policy of "everything goes".
"The University of Malawi, and Mzuzu University [in northern Malawi] too, should not escape our scrutiny because they also must meet standards. The large primary and secondary school enrolment is a challenge, especially without trained teachers to fill posts.
"We can argue that free primary school is the problem; yes, it contributed to the problem, but, much more so the problem is that we have not invested in infrastructure and teacher training.
"Should we, in 2008, be saying that some pupils should be prevented from getting enrolled in school because of lack of fees? No.
"But we can ask what sort of education, if any, the pupils are getting? I will send my sons to a government primary school when you tell me one name of ... [a cabinet minister] sending their children to a government primary school.
"And it is wrong to say that the universities should be exclusive to the cream, in the name of quality education and good standards; it should be for people who will benefit from the education, and from whom society will later benefit.
"If some people already know what is being taught in universities, why should they be enrolled? Unless you define 'cream' in a rather holistic way, cream in character; cream in service; cream in respect for others; cream in academics.
"If standards have gone down at all it's not because of free primary school education alone. The investment in the Ministry of Education is the highest among all ministries in this country.
"We are not always sure that all the money being spent in the Ministry of Education goes into education; maybe we need to start differentiating between Ministry of Education and the education of our children.
"Lecturers too need some motivation. From the strikes that we have observed in the past few years, I would say lecturers lack motivation. But I also know that a strike can be a way of expressing dissent for a variety of issues, including the working environment.
"Often the money issue is the easiest and, regarding promotions, the University of Malawi has at least stipulated how promotions can be attained: we do not get promoted when we have not asked for it.
"You ask, and it is granted or denied, and when denied you are supposed to get the reasons for such a situation. I would not say one gets this feedback all the time.
"We need to find money for research, and not just from overseas but also from local resources, to take education to another level.
Malawi president off to UN conference in Doha Friday
Malawi President Bingu Wa Mutharika leaves the country on Friday to attend a United Nations International Conference in Doha, Qatar, starting from 29 November to 2 December, APA learnt here Thursday.
The UN International Conference on Finance and Development will review the implementation of commitments Western countries and multilateral financial institutions made in Mexico in 2002 for higher aid and debt relief towards poor countries.
Presidential Press Officer Chikumbutso Mtumodzi said President Mutharika will leave Kamuzu International Airport early Friday for Qatar to attend a follow up international conference which will benefit Malawi as one of the developing nations.
"The conference will among other things review the commitments rich nations made in Mexico in 2002 to consider new approaches to finance development, poverty eradication and achieve sustainable growth to poor nations," he said.
The 2008 Doha Conference will be officially opened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
The UN International Conference on Finance and Development will review the implementation of commitments Western countries and multilateral financial institutions made in Mexico in 2002 for higher aid and debt relief towards poor countries.
Presidential Press Officer Chikumbutso Mtumodzi said President Mutharika will leave Kamuzu International Airport early Friday for Qatar to attend a follow up international conference which will benefit Malawi as one of the developing nations.
"The conference will among other things review the commitments rich nations made in Mexico in 2002 to consider new approaches to finance development, poverty eradication and achieve sustainable growth to poor nations," he said.
The 2008 Doha Conference will be officially opened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
Disabled used as cure for HIV/AIDS
Richard Chirombo, AfricaNews reporter in Blantyre, Malawi Photo: HIV/AIDS activists on procession
Disabled persons are being forced into sex as a cure for HIV/AIDS. The Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS of the President of Malawi alleges that it was dismayed with the number of complaints being received from the disabled that HIV positive patients are raping them as a cure for their ailment.
Principal Secretary for the Department, Dr. Mary Shawa, said on Thursday as Malawi prepares for the World AIDS Commemoration Day that her office had received complaints from individuals who had been raped or forced into sex with the belief that the disabled are a cure for HIV and AIDS.
"These things are true and, to us, it is a shame because the disabled are not a cure for HIV and AIDS; it is just a misconception," said Shawa.
Malawi is the only country in the world that has successfully integrated HIV/AIDS and nutrition, after noticing that nutrition improved immunity while HIV- the virus that causes AIDS - weakens it. "Integrating the two has been one of our success stories," said Dr. Shawa.
The country plans to host commemoration days at district level come December 1, a process Shawa said has increased costs, instead of reducing them. She was responding to suggestions that government had decentralized the activities to cut costs. The development, she said, came about to improve access to HIV and AIDS and nutrition information.
December 1 marks World AIDS Day and almost all countries under the UN would be celebrating it to raise awareness.
Disabled persons are being forced into sex as a cure for HIV/AIDS. The Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS of the President of Malawi alleges that it was dismayed with the number of complaints being received from the disabled that HIV positive patients are raping them as a cure for their ailment.
Principal Secretary for the Department, Dr. Mary Shawa, said on Thursday as Malawi prepares for the World AIDS Commemoration Day that her office had received complaints from individuals who had been raped or forced into sex with the belief that the disabled are a cure for HIV and AIDS.
"These things are true and, to us, it is a shame because the disabled are not a cure for HIV and AIDS; it is just a misconception," said Shawa.
Malawi is the only country in the world that has successfully integrated HIV/AIDS and nutrition, after noticing that nutrition improved immunity while HIV- the virus that causes AIDS - weakens it. "Integrating the two has been one of our success stories," said Dr. Shawa.
The country plans to host commemoration days at district level come December 1, a process Shawa said has increased costs, instead of reducing them. She was responding to suggestions that government had decentralized the activities to cut costs. The development, she said, came about to improve access to HIV and AIDS and nutrition information.
December 1 marks World AIDS Day and almost all countries under the UN would be celebrating it to raise awareness.
Malawi/South Africa: Team Has No Funds for SA Trip
The Malawi Under-20 national team, to participate in the Metropolitan COSAFA Youth Championship in Kimberley at the weekend, is still in limbo as the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has no funds to send the team to the annual tournament.
Information gathered by KickOff.com is that FAM has asked for funds from government.
The team is scheduled to link up with the other contestants in Kimberley today (Thursday) ahead of the kick off on Friday.
FAM's CEO Charles Nyirenda expressed disappointment to KickOff.com but at the same time said he hoped that things would work out well.
"We are waiting for the response from the Minister of Sports, Vuwa Kaunda, who is the one we talk to so that we are sure of what is going to happen. We are optimistic that all will be well before the end of the day so that the team can fly to South Africa," Nyirenda said.
Ironically, Malawi government gave R250 (K5 000.00) to each of the 30 Under-17 national team players over the weekend after the team was ousted by Namibia from the CAF Africa Youth Championship.
Malawi is Group C of the Cosafa tournament, together with Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mauritius.
The winners of this group meet winners in Group A where South Africa is with Zambia, Lesotho and Seychelles.
Information gathered by KickOff.com is that FAM has asked for funds from government.
The team is scheduled to link up with the other contestants in Kimberley today (Thursday) ahead of the kick off on Friday.
FAM's CEO Charles Nyirenda expressed disappointment to KickOff.com but at the same time said he hoped that things would work out well.
"We are waiting for the response from the Minister of Sports, Vuwa Kaunda, who is the one we talk to so that we are sure of what is going to happen. We are optimistic that all will be well before the end of the day so that the team can fly to South Africa," Nyirenda said.
Ironically, Malawi government gave R250 (K5 000.00) to each of the 30 Under-17 national team players over the weekend after the team was ousted by Namibia from the CAF Africa Youth Championship.
Malawi is Group C of the Cosafa tournament, together with Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mauritius.
The winners of this group meet winners in Group A where South Africa is with Zambia, Lesotho and Seychelles.
Malawi school bag appeal
A Learning disability charity hopes to give children in Malawi their first chance of an education by packing school bags.
ENABLE Scotland hopes to send 900 packed bags to the African nation, where children with learning disabilities have no right to an education and are often left behind.
Appeal co-ordinator Lisa Pattoni said: "The situation for children with learning disabilities in Malawi is dire.
"By sending something as simple as a bag with basic school equipment, we can change their lives. We've been really impressed with the response so far - I can hardly move in my office - but we'd like to send 400 more so that every child in the resource centres their are going to receive a bag."
The bags should contain pens, pencils, a plastic cup, bowl and spoon, crayons, a sharpener, ruler, picture book and an educational toy like a jigsaw or bouncy ball.
ENABLE Scotland has also asked for a £3.75 donation with each bag to cover the cost of postage.
Lisa continues: "It really is such a simple thing to do. We'd love to be able to give all of the children a chance they wouldn't otherwise have had.
"We have achieved so much for people with learning disabilities in this country. We'd love to make a difference in Malawi too. Pack a bag for us and you can make that change."
The bags will be shipped to Malawi on January 14.
There are drop-off points in Glasgow, Elgin, Edinburgh and Falkirk.
Contact Lisa on 0141 225 1633 or lisa.pattoni@enable.org.uk for more information or donate on the ENABLE Scotland website - www.enable.org.uk.
ENABLE Scotland hopes to send 900 packed bags to the African nation, where children with learning disabilities have no right to an education and are often left behind.
Appeal co-ordinator Lisa Pattoni said: "The situation for children with learning disabilities in Malawi is dire.
"By sending something as simple as a bag with basic school equipment, we can change their lives. We've been really impressed with the response so far - I can hardly move in my office - but we'd like to send 400 more so that every child in the resource centres their are going to receive a bag."
The bags should contain pens, pencils, a plastic cup, bowl and spoon, crayons, a sharpener, ruler, picture book and an educational toy like a jigsaw or bouncy ball.
ENABLE Scotland has also asked for a £3.75 donation with each bag to cover the cost of postage.
Lisa continues: "It really is such a simple thing to do. We'd love to be able to give all of the children a chance they wouldn't otherwise have had.
"We have achieved so much for people with learning disabilities in this country. We'd love to make a difference in Malawi too. Pack a bag for us and you can make that change."
The bags will be shipped to Malawi on January 14.
There are drop-off points in Glasgow, Elgin, Edinburgh and Falkirk.
Contact Lisa on 0141 225 1633 or lisa.pattoni@enable.org.uk for more information or donate on the ENABLE Scotland website - www.enable.org.uk.
South African carriers banking on Africa liberalisation
With domestic passenger traffic falling 14% so far this year and expected to be at best flat next year, South African carriers are more eager than ever to divert narrowbody capacity north to more lucrative international routes.
South Africa's carriers, in particular the country's private operators, have been advocating liberalisation of Africa's skies for years with limited success but are now confident of winning new route authorities as South Africa's government pushes its neighbours to forge open skies agreements or at the very least expand bilaterals.
"It's not going to open overnight. It won't be Yamoussoukro but it will improve and we're positioning ourselves for that," says Comair joint chief executive Gidon Novick.
Comair, which operates a British Airways franchise as well as a low cost unit Kulula, has been pushing the South African government for years to renegotiate bilaterals to allow dual carrier designation. Now it is only able to compete against government-owned South African Airways on routes to Mauritius, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe but Novick says Comair is planning to add capacity to Zambia and is confident it will be cleared to serve a fifth African country next year.
Airlines Association of Southern Africa president John Morrison says the South African government has a new liberalisation policy in which it is trying to make sure there is adequate capacity between South Africa and every country. He says so far this has resulted mainly in new agreements with non-African countries such as the UAE, but he expects gradually the government will be able to persuade other African countries to also open up their skies, something they tentatively agreed to do back in 2000 with the Yamoussoukro Agreement. "If the Yamoussoukro decision was implemented it would make a huge difference in opening up Africa and it needs to be opened up," Morrison says.
He adds the failure to open up air services is holding back economic growth in the continent. He says in some cases the easiest way to get from South Africa to another African country is via Europe and where there are direct flights there is so little capacity "fares are kept artificially high".
1Time Airlines chief executive Glenn Orsmond adds: "No one from Africa will be able to afford to come to South Africa to watch World Cup soccer in 2010 because air fares are too expensive."
1Time, which has been able to grow traffic by 15% this year despite the domestic slowdown, added its first international service to Zanzibar in Tanzania earlier this year. Orsmond says the service, which was launched with one weekly frequency and is now operating twice a week, has been successful and will be expanded to three weekly flights next year. But he says so far 1Time's attempts to win other international route rights have come up empty handed.
Orsmond points out the government to date has only succeeded in negotiating open skies deals with African countries which are not within the range of 1Time or Comair's all-narrowbody fleets or do not have the demand to support direct air services.
Where bilaterals have been expanded Orsmond claims only SAA has benefited, pointing to the recent decision to award additional frequencies on the lucrative Johannesburg-Luanda route to SAA instead of designating a second carrier. "SAA is harming growth in Africa because there's no competition," he says. "We're quite confident we can put on five weekly flights to Luanda easily and lower fares by 50%."
But SAA business development head Jason Krause says SAA is advocating more liberalisation for the benefit of all carriers. He says securing more rights is important for SAA to carry out its long-term strategy of expanding its African network and he is willing to accept liberalisation will also mean more competition on more African routes.
"You can't have one without the other. We're quite happy to open it up because it will create a better market opportunity for us and we know we can compete," Krause says. "The fact Yamoussoukro has not yet been realised creates constraints and that's not good for all. It's not good for the economy and trade and it's not good for us as we can't add flights."
Until there is full liberalisation, the best strategy for expanding in Africa perhaps is investing in other carriers. For example, Comair expects to complete a deal with the Malawi government by the end of 2008 that will see it launch a new carrier in mid-2009 that will also operate as a BA franchise.
As the new carrier will be based in Malawi, with Comair only owning a 49% stake but having management control, it gives Comair a way around a restrictive bilateral in which only Air Malawi and SAA now have traffic rights. The Malawi government, after initially pursuing a privatisation of its ailing flag carrier, has agreed to shut down Air Malawi and Comair Malawi will take over its traffic rights including to Johannesburg.
"It will serve Malawi in a much better and more profitable way," Novick says. "It will be a branch or an outstation of our business. We won't have any infrastructure there."
Novick says Comair Malawi, which will initially only operate one Boeing 737-300, "will be a good case study for other African governments" and Comair has "a lot of feelers" out with other governments to discuss similar ventures. But investing in African carriers can be seen as too risky for some. SAA, for example, decided not to buy into other African carriers after its investment in Air Tanzania ended in 2006 with a big write down, and Orsmond says 1Time is not exploring opportunities outside South Africa because "it's pretty difficult to fix a loss-making airline".
South Africa's carriers, in particular the country's private operators, have been advocating liberalisation of Africa's skies for years with limited success but are now confident of winning new route authorities as South Africa's government pushes its neighbours to forge open skies agreements or at the very least expand bilaterals.
"It's not going to open overnight. It won't be Yamoussoukro but it will improve and we're positioning ourselves for that," says Comair joint chief executive Gidon Novick.
Comair, which operates a British Airways franchise as well as a low cost unit Kulula, has been pushing the South African government for years to renegotiate bilaterals to allow dual carrier designation. Now it is only able to compete against government-owned South African Airways on routes to Mauritius, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe but Novick says Comair is planning to add capacity to Zambia and is confident it will be cleared to serve a fifth African country next year.
Airlines Association of Southern Africa president John Morrison says the South African government has a new liberalisation policy in which it is trying to make sure there is adequate capacity between South Africa and every country. He says so far this has resulted mainly in new agreements with non-African countries such as the UAE, but he expects gradually the government will be able to persuade other African countries to also open up their skies, something they tentatively agreed to do back in 2000 with the Yamoussoukro Agreement. "If the Yamoussoukro decision was implemented it would make a huge difference in opening up Africa and it needs to be opened up," Morrison says.
He adds the failure to open up air services is holding back economic growth in the continent. He says in some cases the easiest way to get from South Africa to another African country is via Europe and where there are direct flights there is so little capacity "fares are kept artificially high".
1Time Airlines chief executive Glenn Orsmond adds: "No one from Africa will be able to afford to come to South Africa to watch World Cup soccer in 2010 because air fares are too expensive."
1Time, which has been able to grow traffic by 15% this year despite the domestic slowdown, added its first international service to Zanzibar in Tanzania earlier this year. Orsmond says the service, which was launched with one weekly frequency and is now operating twice a week, has been successful and will be expanded to three weekly flights next year. But he says so far 1Time's attempts to win other international route rights have come up empty handed.
Orsmond points out the government to date has only succeeded in negotiating open skies deals with African countries which are not within the range of 1Time or Comair's all-narrowbody fleets or do not have the demand to support direct air services.
Where bilaterals have been expanded Orsmond claims only SAA has benefited, pointing to the recent decision to award additional frequencies on the lucrative Johannesburg-Luanda route to SAA instead of designating a second carrier. "SAA is harming growth in Africa because there's no competition," he says. "We're quite confident we can put on five weekly flights to Luanda easily and lower fares by 50%."
But SAA business development head Jason Krause says SAA is advocating more liberalisation for the benefit of all carriers. He says securing more rights is important for SAA to carry out its long-term strategy of expanding its African network and he is willing to accept liberalisation will also mean more competition on more African routes.
"You can't have one without the other. We're quite happy to open it up because it will create a better market opportunity for us and we know we can compete," Krause says. "The fact Yamoussoukro has not yet been realised creates constraints and that's not good for all. It's not good for the economy and trade and it's not good for us as we can't add flights."
Until there is full liberalisation, the best strategy for expanding in Africa perhaps is investing in other carriers. For example, Comair expects to complete a deal with the Malawi government by the end of 2008 that will see it launch a new carrier in mid-2009 that will also operate as a BA franchise.
As the new carrier will be based in Malawi, with Comair only owning a 49% stake but having management control, it gives Comair a way around a restrictive bilateral in which only Air Malawi and SAA now have traffic rights. The Malawi government, after initially pursuing a privatisation of its ailing flag carrier, has agreed to shut down Air Malawi and Comair Malawi will take over its traffic rights including to Johannesburg.
"It will serve Malawi in a much better and more profitable way," Novick says. "It will be a branch or an outstation of our business. We won't have any infrastructure there."
Novick says Comair Malawi, which will initially only operate one Boeing 737-300, "will be a good case study for other African governments" and Comair has "a lot of feelers" out with other governments to discuss similar ventures. But investing in African carriers can be seen as too risky for some. SAA, for example, decided not to buy into other African carriers after its investment in Air Tanzania ended in 2006 with a big write down, and Orsmond says 1Time is not exploring opportunities outside South Africa because "it's pretty difficult to fix a loss-making airline".
Malawi has no funds for SA trip
The Malawi Under-20 national team, to participate in the Metropolitan COSAFA Youth Championship in Kimberley at the weekend, is still in limbo as the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has no funds to send the team to the annual tournament.
Information gathered by KickOff.com is that FAM has asked for funds from government.
The team is scheduled to link up with the other contestants in Kimberley today (Thursday) ahead of the kick off on Friday.
FAM’s CEO Charles Nyirenda expressed disappointment to KickOff.com but at the same time said he hoped that things would work out well.
“We are waiting for the response from the Minister of Sports, Vuwa Kaunda, who is the one we talk to so that we are sure of what is going to happen. We are optimistic that all will be well before the end of the day so that the team can fly to South Africa,” Nyirenda said.
Ironically, Malawi government gave R250 (K5 000.00) to each of the 30 Under-17 national team players over the weekend after the team was ousted by Namibia from the CAF Africa Youth Championship.
Malawi is Group C of the Cosafa tournament, together with Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mauritius.
The winners of this group meet winners in Group A where South Africa is with Zambia, Lesotho and Seychelles.
Information gathered by KickOff.com is that FAM has asked for funds from government.
The team is scheduled to link up with the other contestants in Kimberley today (Thursday) ahead of the kick off on Friday.
FAM’s CEO Charles Nyirenda expressed disappointment to KickOff.com but at the same time said he hoped that things would work out well.
“We are waiting for the response from the Minister of Sports, Vuwa Kaunda, who is the one we talk to so that we are sure of what is going to happen. We are optimistic that all will be well before the end of the day so that the team can fly to South Africa,” Nyirenda said.
Ironically, Malawi government gave R250 (K5 000.00) to each of the 30 Under-17 national team players over the weekend after the team was ousted by Namibia from the CAF Africa Youth Championship.
Malawi is Group C of the Cosafa tournament, together with Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mauritius.
The winners of this group meet winners in Group A where South Africa is with Zambia, Lesotho and Seychelles.
Malawi hunger solved with subsidies, not food aid
Stephanie Gosk and Yuka Tachibana's report airs tonight on the broadcast. It is part of a series this week "Against the Grain," focusing on food crises around the world.
KASUNGU, Malawi – Beads of sweat trickled down Emilie Chawala’s forehead. She was working in her cornfield where the temperature had reached 90 F – October is the hottest month of the year in Malawi.
This year’s harvest is expected to be a far cry from what Malawians call the “crisis.” In 2002 and again in 2005, the country was hit by bouts of severe drought which culminated in catastrophic food shortages and deadly hunger. Nearly a third of the population was left severely malnourished. Dozens of villages reported people dying of starvation. The government was forced to import expensive corn and appeal to neighboring countries for food.
“Those were sad times,” Chawala said. “We only ate once a day. The children couldn’t go to school because we all had to forage for food. We ate a lot of banana roots. Many people died, it was only chance that God spared us.”
After the “crisis” of 2005, the Malawian government launched a bold and costly program which aimed to rid the country of the vicious cycle of drought and hunger.
No more empty stomachs
The government began a subsidy program for small-scale farmers, providing them with fertilizers and high-tech seeds at roughly 15 percent of the market cost – the fertilizers and seeds were required for a more productive and resilient crop. The scheme cost the Malawian government $60 million, a huge amount for one of the poorest countries in the world where the average annual income is only $250.
Malawi’s major donors, including the World Bank, European Union and the United States balked and warned Malawi to reconsider. They claimed that such large-scale subsidies would cripple the economy. But the government went ahead.
“We knew it was right,” Dr. Jeff Luhanga, who oversees the subsidy program at Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture told us. “They were wrong, and we had seen the suffering. You look at hungry 67faces and it’s not comforting. And food aid is very disempowering. Food aid is, if you need it yes, you do, but yes, it’s humiliating. I wouldn’t want to wake up every morning looking for food for my children. It creates a culture of dependence which should not be.”
When the subsidy program was launched, Chawala received a small share of fertilizer and seeds, enough to cultivate her small plot. When harvest time came, she had a bumper crop, and it provided her with more than enough corn to feed her family of 10. Her children no longer had to forage for food, so they were able to go back to school.
“We don’t have to go to sleep with empty stomachs anymore,” she said.
‘Proud to be a self-sustained country’
Like Chawala, farmers across the country took advantage of the subsidy program. Also aided with a healthy dose of rain, Malawi’s corn yields soared to a record high. The culture of hunger and dependence was transformed into one of pride for its self-sustainable farming.
Image: Dina Kapisa at her shop“I feel so proud to be a self-sustained country,” Dinna Kapisa, a shop owner told us.
Not only did the bumper crop fill people’s stomachs, it had a direct effect on Malawi’s economy.
Once farmers sold their surplus crop for cash, they were able to buy new clothes and cell phones, or fertilizers and seeds at market value and expand their farming.
Kapisa’s shop, in the small and dusty town of Mplonena, was buzzing with farmers who had come to purchase supplies. Rain will start falling in early November, and that’s when the next planting season begins. The government’s subsidy vouchers haven’t been circulated yet, but farmers in Kapisa’s shop had enough money to buy seeds and fertilizers at market value.
Kapisa is an “agro dealer” – meaning that she sells farm supplies to poor farmers in remote areas. A non-governmental organization called Citizen’s Network for Foreign Affairs (CNFA) helped her open her store by training her in business management and providing her with grants to buy seeds and fertilizers.
They also trained her in some of the technical aspects of the supplies she sells, so that Kapisa could pass on the knowledge to the farmers who frequent her shop. She briefed one of the farmers who had just bought a bag of corn seeds on the merits of planting hybrid seeds.
Before Kapisa’s shop opened, farmers had to trek over 40 miles to buy simple supplies. She is happy not only because her business is thriving now, but also because she can give farmers helpful and valuable advice.
“Most people are preferring to buy their commodities from Agro dealers, because we are able to help them,” Kapisa explained. “Some have built new houses, people are sending their children to school.”
She said government subsidies acted as a real kick start for the farmers. “Since they have been empowered through the subsidy program people now have food and are able to work,” she said.
“You know, a hungry person is an angry man. So when you have food in the house, your dignity is preserved. But when you don’t have food, you don’t have money – then you are a useless creature. And even for that matter the country is useless. And if you empower a small farmer at a grassroots level, then the government will be economically stable. That’s the way I look at it.”
Lunchtime for everyone
Back at Chawala’s cornfield, it was lunchtime for her family. There wasn’t enough time to go home for lunch, so she cooked her meal in a shady and breezy spot underneath a spreading tree.
Today’s menu: cooked greens and tomatoes, some fried eggs, and the Malawian staple, a sticky porridge made of cornmeal and water.
By the time the porridge was ready, her elderly mother, sons, daughters and grandchildren had gathered under the tree.
There are now about 12 hungry mouths to feed. No sweat for Chawala – there was plenty to go around.
“Happy, happy, happy”, she said. “I am very happy now, I can even look after two orphans. I have enough food and I am ready to take in more orphans.”
KASUNGU, Malawi – Beads of sweat trickled down Emilie Chawala’s forehead. She was working in her cornfield where the temperature had reached 90 F – October is the hottest month of the year in Malawi.
This year’s harvest is expected to be a far cry from what Malawians call the “crisis.” In 2002 and again in 2005, the country was hit by bouts of severe drought which culminated in catastrophic food shortages and deadly hunger. Nearly a third of the population was left severely malnourished. Dozens of villages reported people dying of starvation. The government was forced to import expensive corn and appeal to neighboring countries for food.
“Those were sad times,” Chawala said. “We only ate once a day. The children couldn’t go to school because we all had to forage for food. We ate a lot of banana roots. Many people died, it was only chance that God spared us.”
After the “crisis” of 2005, the Malawian government launched a bold and costly program which aimed to rid the country of the vicious cycle of drought and hunger.
No more empty stomachs
The government began a subsidy program for small-scale farmers, providing them with fertilizers and high-tech seeds at roughly 15 percent of the market cost – the fertilizers and seeds were required for a more productive and resilient crop. The scheme cost the Malawian government $60 million, a huge amount for one of the poorest countries in the world where the average annual income is only $250.
Malawi’s major donors, including the World Bank, European Union and the United States balked and warned Malawi to reconsider. They claimed that such large-scale subsidies would cripple the economy. But the government went ahead.
“We knew it was right,” Dr. Jeff Luhanga, who oversees the subsidy program at Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture told us. “They were wrong, and we had seen the suffering. You look at hungry 67faces and it’s not comforting. And food aid is very disempowering. Food aid is, if you need it yes, you do, but yes, it’s humiliating. I wouldn’t want to wake up every morning looking for food for my children. It creates a culture of dependence which should not be.”
When the subsidy program was launched, Chawala received a small share of fertilizer and seeds, enough to cultivate her small plot. When harvest time came, she had a bumper crop, and it provided her with more than enough corn to feed her family of 10. Her children no longer had to forage for food, so they were able to go back to school.
“We don’t have to go to sleep with empty stomachs anymore,” she said.
‘Proud to be a self-sustained country’
Like Chawala, farmers across the country took advantage of the subsidy program. Also aided with a healthy dose of rain, Malawi’s corn yields soared to a record high. The culture of hunger and dependence was transformed into one of pride for its self-sustainable farming.
Image: Dina Kapisa at her shop“I feel so proud to be a self-sustained country,” Dinna Kapisa, a shop owner told us.
Not only did the bumper crop fill people’s stomachs, it had a direct effect on Malawi’s economy.
Once farmers sold their surplus crop for cash, they were able to buy new clothes and cell phones, or fertilizers and seeds at market value and expand their farming.
Kapisa’s shop, in the small and dusty town of Mplonena, was buzzing with farmers who had come to purchase supplies. Rain will start falling in early November, and that’s when the next planting season begins. The government’s subsidy vouchers haven’t been circulated yet, but farmers in Kapisa’s shop had enough money to buy seeds and fertilizers at market value.
Kapisa is an “agro dealer” – meaning that she sells farm supplies to poor farmers in remote areas. A non-governmental organization called Citizen’s Network for Foreign Affairs (CNFA) helped her open her store by training her in business management and providing her with grants to buy seeds and fertilizers.
They also trained her in some of the technical aspects of the supplies she sells, so that Kapisa could pass on the knowledge to the farmers who frequent her shop. She briefed one of the farmers who had just bought a bag of corn seeds on the merits of planting hybrid seeds.
Before Kapisa’s shop opened, farmers had to trek over 40 miles to buy simple supplies. She is happy not only because her business is thriving now, but also because she can give farmers helpful and valuable advice.
“Most people are preferring to buy their commodities from Agro dealers, because we are able to help them,” Kapisa explained. “Some have built new houses, people are sending their children to school.”
She said government subsidies acted as a real kick start for the farmers. “Since they have been empowered through the subsidy program people now have food and are able to work,” she said.
“You know, a hungry person is an angry man. So when you have food in the house, your dignity is preserved. But when you don’t have food, you don’t have money – then you are a useless creature. And even for that matter the country is useless. And if you empower a small farmer at a grassroots level, then the government will be economically stable. That’s the way I look at it.”
Lunchtime for everyone
Back at Chawala’s cornfield, it was lunchtime for her family. There wasn’t enough time to go home for lunch, so she cooked her meal in a shady and breezy spot underneath a spreading tree.
Today’s menu: cooked greens and tomatoes, some fried eggs, and the Malawian staple, a sticky porridge made of cornmeal and water.
By the time the porridge was ready, her elderly mother, sons, daughters and grandchildren had gathered under the tree.
There are now about 12 hungry mouths to feed. No sweat for Chawala – there was plenty to go around.
“Happy, happy, happy”, she said. “I am very happy now, I can even look after two orphans. I have enough food and I am ready to take in more orphans.”
The land of my African boyhood lives on
My hunch is that the old, gentler Zimbabwe will resurface.
To Malawi, to see the work of one of the charities in The Times's Christmas Appeal - about which I hope you will read soon. Malawi is a welcoming country where many talented Zimbabweans find a temporary perch. I spoke to a number, and compared the Zimbabwe they described with the Southern Rhodesia I remember from my boyhood, and to which I dare not return. And, funny this, although ghastly things have happened to the country and its people, I sense that in spirit Zimbabwe has not changed as much as you would expect. Even physically, it sounds relatively intact.
When my family lived there we always believed that Rhodesia had a better chance of a harmonious, multi-community future than its neighbour, South Africa. And even in a week in which cholera is reported to be on the march, in my bones I still believe that. For all Ian Smith's stupid, self-defeating attempt to block multiracial progress, there was never the cruelty or harshness, never the vicious doctrinal racism, never the bitterness that you encountered when you crossed the Limpopo going south at Beit Bridge. Education spread wider and deeper. Manners were better, people gentler. There was no white underclass.
Robert Mugabe is a mad, dangerous old man, and some of his political henchmen are thugs, but my hunch - and it's only a hunch - is that beneath all that, the old Zimbabwe is still there. And will resurface.
Background
* Vampire mania haunts hungry villages of Malawi
* Is it safe to swim in Lake Malawi?
* Malawi: Africa made easy
* Journey to the Lake of Stars festival
A distant echo
Listening to the English spoken in the former British territories in the sub-Sahara, and in the West Indies (where my family also lived), one becomes aware of the ghosts of history within the language. In Malawi and East Africa, Africans exclaim “I say!” to get attention. One can almost picture the pith helmet and cane. All over southern Africa you hear the interrogative “isn't it?” (as in “You're hungry, isn't it?”) that Afrikaners in South Africa used when speaking English. And Jamaicans still spit out the dismissive “cho!” (as the patois is written): the old Elizabethan and Restoration “pshaw”, long dead in England.
Missionary education, too, has shaped the suddenly formal English of Africa. The Malawi Government is running a big road-safety poster campaign: “OBSERVE THE SPEED LIMITS!”
Breakfast in America
Returning to Britain, I watched a recording of Gordon Brown's interview on the BBC Politics Show on Sunday. His behaviour becomes stranger by the day.
He has taken to grunting “It started in America” at regular intervals, sometimes in defiance of context - rather like Lady Macbeth's trance-like “out, out, damned spot”.
I have the transcript. By only his second sentence, the Prime Minister is lurching into “we've had a banking crisis which started in America; makes me incredibly angry about what happened...”.
Then (quite unprompted by anything his interviewer, Jon Sopel had said): “This is an international crisis that has not been generated in Britain”, after which “this is an international crisis, it's global, it started in America. We've had very little control” - and, a little later, in case we're missing the point, “and what caused it was not something that happened in Britain”.
By now he's out of control: “Well I, I've been angry about the behaviour of banks, starting with the sub-prime market in America...” - and just for the avoidance of doubt, “The inflation and the problems we had, were not generated themselves in Britain. I think everybody understands, even the Americans...”
Finally, summing up, as it were: “I don't think it really helps the debate if you say that this is not a global problem that started globally.”
There, there, Gordon, nobody was saying that.
Breakfast at Downing Street must be quite a trial for Sarah as her husband crashes around the kitchen.
“Oh Gordon, you've burnt the toast.”
“It started in America. We've had very little control.”
“Could you pass the milk, darling?”
“It's global. It started in America.”
“As you wish, Gordon. Wheaties or Coco-Pops?”
“I don't think it really helps the debate if you say that this is not a global problem that started globally.”
Labour in vain
Home from Heathrow just in time to hear a distressing first on the BBC Today programme. Hazel Blears was actually faded out. While still speaking. I nearly dropped the marmalade.
In the old days they would have tried politely to hurry her along, but yesterday, as Ms Blears twittered happy thoughts about new Labour's many achievements, they just turned off her mike. And she had only reached about the eleventh achievement.
Poor Hazel. It was brutal. Forget Monday's mini-Budget. Wednesday was truly the day that new Labour died.
To Malawi, to see the work of one of the charities in The Times's Christmas Appeal - about which I hope you will read soon. Malawi is a welcoming country where many talented Zimbabweans find a temporary perch. I spoke to a number, and compared the Zimbabwe they described with the Southern Rhodesia I remember from my boyhood, and to which I dare not return. And, funny this, although ghastly things have happened to the country and its people, I sense that in spirit Zimbabwe has not changed as much as you would expect. Even physically, it sounds relatively intact.
When my family lived there we always believed that Rhodesia had a better chance of a harmonious, multi-community future than its neighbour, South Africa. And even in a week in which cholera is reported to be on the march, in my bones I still believe that. For all Ian Smith's stupid, self-defeating attempt to block multiracial progress, there was never the cruelty or harshness, never the vicious doctrinal racism, never the bitterness that you encountered when you crossed the Limpopo going south at Beit Bridge. Education spread wider and deeper. Manners were better, people gentler. There was no white underclass.
Robert Mugabe is a mad, dangerous old man, and some of his political henchmen are thugs, but my hunch - and it's only a hunch - is that beneath all that, the old Zimbabwe is still there. And will resurface.
Background
* Vampire mania haunts hungry villages of Malawi
* Is it safe to swim in Lake Malawi?
* Malawi: Africa made easy
* Journey to the Lake of Stars festival
A distant echo
Listening to the English spoken in the former British territories in the sub-Sahara, and in the West Indies (where my family also lived), one becomes aware of the ghosts of history within the language. In Malawi and East Africa, Africans exclaim “I say!” to get attention. One can almost picture the pith helmet and cane. All over southern Africa you hear the interrogative “isn't it?” (as in “You're hungry, isn't it?”) that Afrikaners in South Africa used when speaking English. And Jamaicans still spit out the dismissive “cho!” (as the patois is written): the old Elizabethan and Restoration “pshaw”, long dead in England.
Missionary education, too, has shaped the suddenly formal English of Africa. The Malawi Government is running a big road-safety poster campaign: “OBSERVE THE SPEED LIMITS!”
Breakfast in America
Returning to Britain, I watched a recording of Gordon Brown's interview on the BBC Politics Show on Sunday. His behaviour becomes stranger by the day.
He has taken to grunting “It started in America” at regular intervals, sometimes in defiance of context - rather like Lady Macbeth's trance-like “out, out, damned spot”.
I have the transcript. By only his second sentence, the Prime Minister is lurching into “we've had a banking crisis which started in America; makes me incredibly angry about what happened...”.
Then (quite unprompted by anything his interviewer, Jon Sopel had said): “This is an international crisis that has not been generated in Britain”, after which “this is an international crisis, it's global, it started in America. We've had very little control” - and, a little later, in case we're missing the point, “and what caused it was not something that happened in Britain”.
By now he's out of control: “Well I, I've been angry about the behaviour of banks, starting with the sub-prime market in America...” - and just for the avoidance of doubt, “The inflation and the problems we had, were not generated themselves in Britain. I think everybody understands, even the Americans...”
Finally, summing up, as it were: “I don't think it really helps the debate if you say that this is not a global problem that started globally.”
There, there, Gordon, nobody was saying that.
Breakfast at Downing Street must be quite a trial for Sarah as her husband crashes around the kitchen.
“Oh Gordon, you've burnt the toast.”
“It started in America. We've had very little control.”
“Could you pass the milk, darling?”
“It's global. It started in America.”
“As you wish, Gordon. Wheaties or Coco-Pops?”
“I don't think it really helps the debate if you say that this is not a global problem that started globally.”
Labour in vain
Home from Heathrow just in time to hear a distressing first on the BBC Today programme. Hazel Blears was actually faded out. While still speaking. I nearly dropped the marmalade.
In the old days they would have tried politely to hurry her along, but yesterday, as Ms Blears twittered happy thoughts about new Labour's many achievements, they just turned off her mike. And she had only reached about the eleventh achievement.
Poor Hazel. It was brutal. Forget Monday's mini-Budget. Wednesday was truly the day that new Labour died.
Malawian visitor teaches pupils about fair play
FOR the past three and a half years, Maerdy Junior School has had a special guest teacher.
Lotan Matewere is originally from the African country Malawi and, through the local Christian organisation Sporting Marvels, he travelled to the Rhondda to work with a number of local schools, including teaching the Maerdy pupils basketball and about moral values in sport.
The school considered him an important resource and wanted to involve him in more activities, and so the decision was taken to begin studying his home country.
Teachers and children from Years 3 and 4 alike began researching to gather as much information about the small country as possible, including its location, culture and nature. It is located in southern Africa, bordering Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia and is a very mountainous area.
It is not much smaller than England and has a total population of about 14 million. However, it is a very poor country, one of the poorest in Africa.
Lotan was involved in the research and was on hand to give first hand information about his home land.
At harvest time it was decided to donate aid to the country. Schools in Malawi have recently been affected by flooding and Maerdy pupils were offered the chance to send their donation to help the Malawian children.
They agreed, and went on to collect £80, along with a large set of maths books.
They hope this will go a little way to help children less fortunate than themselves and everyone at the school wants to thank Lotan for his generosity with his time in helping the children with their projects.
Lotan Matewere is originally from the African country Malawi and, through the local Christian organisation Sporting Marvels, he travelled to the Rhondda to work with a number of local schools, including teaching the Maerdy pupils basketball and about moral values in sport.
The school considered him an important resource and wanted to involve him in more activities, and so the decision was taken to begin studying his home country.
Teachers and children from Years 3 and 4 alike began researching to gather as much information about the small country as possible, including its location, culture and nature. It is located in southern Africa, bordering Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia and is a very mountainous area.
It is not much smaller than England and has a total population of about 14 million. However, it is a very poor country, one of the poorest in Africa.
Lotan was involved in the research and was on hand to give first hand information about his home land.
At harvest time it was decided to donate aid to the country. Schools in Malawi have recently been affected by flooding and Maerdy pupils were offered the chance to send their donation to help the Malawian children.
They agreed, and went on to collect £80, along with a large set of maths books.
They hope this will go a little way to help children less fortunate than themselves and everyone at the school wants to thank Lotan for his generosity with his time in helping the children with their projects.
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