The president of Malawi, Bingu Wa Mutarika, last week renewed his government’s commitment to building an oil pipeline linking the Mozambican port of Beira to Nsanje, with a view to regularly supplying fuel to Malawi.
According to Rádio Moçambique, the president, who was speaking at the inaugural session of the Malawi parliament following general elections in May, said that the project aimed also to build a storage facility in Nsanje, thus allowing Malawi to store enough fuel for a three-month supply, a compared with two weeks currently.
In 2008 some regions of Malawi, including the capital Lilongwe, were subjected to restrictions in the supply of fuel due to constantly running out of stocks, which affected the sustainability of the Malawian economy.
Preliminary studies project the cost of construction of the Beira-Nsanje pipeline at US$150 million and the project may be funded by Venessia Petroleum, a Qatar-based oil company that is preparing to carry out feasibility and engineering surveys for the project.
With the construction of the oil pipeline, Malawi will have enough fuel in the country and at competitive prices unlike what is currently the case.
Malwi is supplied with fuel by road from the port of Beira or from Dar-Es-Salaam in Tanzania, although the Nacala corridor is another alternative supply route.
The Malwian parliament, which began working Tuesday, is also expecetd to approve a loan of US$48 million from the World Banki to implement the project to interlink the electricity grids of Malawi and Mozambique via the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Dam (HCB) in Tete province, which is considered to be the best option to bring na end to the country’s energy crisis. (macauhub)
Monday, 29 June 2009
Haen Elementary students collect hygiene products for Malawi village
KAUKAUNA — Fourth-grader Lucy Kailhofer smiled as she sealed a plastic bag containing a toothbrush, washcloth and bar of soap headed for Malawi, Africa.
Advertisement
Click here to sign up for news, weather and sports text alerts.
Then, remembering there was more work to be done, Kailhofer quickly grabbed another packet from a table at Haen Elementary School's library, moving in assembly line-fashion with her classmates.
Principal Eric Brinkmann will deliver the bags stuffed with personal hygiene items to residents of Funsani, a village of 500 people, when he makes his second trip to the central Malawian location on July 28.
"It's really good to volunteer," said Kailhofer, 10, who lives in Kaukauna. "It makes you feel better. You don't know how good it is to have this stuff until you don't have anything."
Brinkmann, who will travel with a team from Spring Lake Church in Green Bay, decided to get students involved in collecting items for Funsani residents to reinforce the character traits youngsters learned during the school year.
Residents of Funsani lack access to medical care, which means conditions like ear infections easily treated in the United States escalate to hearing loss because the closest clinic is 45 minutes by vehicle.
"Most of them don't have access to a vehicle, so it could be a full day of walking to get there," said Brinkmann, who recently was named the district's director of curriculum, instruction and assessment. "We do a lot of walk-in clinics. We're able to treat some of those (conditions) with a short course of antibiotics."
A nurse who traveled to Malawi last year suggested that the church group bring along hygiene packets to help prevent infections. The packets will be distributed when the church group conducts home visits.
Brinkmann said he is looking forward to being part of the church's team again this year and is grateful for the opportunity.
"Outside of getting married and having kids, it's probably the third-greatest experience of my life," he said.
Advertisement
Click here to sign up for news, weather and sports text alerts.
Then, remembering there was more work to be done, Kailhofer quickly grabbed another packet from a table at Haen Elementary School's library, moving in assembly line-fashion with her classmates.
Principal Eric Brinkmann will deliver the bags stuffed with personal hygiene items to residents of Funsani, a village of 500 people, when he makes his second trip to the central Malawian location on July 28.
"It's really good to volunteer," said Kailhofer, 10, who lives in Kaukauna. "It makes you feel better. You don't know how good it is to have this stuff until you don't have anything."
Brinkmann, who will travel with a team from Spring Lake Church in Green Bay, decided to get students involved in collecting items for Funsani residents to reinforce the character traits youngsters learned during the school year.
Residents of Funsani lack access to medical care, which means conditions like ear infections easily treated in the United States escalate to hearing loss because the closest clinic is 45 minutes by vehicle.
"Most of them don't have access to a vehicle, so it could be a full day of walking to get there," said Brinkmann, who recently was named the district's director of curriculum, instruction and assessment. "We do a lot of walk-in clinics. We're able to treat some of those (conditions) with a short course of antibiotics."
A nurse who traveled to Malawi last year suggested that the church group bring along hygiene packets to help prevent infections. The packets will be distributed when the church group conducts home visits.
Brinkmann said he is looking forward to being part of the church's team again this year and is grateful for the opportunity.
"Outside of getting married and having kids, it's probably the third-greatest experience of my life," he said.
Nannies Saving Orphans
Marie Da Silva was born in Malawi, a small nation in southeast Africa. The majority of the 13 million Malawian people reside in rural areas that produce tobacco, tea, maize and sugar cane. For the past 16 years, Da Silva has worked in the United States as a nanny. In 2002, during a visit to her home village, she met with the teachers and students of a small school residing in a church. A year later, she discovered the school had to move out of the church and had nowhere to go. Marie's late mother offered her home as the new facility.
In 1994, the Malawian government introduced the "Free Primary Education Program," but despite their efforts, only 40 percent of children complete their Primary education and 90 percent of teenagers can't afford to go to secondary school. More than half of the children -- 1.4 million -- are orphans because of AIDS. Malawi is among the 10 countries most hit by the pandemic. Fourteen percent of Malawian adults are infected with HIV. Da Silva herself knows first hand the devastating effects it can have. Fourteen members of her immediate family have died of AIDS, including her father, brothers and nieces and nephews.
JACARANDA FOUNDATION: For the past five years, Da Silva has sent $1,000 of what she earns from her nanny salary every month to Malawi to pay the teachers' wages. The school has grown from 60 children in 2003 to 230 current students, ages 6 to 20. The bedrooms and living room serve as study rooms while the kitchen is the headmaster's office and the garage is a classroom.
In late 2005, Da Silva founded the Jacaranda Foundation to raise awareness of the orphans' plight. The goal of the non-profit is to build and manage schools for AIDS orphans in Malawi. Their first project -- to construct a facility for the original Jacaranda school that has operated out of Da Silva's family home. This past summer, the foundation was able to build a secondary school to accommodate 120 more students, bringing the total to 350. The inaugural class entered the school in January 2009. Marie's family house will remain as the primary school.
In 1994, the Malawian government introduced the "Free Primary Education Program," but despite their efforts, only 40 percent of children complete their Primary education and 90 percent of teenagers can't afford to go to secondary school. More than half of the children -- 1.4 million -- are orphans because of AIDS. Malawi is among the 10 countries most hit by the pandemic. Fourteen percent of Malawian adults are infected with HIV. Da Silva herself knows first hand the devastating effects it can have. Fourteen members of her immediate family have died of AIDS, including her father, brothers and nieces and nephews.
JACARANDA FOUNDATION: For the past five years, Da Silva has sent $1,000 of what she earns from her nanny salary every month to Malawi to pay the teachers' wages. The school has grown from 60 children in 2003 to 230 current students, ages 6 to 20. The bedrooms and living room serve as study rooms while the kitchen is the headmaster's office and the garage is a classroom.
In late 2005, Da Silva founded the Jacaranda Foundation to raise awareness of the orphans' plight. The goal of the non-profit is to build and manage schools for AIDS orphans in Malawi. Their first project -- to construct a facility for the original Jacaranda school that has operated out of Da Silva's family home. This past summer, the foundation was able to build a secondary school to accommodate 120 more students, bringing the total to 350. The inaugural class entered the school in January 2009. Marie's family house will remain as the primary school.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
