Update December 2008:
All sand, bricks, stones have been
transported to the site. Bricks were
made on a voluntary basis by the
christians of St Augustine's Parish.
The stones were crushed by hand
(merely using an ordinary hammer!!!)
all done on a voluntary basis. Sand
also was collected by the christians
on a voluntary basis. Only the transport
of the stones, bricks and sand was
paid for. Water too has been piped to the site. The committee has been assured
that the waiver of duty and tax on cement will come early January. The the actual
building will then begin. (The duty and tax waiver on the cement will be
substantial and that is all that we are waiting for now.)
Funds already realised:
Irish Friends in Cork Euro 9,500
Kiltegan Development Fund Euro 15,000
Local Mzuzu Committee MK 72,000 (Euro 350 approx)
Local Mzuzu Committee Many promises of material support, sand etc
Local Mzuzu Committee, see below for description and composition.
1. Introduction:
A group of local leaders around St Augustine's Parish have for some years now been discussing the possibility of constructing a Multipurpose
Hall in the Luwinga Area of Mzuzu City in Northern Malawi. There is no Hall in Luwinga (the north side of Mzuzu City) except the Mzuzu University
Hall which is not easily accessible to the public. The construction of such a Hall is a major task and was just 'beyond us here in Luwinga' until
some friends in Cork, namely Jerry Corkery and James Byrne, offered to help fundraise for it. The local leaders of St Augustines are now
extremely excited about this project.
2. Background Information on Malawi:
Situated in southern Africa, to the east of Zambia, Malawi is ranked 165 on the United Nations Human Development Index (2005) making it one
of the poorest countries in the world. Life expectancy at birth, which had improved from 38 years in 1960 to 48 years in 1987 has now dropped
back to under 40 years. Child mortality is extremely high at 112 per 1,000 births. Malawi, a country which is a little under one and a half times the
size of Ireland, has a population of 11.6 million. Almost 42% of Malawians live on less than one US$ per day and 76% on less than two US$ per
day.
The greatest factor militating against development in Malawi at the present time is the HIV/AIDS pandemic. According to a survey carried out by
the National AIDS Commission of Malawi in 2003, the estimated HIV/AIDS prevalence in adults (15 to 49 years) in Malawi is 14.4%. This means
that there are currently about 760,000 adults infected with HIV, 58% of those infected are women. These 2003 prevalence estimates also
indicate that HIV infection among adults in urban areas is almost twice as high as in rural areas. There are also about 70,000 children under
age 15 with HIV/AIDS. Every year as many as 80,000 people in Malawi are dying from AIDS and another 110,000 new infections occur, many of
these among young people. The implications of the epidemic are very serious. They include:
• Close to 650,000 children under the age of 18 are orphans.
• The death rate for adults 15-49 has tripled since 1990.
• The number of tuberculosis cases is also triple what it would be without AIDS.
Clearly, everyone in Malawi needs to contribute to the national effort to prevent new infections, care for those already infected and mitigate the
consequences of the epidemic.
Another factor militating against development in Malawi is the rising level of corruption at all levels. This too has to be addressed by everyone if
progress is to be made.
3. Background Information on the Luwinga Area in Mzuzu 2:
Mzuzu is the third city of Malawi and is the capital of the Northern Region. The Northern Region has always been considered to be the least
developed part of Malawi and certainly Mzuzu is far behind the other two cities of Lilongwe and Blantyre both in terms of infrastructure and
development opportunities. Mzuzu City itself is divided into two areas, namely Mzuzu 1 on the south side and Mzuzu 2 on the north side. The
Luwinga Area comprises most of Mzuzu 2.
Luwinga is a fast growing area in Mzuzu as the city expands northwards. Certain areas of Luwinga are very popular ‘night spots’ which carry
with them all the negative consequences of such places. Local youth are influenced by the loud music emanating from these places together
with lots of dancing etc. The problem is further compounded by the high numbers of truck drivers, business people, tobacco farmers who ‘night-
over’ at Luwinga’s many rest-houses.
The lack of employment amongst the school leavers and the youth in general, increases the probability that these young people will engage in
sexual relations as a source of money. In addition we have those, who were working in other cities and towns and who are found to be sick with
AIDS, returning to Mzuzu and settling in Luwinga as it is the fastest growing residential area. These circumstances have led to a high incidence
of HIV/AIDS and the associated high death rate results in a high number of orphans. Although we do not have hard figures to support our claim,
we believe that since the year 2000 the number of PLWA (People Living With AIDS) has nearly doubled. Mzuzu City is mentioned in the National
AIDS Commission of Malawi 2003Survey as one of the places of high HIV/AIDS prevalence within Malawi.
4. Addressing some of the above issues:
There are many groups within Luwinga which are trying to address the above issues, e.g. St Augustine’s Home Based Care Group for the past
13 years has been active in trying to ease the suffering of those living with HIV/AIDS, Area 1B Child Day Care Centre and Kanongona Child Day
Care Centre are two well established community efforts to deal with the growth in the number of orphaned children, Dunduzu AIDS Support
Group is a group of 61 people of all ages who have openly declared that they are HIV positive (it is a huge breakthrough for people to come
public about their HIV status as there is a great stigma attached to this disease), St Augustine's AIDS Support Group is also a group of 32
people openly declaring themselves HIV positive, Kwithu, a group of women who cook meals for the elderly, Viyelle Presbyterian Church
HIV/AIDS group, etc. All these groups are voluntary community based efforts.
There are also many efforts in the local primary and secondary schools and in the newly established Mzuzu University to try to make the youth
fully aware of all aspects of this HIV/AIDS pandemic. But even though there are many primary, secondary and even post secondary schools in
the Luwinga Area, it is only Mzuzu University which has a Hall. Mzuzu University being a semi-state body is not easily accessible to the general
public. So in practice the vast area of Luwinga has no Hall where people can congregate for various activities. St Augustine’s Parish would like
to provide the Luwinga community with the facilities associated with a Multipurpose Hall.
Such a Multipurpose Hall would facilitate public and private meetings / gatherings / functions of all kinds and at all levels. In particular it would
help very much in the various advocacy campaigns against corruption in society and against the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In order to
make any real difference in these areas everyone must get involved. A Multipurpose Hall would help to animate the participation of all. Youth are
very keen on drama and drama can be a very powerful tool to get a message across to a large section of society. And so a good stage will be an
essential part of the Hall. The Hall will be used by various groups e.g Youth Clubs, Local Schools, Various Churches, HIV/AIDS Groups, Sports
Clubs/Groups, Drama Groups, etc. Functions/Events which the Hall will host will include: Awareness Campaigns of various types, Drama,
Combined School Examinations, Inter-Schools activities, Church events of various types including Inter-Denominational Meetings / Prayer
Sessions, Youth Events which are monitored by parents e.g. Discos, Graduation Events, Weddings, etc
5. Self Help:
The Hall will be built on a self help basis where the local community will provide raw materials such as burnt bricks, sand and stone as well as
the unskilled labour during construction.
6. Plans for the Hall:
We thank Civil Engineer Mr Sungani Tembo (BSc Engineering) for preparing the following professional plans free of charge.
St. Augustine’s Catholic Parish Fundraising Committee
St. Augustine’s Catholic Parish Fund-raising Committee is a grouping of lay Catholic Professionals within the parish. It comprises both men
and women of different backgrounds but with a vision and calling to assist the church in developmental activities. It works in liaison with the
other church committees with the following mandate;
The committee is currently composed of the following
Activities so far:
Currently, the committee is spearheading a Multi-purpose Hall project for the parish. Friends from Ireland are to provide funds for the
procurement of materials like iron sheets, cement steel wires etc. The committee is mobilising the laity in all the 14 out stations of the parish to
source other construction materials like sand, bricks and quarry stones as their demonstrated commitment to the project.
By March 2008, the committee has managed to mobilise money to cover City Assembly’s scrutiny fees on the plan by its Physical Planning and
Surveys Department.
It is in the process of generating exact Bills of Materials for the hall and so as to inform the laity who will in turn mobilise the materials like bricks,
sand and quarry stone.
In a bid to raise enough money for its other projects, the committee is in a process of conducting a raffle draw. Meanwhile it is contacting
individuals and companies of good will to donate services/products to be used as prizes in the raffle draw. One company in the name of
Cooperate Governance College has since positively responded by offering 2 scholarships. The money so realised from this ruffle draw will go to
the church fence construction project in a bid to enhance security in and around the parish, including the new hall.
The committee can be contacted through the following email address; st.augustinmzuzu@yahoo.co.uk. or the publicity secretary;
edgarbayani@yahoo.co.uk or the commitee chairperson; dakishoni@gmail.com
May God Bless you all!!!
For an update of the position on the ground concerning the Multipurpose
Hall see: Hall Update August 2008
It is planned to build the Multipurpose Hall in five phases. For detailed
costings of these five phases see: The Five Phases
All sand, bricks, stones have been
transported to the site. Bricks were
made on a voluntary basis by the
christians of St Augustine's Parish.
The stones were crushed by hand
(merely using an ordinary hammer!!!)
all done on a voluntary basis. Sand
also was collected by the christians
on a voluntary basis. Only the transport
of the stones, bricks and sand was
paid for. Water too has been piped to the site. The committee has been assured
that the waiver of duty and tax on cement will come early January. The the actual
building will then begin. (The duty and tax waiver on the cement will be
substantial and that is all that we are waiting for now.)
Funds already realised:
Irish Friends in Cork Euro 9,500
Kiltegan Development Fund Euro 15,000
Local Mzuzu Committee MK 72,000 (Euro 350 approx)
Local Mzuzu Committee Many promises of material support, sand etc
Local Mzuzu Committee, see below for description and composition.
1. Introduction:
A group of local leaders around St Augustine's Parish have for some years now been discussing the possibility of constructing a Multipurpose
Hall in the Luwinga Area of Mzuzu City in Northern Malawi. There is no Hall in Luwinga (the north side of Mzuzu City) except the Mzuzu University
Hall which is not easily accessible to the public. The construction of such a Hall is a major task and was just 'beyond us here in Luwinga' until
some friends in Cork, namely Jerry Corkery and James Byrne, offered to help fundraise for it. The local leaders of St Augustines are now
extremely excited about this project.
2. Background Information on Malawi:
Situated in southern Africa, to the east of Zambia, Malawi is ranked 165 on the United Nations Human Development Index (2005) making it one
of the poorest countries in the world. Life expectancy at birth, which had improved from 38 years in 1960 to 48 years in 1987 has now dropped
back to under 40 years. Child mortality is extremely high at 112 per 1,000 births. Malawi, a country which is a little under one and a half times the
size of Ireland, has a population of 11.6 million. Almost 42% of Malawians live on less than one US$ per day and 76% on less than two US$ per
day.
The greatest factor militating against development in Malawi at the present time is the HIV/AIDS pandemic. According to a survey carried out by
the National AIDS Commission of Malawi in 2003, the estimated HIV/AIDS prevalence in adults (15 to 49 years) in Malawi is 14.4%. This means
that there are currently about 760,000 adults infected with HIV, 58% of those infected are women. These 2003 prevalence estimates also
indicate that HIV infection among adults in urban areas is almost twice as high as in rural areas. There are also about 70,000 children under
age 15 with HIV/AIDS. Every year as many as 80,000 people in Malawi are dying from AIDS and another 110,000 new infections occur, many of
these among young people. The implications of the epidemic are very serious. They include:
• Close to 650,000 children under the age of 18 are orphans.
• The death rate for adults 15-49 has tripled since 1990.
• The number of tuberculosis cases is also triple what it would be without AIDS.
Clearly, everyone in Malawi needs to contribute to the national effort to prevent new infections, care for those already infected and mitigate the
consequences of the epidemic.
Another factor militating against development in Malawi is the rising level of corruption at all levels. This too has to be addressed by everyone if
progress is to be made.
3. Background Information on the Luwinga Area in Mzuzu 2:
Mzuzu is the third city of Malawi and is the capital of the Northern Region. The Northern Region has always been considered to be the least
developed part of Malawi and certainly Mzuzu is far behind the other two cities of Lilongwe and Blantyre both in terms of infrastructure and
development opportunities. Mzuzu City itself is divided into two areas, namely Mzuzu 1 on the south side and Mzuzu 2 on the north side. The
Luwinga Area comprises most of Mzuzu 2.
Luwinga is a fast growing area in Mzuzu as the city expands northwards. Certain areas of Luwinga are very popular ‘night spots’ which carry
with them all the negative consequences of such places. Local youth are influenced by the loud music emanating from these places together
with lots of dancing etc. The problem is further compounded by the high numbers of truck drivers, business people, tobacco farmers who ‘night-
over’ at Luwinga’s many rest-houses.
The lack of employment amongst the school leavers and the youth in general, increases the probability that these young people will engage in
sexual relations as a source of money. In addition we have those, who were working in other cities and towns and who are found to be sick with
AIDS, returning to Mzuzu and settling in Luwinga as it is the fastest growing residential area. These circumstances have led to a high incidence
of HIV/AIDS and the associated high death rate results in a high number of orphans. Although we do not have hard figures to support our claim,
we believe that since the year 2000 the number of PLWA (People Living With AIDS) has nearly doubled. Mzuzu City is mentioned in the National
AIDS Commission of Malawi 2003Survey as one of the places of high HIV/AIDS prevalence within Malawi.
4. Addressing some of the above issues:
There are many groups within Luwinga which are trying to address the above issues, e.g. St Augustine’s Home Based Care Group for the past
13 years has been active in trying to ease the suffering of those living with HIV/AIDS, Area 1B Child Day Care Centre and Kanongona Child Day
Care Centre are two well established community efforts to deal with the growth in the number of orphaned children, Dunduzu AIDS Support
Group is a group of 61 people of all ages who have openly declared that they are HIV positive (it is a huge breakthrough for people to come
public about their HIV status as there is a great stigma attached to this disease), St Augustine's AIDS Support Group is also a group of 32
people openly declaring themselves HIV positive, Kwithu, a group of women who cook meals for the elderly, Viyelle Presbyterian Church
HIV/AIDS group, etc. All these groups are voluntary community based efforts.
There are also many efforts in the local primary and secondary schools and in the newly established Mzuzu University to try to make the youth
fully aware of all aspects of this HIV/AIDS pandemic. But even though there are many primary, secondary and even post secondary schools in
the Luwinga Area, it is only Mzuzu University which has a Hall. Mzuzu University being a semi-state body is not easily accessible to the general
public. So in practice the vast area of Luwinga has no Hall where people can congregate for various activities. St Augustine’s Parish would like
to provide the Luwinga community with the facilities associated with a Multipurpose Hall.
Such a Multipurpose Hall would facilitate public and private meetings / gatherings / functions of all kinds and at all levels. In particular it would
help very much in the various advocacy campaigns against corruption in society and against the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In order to
make any real difference in these areas everyone must get involved. A Multipurpose Hall would help to animate the participation of all. Youth are
very keen on drama and drama can be a very powerful tool to get a message across to a large section of society. And so a good stage will be an
essential part of the Hall. The Hall will be used by various groups e.g Youth Clubs, Local Schools, Various Churches, HIV/AIDS Groups, Sports
Clubs/Groups, Drama Groups, etc. Functions/Events which the Hall will host will include: Awareness Campaigns of various types, Drama,
Combined School Examinations, Inter-Schools activities, Church events of various types including Inter-Denominational Meetings / Prayer
Sessions, Youth Events which are monitored by parents e.g. Discos, Graduation Events, Weddings, etc
5. Self Help:
The Hall will be built on a self help basis where the local community will provide raw materials such as burnt bricks, sand and stone as well as
the unskilled labour during construction.
6. Plans for the Hall:
We thank Civil Engineer Mr Sungani Tembo (BSc Engineering) for preparing the following professional plans free of charge.
St. Augustine’s Catholic Parish Fundraising Committee
St. Augustine’s Catholic Parish Fund-raising Committee is a grouping of lay Catholic Professionals within the parish. It comprises both men
and women of different backgrounds but with a vision and calling to assist the church in developmental activities. It works in liaison with the
other church committees with the following mandate;
- Find ways of raising funds for development projects of the church
- Execute projects on behalf of the Development Committee of the Parish Pastoral Council for which they have raised funds
- Mobilise the laity to own church developments by ensuring their active participation in all stages of the project
The committee is currently composed of the following
Activities so far:
Currently, the committee is spearheading a Multi-purpose Hall project for the parish. Friends from Ireland are to provide funds for the
procurement of materials like iron sheets, cement steel wires etc. The committee is mobilising the laity in all the 14 out stations of the parish to
source other construction materials like sand, bricks and quarry stones as their demonstrated commitment to the project.
By March 2008, the committee has managed to mobilise money to cover City Assembly’s scrutiny fees on the plan by its Physical Planning and
Surveys Department.
It is in the process of generating exact Bills of Materials for the hall and so as to inform the laity who will in turn mobilise the materials like bricks,
sand and quarry stone.
In a bid to raise enough money for its other projects, the committee is in a process of conducting a raffle draw. Meanwhile it is contacting
individuals and companies of good will to donate services/products to be used as prizes in the raffle draw. One company in the name of
Cooperate Governance College has since positively responded by offering 2 scholarships. The money so realised from this ruffle draw will go to
the church fence construction project in a bid to enhance security in and around the parish, including the new hall.
The committee can be contacted through the following email address; st.augustinmzuzu@yahoo.co.uk. or the publicity secretary;
edgarbayani@yahoo.co.uk or the commitee chairperson; dakishoni@gmail.com
May God Bless you all!!!
For an update of the position on the ground concerning the Multipurpose
Hall see: Hall Update August 2008
It is planned to build the Multipurpose Hall in five phases. For detailed
costings of these five phases see: The Five Phases
A Multipurpose Hall
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