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In 2008 Chikwawa area, in the Lower Shire Valley suffered significant and devastating flooding. Many families were forced to flee their homes and live in camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). AYISE was funded by UNICEF to conduct an assessment of the conditions at these camps and to begin to address any problems. The project covered the following of AYISE's core areas:
- Child Protection - these camps are not uncommon in Malawi and unscrupulous people are aware that children in these camps may be unaccompanied. Thus there is a strong risk of child trafficking and child abuse. Regardless of these unscrupulous individuals, unaccompanied children at these camps are vulnerable and must be properly cared for.
- HIV and AIDS - young women and girls at these camps are at risk of rape, which increases their vulnerability to HIV and AIDS.
- Gender - as above, these camps can be under-protected by the law, and so violence against women, and rape, can be major issues
- Human Rights - as above
- Education - it is common for the children who are housed in the IDP camps to have little access to education due either to a genuine lack of provision, or a lack of awareness of education services available to them (this problem can be exaggerated when the child is unaccompanied by parents, and so lacks guidance)
- Environment and Sanitation - the camps have variable degrees of sanitation, on some occasions, inadequate
AYISE's work highlighted the extent of these problems, motivating action from the camp organisers.
The Issues - click here to read more
- Child Protection - these camps are not uncommon in Malawi and unscrupulous people are aware that children in these camps may be unaccompanied. Thus there is a strong risk of child trafficking and child abuse. Regardless of these unscrupulous individuals, unaccompanied children at these camps are vulnerable and must be properly cared for.
- HIV and AIDS - young women and girls at these camps are at risk of rape, which increases their vulnerability to HIV and AIDS.
- Gender - as above, these camps can be under-protected by the law, and so violence against women, and rape, can be major issues
- Human Rights - as above
- Education - it is common for the children who are housed in the IDP camps to have little access to education due either to a genuine lack of provision, or a lack of awareness of education services available to them (this problem can be exaggerated when the child is unaccompanied by parents, and so lacks guidance)
- Environment and Sanitation - the camps have variable degrees of sanitation, on some occasions, inadequate
The Project - click here to read more
 
The general objective of the assessment was to conduct a detailed, disaggregated assessment of each camp of IDPs. The assessment was to include registration of the IDPs including:
- details of place of origin;
- age;
- sex;
- status as orphan, unaccompanied child or child with parents;
- total number of children;
- number of children going to school and their ages;
- opportunities of school;
- number of children involved in casual labour;
- and the number of children in separated families.
Further, the assessment also investigated if the environment was safe, especially for women, in terms of hygienic latrines, child friendly spaces, cases of child abuse, child trafficking, exploitation, availability of early childhood care, psychosocial and emotional support.
The first action AYISE took was to design a data collection form to capture all the above information.
The Outcomes and Findings - click here to read more
In Chikwawa, the assessment was conducted in the following camps:
- GVH Mazongoza in T/A Mankhuwira
- GVH Masanduko in T/A Ngabu
- GVH Mwananjobvu in T/A Ngowe
- Linga / Nsomo in T/A Ngowe
- Nkhwazi in T/A Ngabu
Other places also affected were Sekeni, Dzilonzo and Mafale in T/A Lundu.
Seven schools in Chikwawa were affected with the floods as people found refuge in the classroom, some were destroyed while others stood isolated and inaccessible, surrounded by water.
- In Nsanje the affected people camped at Bitilinyu in T/A Ndamera,
- Magulugulu in T/A Malemia,
- Kadyamba in T/A Mbenje
- Osiyana in T/A Mlolo
The affected schools were:
- Chikali, Chikonde, Mkahanga, Muona, and Thangazi in T/A Mlolo
- Ndione, Nansongole and Kapalakonje in T/A Malemia
- and in T/A Thangadzi Mbenje school was also affected.
The detailed assessment report collected the following data for Nsanje and Chikwawa combined;
ITEM |
TOTAL NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS |
TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN |
TOTAL NUMBER OF ADULTS (18-49) |
TOTAL NUMBER OF THE AGED (50 & ABOVE |
TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
2985 |
2110 |
2953 |
922 |
1184 |
411 |
545 |
4682 |
3443 |
TOTAL |
|
5063 |
2106 |
956 |
8125 |
The report also produced detailed, disaggregated demographic information including the number of children and their social status in all the 9 camps that were visited during the assessment period.
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