By Emmanuel Simpokolwe:
Moroccan Ambassador to Malawi, Abdelkader Naji, has commended CorpsAfrica Malawi for its contribution to the socio-economic development of the country.
Naji made these remarks during the CorpsAfrica Soiree in Lilongwe.
He said that CorpsAfrica, a youth-driven organisation operating in eight countries across Africa, is very appropriate and needed in Malawi as it drives development in various sectors.
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According to Naji, it is crucial for all governments in Africa to empower the youth, as they are the future of the continent.
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“The future of the continent lies in the youth, so they need all the necessary support,” he said.
CorpsAfrica Malawi is a volunteer organisation that recruits young Malawian graduates, who are then placed in rural, high-poverty communities within their own country for 11 months.
During this period, they identify and address complex local needs in sectors such as education, health and agriculture.
Chief Advisor to the President on Foreign Direct Investment and Financial Services, Ben Wandawanda, praised the CorpsAfrica Malawi approach, saying it fosters a sense of ownership as the community participates in the projects within their localities.
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According to Wandawanda, the programme provides graduates with exposure to an environment where they gain firsthand experience of what needs to be done to help communities uplift themselves.
“What is also significant about this approach is that the communities identify their needs and CorpsAfrica comes in to support and improve service delivery for those needs,” he said.
He added that most projects do not require significant resources because the labour component is often provided by the community.
CorpsAfrica Malawi’s Partnerships and Philanthropy Officer, Edington Wa Kavuli, said that everyone is an agent of change.
“If all communities adopt this approach, it means they will be able to solve their own problems,” he said.
He added that CorpsAfrica Malawi believes that the youth have the capacity to build the Malawi they need by training young graduates to gain skills that enable them to integrate into the communities.
CorpsAfrica was founded in 2011 by former Peace Corps volunteers, with the aim of celebrating and building on the success of the Peace Corps by offering a similar transformative experience to emerging leaders in Africa.
It currently operates in eight countries namely, Malawi, Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Gambia and Rwanda.
