Upgrade a Fish Farming Pond in Malawi
Your support in Captive Fisheries for Income and Strengthened Households (C-FISH) program can help empower poor women fish farmers and female-headed households in southern Malawi who have access to ponds or dams that are underutilized or in disuse. These women will work technical experts to repair and “makeover” their ponds in order to create conditions for improved production. Participating women will be expected to make co-investments of labor and material. Your gift will allow Project Concern International to provide the women farmers with high quality inputs necessary to allow them to initiate and sustain production, including fish fingerlings, feed, lime and fertilizer. Women farmers will also be taught basic business management skills, so that they can understand their costs of production and can budget for a profitable operation year after year.
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The Need
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world - with high levels of childhood malnutrition, disease and a life expectancy of only 38 years. The country is also home to great people and natural assets - including the 3rd largest lake in Africa and estimated 9,000 fish ponds. The fishing sector has the ability to contribute significantly to the country’s economy, currently providing 300,000 to 450,000 jobs, 4% of gross domestic product (GDP) and, until recently, the majority of the animal protein consumed by Malawi's poor was from fish. However, as a result of over-fishing and poor conservation practices, the productivity of small holder and commercial fishing on major lakes and river systems in Malawi has declined more than 37% over the past 30 years. Although only 10% of fish farmers in Malawi are women, an increasing number of households in Malawi are being led by women, due in large part to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Women are more likely to take responsibility for orphans and the care of chronically ill family members, therefore the economic burden on female-led households is great. The need to promote the economic empowerment of women in Malawi is critical, for economic and household food security reasons, but also because women are most likely to translate any increase in household income into education, nutrition and healthcare for their families.
About Project Concern International
Partner since April, 2010
Motivated by our concern for the world’s most vulnerable children, families and communities, Project Concern International’s (PCI) mission is to prevent disease, improve community health and promote sustainable development. We envision a world where abundant resources are shared, communities are able to provide for the health and well being of their members, and children and families can achieve lives of hope, good health and self-sufficiency. PCI is a non-governmental, non-profit, international public health and humanitarian assistance organization that has promoted community health and development worldwide since 1961.
PCI’s approach is integrated, holistic and person centered. Rather than targeting activities to respond to one or two specific issues within a community, PCI's programs work to provide communities with sustained and integrated interventions, which deliver a comprehensive range of services and skills that help them to address their long term health and development needs in a way that empowers them as agents of their own advancement. Currently operating in 16 countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas, PCI reached over 5.5 million people in 2009 with lifesaving programs.
