The Times They are a Changin'

Not long ago, Zimbabwe was the breadbasket of Africa. Recently, the United Nations found Zimbabweans to be among the world’s poorest people, often making mere survival an all-consuming task.
To read more, click here.

Mr. Mugabe, who turned 87 on Monday, and his Zanu PF party have ruled Zimbabwe single-handedly from 1980 until 2009, when regional leaders pressured him into forming a power-sharing government with his longtime political rival, Morgan Tsvangirai. Today, as the world watches the tidal wave of change sweeping Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain and now Libya, a Zanu PF official is quoted as warning “Don’t attempt this, it can’t be done here.” To read more click here.

ASAP Africa has remained committed to empowering families to withstand all sorts of disasters, natural and man-made, since 1994. Your support is appreciated and is needed now more than ever.

In Malawi Neno District Holds 1st VS&L Graduation

by Victor Katchika-Jere
A sight that is becoming traditional to any person who knows about the activities of A Self-help Assistance Program (ASAP) Africa Malawi, yet a sight that one fails to get used to: men and especially women dancing and singing, or smiling broadly for the whole day in a community where there is little to smile let alone laugh about.
Business was brought to a standstill at Feremu area in traditional authority Mlauli in Neno district on Friday, February 11, 2011 as all roads led to Chimbamira primary school grounds where ninety-four VS&L members from ten groups shared among themselves MK 1,300,000 after nine months of disciplined savings mobilization.
“We were very skeptical when we first heard what ASAP Africa Malawi staff was touting as a very beneficial project,” Group Village Headman Feremu recounted his and his subjects’ first reaction to the introduction of the CCP in the area. “But now, we are fully convinced that no better project could have been introduced in my area! Who had the slightest idea that my subjects would be able to save such a whooping sum of money in less than a year?”
The District Commissioner for Neno District Council, Mr Lawford Palani was lost for words. “After everything is said and done I would like to assure ASAP Africa Malawi management that I am their number one fan!” he exclaimed amid applause from the guests and ululation from the women who graced the occasion. Among these were the traditional authority (T/A) Mlauli, Group Village Heads and Village Heads. He then appealed to ASAP Africa Malawi management to expand the CCP project to more areas within the district
Ten groups comprising seventy-eight women and sixteen men shared out MK1, 300, 000 after running their VSL activities since June 2010.
“It is always pleasing and encouraging to see women and men celebrating their achievement with such pomp and style as evidenced here,” the Country Director for ASAP Africa Malawi, Mr Victor Katchika-Jere, said. “This is a demonstration that given the much-needed skills communities can develop confidence that can lead to self-reliance.” He continued: “We appreciate the goodwill the DC and the TA have shown towards ASAP Africa Malawi by gracing this occasion, and also for permitting us to work in this area where there is no other NGO.”
ASAP Africa Malawi currently works in the areas of Group Village Headmen Feremu and Nsalawatha but is fast expanding to other areas of Neno District. The event featured in the main news bulletins on two radio stations with national coverage.

ASAP's Website to be "Hacked"

A team of four software development students, Charles Chen, Charles Naut, Derek Czajka and Sophia Westwood, from Stanford University will be making improvements on ASAP's website as part of the annual Stanford Hackathon this week-end. The talents of these students will help launch ASAP's new Light the Way campaign, making web site additions and improvements for 24 hours. To read more about the other Hackathon projects click here.

Food Insecurity On the Rise in Zimbabwe

The map above shows the prevalence of malnutrition in Zimbabwe in 2003. ASAP Africa works in the Eastern Nyanga and Chimanimani region, both areas on concern during the 2011 "lean season" between now and March. According to the FEWSNET - The Famine Early Warning System and Network - acute malnutrition may also be a problem. The fact that these historically very productive agriculture regions are now at-risk is a grave concern. To read more click here.

ASAP works to help families in Malawi and Zimbabwe increase household food security through Village Savings and Lending rural micro-finance activities along with agriculture skills training such as conservation farming techniques.

SIFE in Zimbabwe

Many in US are familiar with SIFE, Students in Free Enterprise but may not be aware of this groups tremendous global impact.Pictured here, in Mutasa District of Zimbabwe, ASAP Africa VS&L rural savings club members were oriented on financial intelligence by Africa University SIFE students. To learn more about VS&L click here.

Financial intelligence is a simplified accounting module that encourages rural entrepreneurs to keep records of their business transactions. Participants were able to identify and complete sales journal, purchases journal and cash book at the end of the orientation sessions.

The SIFE students have added value to ASAP's 5 year project partnership with CARE. The project’s goal is to protect and to improve the livelihood security of 11,000 households in most disadvantaged areas of Mutasa and Nyanga districts.

To learn more about SIFE click here.

Miracle Tree

This Acacia tree growing in a groundnut field has been shown to provide more than just shade for a farmer in rural Malawi. Referred to as the "fertilizer tree" and "miracle tree" some species of acacia actually improve soil quality. Click here to read more. Faidherbia albida or the apple-ring acacia, is one acacia that has been shown to boost crop yields. In Zambia preliminary research has found that unfertilized maize yields in the vicinity of acacia trees averaged nearly three times those of crops grown nearby but beyond the trees' canopy.Click here to read more.

I Have a Dream

by Martin Luther King, Jr,

Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963. Source: Martin Luther King, Jr: The Peaceful Warrior, Pocket Books, NY 1968

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free.

One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.

So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.

So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights.

The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Zimbabwe Elections Delayed

President Robert Mugabe has angered hardliners in his fractious party by supporting recommendations by his deputy, Joice Mujuru, to shelve the controversial indigenization law and set aside plans to hold elections this year as the succession issue heats up in Zanu PF, The Zimbabwe Standard reported.

Mujuru, who is battling against Mnangangwa to succeed the 86-year-old leader, made the recommendations before the party's Mutare conference last month following consultations with the business community. "The notion was strengthened further when Mujuru attended the swearing in of the Brazilian woman President, Dilma Rousseff last week," said the source.

The sources said Zanu PF hardliners and the Mnangagwa faction pushed for an early election before and during the party's conference last December.

Just before the conference Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe for the past three decades, had vowed that elections would be held before June this year with or without the new constitution.

Although the Mutare conference then resolved to hold elections this year without fail, Mugabe later heeded Mujuru's advice after coming under immense pressure from South African President Jacob Zuma.

Zuma in his capacity as the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) mediator in Zimbabwe is demanding extensive reforms to enable free and fair elections to be held in the country following the inconclusive 2008 polls.

Mugabe made the unusual about-turn after meeting with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur Mutambara soon after the conference, telling the nation that elections would be held after the crafting of the new supreme law.

"When Zanu PF went to the conference, they had two main objectives: Early elections and pushing the indigenization agenda. But talk of both slackened after Mugabe listened to Mujuru's advice. Hardliners are furious that he dumped all they had agreed on in Mutare in favor of Mujuru's recommendations," said one source.

Government has since frozen the controversial indigenisation law after admitting that it is discouraging the badly-needed foreign investment and political observers last week said it was highly unlikely that polls would be held this year, especially with reports emerging that the new constitution can only be finalized later in the year.

2011 - A Year that could Make or Break Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's President Mugabe, 86, and rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were forced into a coalition government two years ago after a disputed 2008 election which had exacerbated a severe economic crisis that had been ongoing since 2000. Neighboring South African President Zuma is helping to chart the course for the upcoming Parliamentary elections to be held in Zimbabwe during 2011. Some say it is highly likely these will be postponed. To read more click here.

Critics say rushed polls without political reforms, including a new constitution guaranteeing basic rights, would only favour Mugabe and ZANU-PF, who have held power since independence from Britain in 1980. Yet allegations of ‘doctoring’ the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed in 2008 remain unresolved.To read more click here.

Mwanza Women Celebrate Self-Reliance

There was joy and earth-shattering celebration at Mwanza Community Ground on 17 December 2010 when 78 women from nine Village Savings and Lending groups who have participating in ASAP Africa Malawi’s Chimvano pa Chuma Project were being presented with certificates.

“I can’t believe this is happening to me!” A visibly elated Mary Bintoni exclaimed. “I cannot believe my business is running well and I still have this envelope with more money than I contributed to my group’s savings!”

On this day, the women received their certificates acknowledging their successful completion of a savings and lending cycle, and an envelope containing money they had contributed to their group’s savings plus the interest it had accrued in the lending activities. ASAP Africa Malawi’s Country Director could not hide his satisfaction: “We are very pleased that we are meaningfully contributing to Malawi Government’s efforts to provide a means for rural women to become self-reliant”, he enthused. Over Mk 830, 000 was shared at the function.

“This festive season is a season with a difference. At a time like this last year, before I joined ASAP’s Chimvano pa Chuma Program, I was in extreme debt and had no food for my children. Now, I have all the money I need for my business, food and farm inputs,” said a jovial Mrs Kamwana.

New Pigeon Pea Study

In Malawi ASAP begin has been encouraging farmers to grow Pigeon Peas since we began working in the country in January 2009. In partnership with Total Land Care, ASAP facilitated the distribution of superior Pigeon Pea seeds in a seed multiplication project. To learn more about ASAP Africa's agriculture projects - that YOUR donations make possible - click here.

Now a new study finds that planting Pigeon Peas and other legumes has even more benefits than previously thought and can actually reduce the amount of fertilizer required. To read more about the study click here.

Home Is Where Your Heart Is

Due to economic and political hardships in Zimbabwe over the past 10 years, it is estimated that more than 3 million Zimbabweans are living outside of their country today. Thanks to the UK-based Development Foundation for Zimbabwe, diasporans in more than seven countries will meet later this month to dialogue with the Government on how they can inject millions of dollars in investment as part of actively participating in the economic recovery of the country.To read more click here. Plans for future investment are certainly encouraging. The map above depicts the the food insecurity prevailing in this country of desperate need. Your contribution to ASAP is helping families survive and thrive today.

Inflation in Zimbabwe... WHY?

In Zimbabwe the largest supermarkets have increased their average price for a basket of goods by about 15% during the fourth quarter of the year. Experts say the rate of food price inflation was making life increasingly difficult for the millions of families already struggling to make ends meet under the weight of rising rentals, energy costs, taxes, interest rates and school fees.

After enduring hyper-inflation that peaked at 400 million percent, the country adopted the USD in Feb 2009, a move which many thought would stabilize the economy. But what is the reason for the sudden rise in prices of goods and services? Could it be the country's trade rebate structure, firming of the rand, taxes, response to speculation or is it sheer profiteering? To read more click here.

For the women in ASAP's Village Savings & Lending rural micro-finance project, their funds are often invested in assets - household commodities such as cooking oil, sugar and salt. This protects their capital in volatile times, often increasing profit. To read more click here. Remember, your donation of only $30 will improve the life of a struggling family by providing VS&L training.

Share Your World AIDS Day Wishes

Maybe you’d like to wish your HIV-positive friend a life filled with good food, good laughter and good friends. Maybe you’re wishing that by next World AIDS Day we’ve made even more progress in the fight against the disease. To share your World AIDS Day ONE wish with others click here.

ASAP Autumn Newsletter

Click here to read the news!

Malawi's "Greenbelt Iniative"

Aimed at raising agricultural output and counter climatic unpredictability, Malawi's “Greenbelt Initiative” will bring changes to the agriculture sector. Malawi, a country of 14 million people, one of the world’s most densely populated nations, is mainly dependent on rain-fed agriculture but recent climatic changes have affected its production.

President Bingu wa Mutharika announced yesterday that the Agriculture Marketing & Development Corporation will have a new role, in order to ensure that farmers have access to the international market. To read more Click here. Links with India also feature prominently in the Initiative. To learn more Click here.

ASAP's ongoing training in conservation agriculture aims to address climate change through simple, cost-effective conservation farming methods such as, carefully timed planting, mulching with ground covers, weeding, crop rotation and inter-planting. As evidenced in the sorghum crop pictured, all these increase soil fertility and discourage pests while increasing crop yields. To learn more about ASAP Africa's agriculture projects Click here.

Malawi Program Visit

Elizabeth Bara and Tom Arsenault have recently returned from visiting both the ASAP Malawi program and the ASAP Zimbabwe program. In Malawi, some days were spent meeting field officers in the rural areas where the projects are implemented. They were able to meet many of the Village Savings and Lending (VS&L) club members and hear firsthand about the various activities of the project.

One of the members is doing a great beekeeping project with ten beehives. Some are doing piggery, some fowl and eggs while others are cooking doughnuts and cakes. The majority of members are buying and reselling for their income generating projects. Buying and reselling involves quite an number of different products such as tomatoes, dried fish, clothing, flip-flop shoes, various nuts, vegetables and many others. There are even a couple of groups doing larger whole group projects – making and bottling achar (a type of relish) and fruit jam.

The Malawi program is relatively new and it is so exciting to see how these women have gone from zero to having their own money for school fees and farming inputs as a result of the training from ASAP field officers. And they all certainly expressed how happy and grateful they are for ASAP’s extensive training in VS&L.

New Grant Funding Partner!

ASAP Africa Malawi is proud to announce a new grant from the Sundance Pay It Forward Foundation. The $20,000 one year grant will support the "Chimvano pa Chuma" - Unity for Economic Growth project ongoing in southern Malawi. Through Village Savings & Lending activities, over 7,000 families will increase their household income and food security. To read more about this project and some of the phenomenal success stories Click here.
To learn more about the Sundance Pay It Forward Foundation Click here.

What Constitutes a Safe School?

ASAP is proud to be partnering with UNICEF and 20 other organizations on a new three month project - Social Awareness Campaign for Primary Schools. The problem to be addressed is that many parents are now hesitant to send their children to school in Zimbabwe. The schools are not perceived as a safe a apolitical environment. With national elections forthcoming, the SACPS will determine what can be done to restore communities confidence in their local school as a secure place to learn.

In 2011 the Ministry of Education in Zimbabwe will be distributing textbooks and stationery to all primary schools. The SACPS will also define ways to maximize the benefits and longevity of this much needed support.

To read more click here.

DIFID Supports SWAP to Help Education in Malawi

The UK Government through the Department for International Development (DFID) in Malawi has announced support to the Government of Malawi to implement a new national education reform program that will put many more girls into secondary school; reduce repetition and dropout rates; and support all 5,500 primary schools with new School Improvement Grants. These measures will reduce the average number of children per teacher in primary schools from 81:1 in 2009 to 60:1 by 2013.
To read more click here.