Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) has expressed satisfaction with the progress of the Green Jobs Project it is implementing in Mzimba District. Adra project coordinator Beatrice Banda said the project has enrolled 100 youths who are acquiring practical and market-driven skills aimed at improving their livelihoods. In an interview yesterday, she said the youth are being trained in renewable energy, bakery, tailoring, tour guiding and sustainable agriculture.
“We are on track to accomplish our objective of equipping young people with marketable and environmental friendly skills,” said Banda. She said the project has three categories of ecotourism, renewable energy and sustainable agriculture. Mzimba district youth officer Yamikani Nyalugwe said the Green Jobs Project is playing a critical role in changing the mindset of young people towards environmental-friendly income-generating activities.
“The project is helping youths to abandon practices that threaten the environment such as charcoal production, which leads to deforestation,” he said. Nyalugwe added that by equipping youths with practical skills, the project is enabling them to earn a living while conserving natural resources. One of the beneficiaries, Emmanuel Mbizi Mazuwa from Traditional Authority (T/A) Kampingo Sibande, said he and friends formed Ng’ombe Yavuka Club specialising in briquette-making.
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“We now generate income for our personal needs,” he said. The project is running in T/As M’mbelwa, Mzikubola and Kampingo Sibande with funding from Save the Children Italy through Save the Children Malawi
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