Our CITW Malawi Eco-Club programme runs an array of activities, primarily weekly after-school projects that include waste-paper recycling and reforestation. Other activities in this term include an Open Day (open air) event, educational trips and Eco-Club exchange visits.
At the beginning of every school term, there are also joint zonal meetings, which aim to organise activities and projects that the Eco-Clubs would like to do during the term. At zone level, there are five Eco-Clubs, which come together and plan their activities from the curriculum book.
Our first joint zonal meetings marking the beginning of the third term (May to August 2025), took place on 3 May 2025. The action plan arising from the meetings for each Eco-Club included:
- Conducting 10 weekly after-school meetings by July 31st
- Going on at least one educational trip by end July
- Continuing to conduct waste-paper recycling projects
- Participating in reforestation projects at community level
- Each zone to conduct two joint activity events per term – these include quizzes, sports, music, story-writing and story-telling
- Each zone to conduct one Open Day event – inviting the general community and local leaders to showcase their activities and to raise awareness for conservation of natural resources in their villages and communities
- Teacher and Eco-Mentor capacity-building training – one day-long session
Many of the above actions were discussed in rough during the joint zonal meetings at the end of Term 2 in April. This time the points were firmed up into action items.
Community level stakeholders were also invited, and confirmed their support of the planned activities.
CITW and Root to Fruit agreed to work together in the tree nursery and reforestation projects, where the children and youths participate in the planting, raising, and follow-up of planted trees in their communities.
For the children and youth, partnering with Root to Fruit is about learning and practicing leadership. It will also be their contribution towards their own communities, while Root to Fruit gains more manpower to help.
The participating children feel successful, honoured, and respected while directing their communities on doing something very important.
“Growing together with my forest” is the children’s reforestation motto.
By Symon Chibaka – CITW Malawi National Programme Co-ordinator
19 May 2025
