The Minister being appraised of the helpline services being offered
* The Organisation has high-tech facilities that it uses through the national Tithandizane Child Helpline
* Which is connected to various stakeholders that include the police; social welfare offices; Plan Malawi International
* To re-engage soon with all the stakeholders involved in the network to resolve the bottlenecks being faced
By Duncan Mlanjira
Youth Net & Counseling (YONECO), that safeguards and protects children from violence and abuse, has on its records staggering figures that indicate that the Malawi Police Service is lagging behind in resolving cases brought over by the non-governmental organisation (NGO).
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On his tour of YONECO headquarters in Zomba during the commemoration of World Radio Day, Minister of Information & Digitalisation, Moses Kunkuyu was appraised of the high-tech facilities that the organisation uses through the national Tithandizane Child Helpline — which is connected to various stakeholders that include the police; social welfare offices; Malawi Red Cross Society; World Food Programme (WFP) and Plan Malawi International.
On its part YONECO itself has 28,878 cases under investigation (open cases) while 1,023 were resolved and the Police have 14,185 open cases but just 520 as resolved.
The social welfare’s open cases are 1,805 with 97 resolved; Malawi Red Cross Society at 137 open and 1,225 resolved; WFP at 236 open and 901 resolved while Plan Malawi International at 97 open and 914 resolved.
YONECO’s Executive Director, MacBain Mkandawire emphasized that the police’s children’s violence and abuse desk is connected to the monitoring system and in turn is supposed to log in cases that have been resolved through the Court process but never do so.
He also revealed to the Minister, in the presence of Commissioner of Police, Violet Magwaya and Deputy Mayor of Zomba City, Councillor Munila Bakali that when YONECO engages the police on progress of the cases, they always blame the courts of dragging its prosecution processes.
Mkandawire further indicated that they would soon re-engage all the stakeholders involved in the network to resolve the bottlenecks being faced — to which Minister Kunkuyu and the Commissioner of Police agreed to as the way forward.
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Established in 1997, YONECO responds to the social economic challenges affecting youth, women and children with offices in 11 districts of Lilongwe, Mchinji, Ntchisi, Rumphi, Nkhata Bay, Ntcheu, Balaka, Machinga, Mangochi, Mulanje and Zomba while also implementing projects with national level coverage.
The organization boasts of innovative strategies of reaching out to youth, women and children — that includes the national Tithandizane Child Helpline, which has a 24/7 toll-free hotline (116) for reporting child violence & abuse, and accessing online counseling, psychosocial support and information.
Among the key innovations of YONECO are the National Helpline services, operating a first ever community of interest national radio station (YFM) in the NGO sector, vibrant IT department which reaches out to project beneficiaries through various social media platforms and receives feedback from beneficiaries.
YONECO also has a children’s band and cultural troupe for community mobilization and information dissemination. It also manages a 24/7 community-of-interest radio station with nationwide coverage — the YONECO FM Radio — which provides a trusted platform for engagement and disseminating information on issues such as governance and human rights, GBV, SRHR, gender equality, education, and sustainable development.
YONECO also uses SMS bulk tool, social media, web-based portals, and community participatory theatre (through YONECO Cultural Troupe) to facilitate and promote access to information.
Cases of girl child molestations continue to rise despite YONECO’s existence as many cases go unreported but when they do, with the intervention of the NGO, courts are pronouncing stiff punishments.
YONECO also provides opportunities and competencies to young people aged 10 to 29 for them to adequately respond to issues affecting them especially poverty.
“We develop young people by empowering them with life skills, technical skills, resources, information, digital and financial literacy to enhance their independence and active participation in development processes,” says its website.
After appreciating the Tithandizane Child Helpline, Kunkuyu also toured the YONECO FM Radio studio where he was interviewed live on the importance of World Radio Day, whose theme this year is ‘Radio & Peace’.
In her remarks during further activities that included music performances (including brass band concert by the Malawi Prison Service) and drama, Zomba City Deputy Mayor applauded the organisers, Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) for considering that the event be commemorated with YONECO, Mzati and Chanco as host radio stations.
She said they are proud that their community radios play a huge role in the development and success of Zomba City, which relies on the publicity and awareness activities — that includes civic educating children, especially the girl child, to report on abuses of their basic human rights.
She also said before and after Cyclone Freddy, the three community radios “played a huge role in saving lives by being in the forefront in the continuous updates of weather patterns until its effects that saw Zomba affected where 1,800 households were left homeless”.
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