The Eye of the Child operates in a Country where a large number of children are subject to sexual exploitation, trafficking, abuse, hunger, malnutrition, harmful cultural practices. A country faced with a number of calamities among them included; the floods that almost displaced thousands of families across the nation, shortage of rainfall that led to many families not to harvest enough and the economic downturn. 

Eye of the Child launch Campaign Against Child Sexual abuse In Malawi, cases of sexual abuse of children is on the rise, as seen in the alarming numbers of defilement, trafficked and forced prostitution of children and various forms of harmful cultural practices they endure and these continue to be reported in the media every day.

With Sitabene Malange-Majamanda

Eye of the Child 1997 – 2003

Director of Programmes

There are stories of passion that are told every day. Every person has a kind of thing they do so passionately that even in the face of insurmountable opposition, one clings on to that which they so much love. When you listen to Sitabene Malange-Majamanda, and the drive she poses about the welfare of children in Malawi, not even a mountain would move her to think to the contrary. She demonstrates a rare passion for children and the youth. She gave her life, her money and her time into youth activities expecting no monetary return. She was driven by the power to make a difference to the life of the under-privileged, the marginalized, and the impoverished youth.

Children have the right to take part in decisions that affect their lives, but all too often by their involvement is limited or non- existence. During the year under review, the department organized a series of education forums to promote child participation in protection. The activities took a team of professionals to Primary and Secondary Schools throughout the Country.

Child participation being one of the core principles on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which children and young people freely express their views and to facilitate their views and there is an obligation to listen to children’s views and to facilitate their participation in all matters affecting them within the family, schools, local communities, public services, institutions, government policy, and the judicial procedures.

“My parents would have punished me had they known I was travelling to  Ntcheu on public transport, often in a crammed minibus. That I once survived on cererac (infant cereal food) for one week living in a shack. At that time we had received funding that required us to conduct mapping to build primary schools in Ntcheu. Today over 68 full primary schools have been constructed in Ntcheu because of that sacrifice about 20 years ago,” Sitaben Malange recollected.

The department has been very active in working with the Police Victim Support Unit in Blantyre and Lilongwe and the Child Justice Courts and the Case Review Board than any other year since the establishment of the Organization. It is the year when the organization received orders from the Case Review Board to provide Case Management, assessments and Counselling services to 764 children in conflict with the law and those in prison. We have reach out to 273 victims of domestic and commercial child labor; and 118 girls rescued from arranged and forced Prostitution in Blantyre and Lilongwe. We have also rescued and removed 233 children from harmful orphanages and rescued 63 children from arranged and forced child marriages. We provided counselling and protection services to 49 victims of defilement.

The Year 2022 is testimony to our varied organization achievements. This stories covered in our blog bears testimony to considerable success achieved by the organization. It is evident that the success is attributable to the expertise, passion and commitment of staff. As a team, we have built an organization we are proud of and enjoy working for. The activities, achievements and acknowledgements recorded in this month blog give you an opportunity to see why.

We are therefore deeply grateful for the support and loyalty of board members, interns, volunteers, children, and members of staff, Donors, partners, and the media. There has been a remarkable degree of co-operation from all of them. Thank you all and enjoy reading the report

During the year under review, the Eye of the Child training center and department successfully conducted a number of trainings that include a self- sponsored two months training for young people in Social Entrepreneurship. The other training was sponsored by Action Aid Malawi for the Organization to Train local Councilors in the laws that protect children from Child Marriages that was followed in child trafficking for the media sponsored by Norwegian Church Aid through the Malawi Network against Child Trafficking (M- NACT). We want to say thank you to our Partners Action Aid Malawi and Norwegian Church Aid for both financial and technical support rendered towards the organization of the two trainings and to all young people that attended the Social Entrepreneurship Training.