In what was a week of hectic activity, I visited with LUPPEN and Action Aid three settlements in Lilongwe. Some achievements of the Equal Land Rights For All project have been witnessed which is highly encouraging for the rest!

In Makatani, a small poor settlement, we saw how well are the trainings working: several women have been taught about land rights by trainers who attended the trainings of trainers (TOT) led by MUD Africa. Likewise, we went back to Kauma, a settlement of 50,000 and in Area/36 where some women have successfully registered their houses with the local chiefs. In each case the knowledge has then been widely shared within the community; some registrations are in progress, which is good news though the soaring urbanisation of Lilongwe shows how tough the challenge is.

I have also had the opportunity to attend the second Urban_net forum at Action Aid’s office where Water Mission International and Sunny Money (solar lights) made two interesting presentations tackling important urban issues.

We will carry on the fieldwork next week, always a pleasure given the friendliness of the Malawian people…

Cheers/ Pierre