With support from The Hilden Charitable Fund, YICOD has distributed sewing machines and start-up materials for making reusable sanitary pads to five primary schools in the Dedza district. This initiative aims to help girls stay in school and avoid missing classes during their menstrual periods, as mothers' groups will sew sanitary pads and distribute them to the needy girls.

The schools that benefited from this five-day distribution exercise, conducted last week, include Kanyenda, Dedza Government, Mwatonga, Liphupwe, and Mlunduni.

Various stakeholders in the Dedza district have commended the interventions that YICOD is implementing, which are economically empowering young people and women, thereby improving their livelihoods and building resilience against climate change.

This was revealed last Friday during a field day organised by YICOD in the Traditional Authority of Kachere for stakeholders and members of various communities to appreciate the impact of the initiatives that YICOD, with support from IM Swedish Development Partner, is implementing in the three Group Village Heads (GVH) of Fosa, Kachere, and Mkhoma Wanthu 2.

Women and girls from the Traditional Authority Kachere in Dedza district said they are now energised with the knowledge they have on Gender-Based Violence (GBV), including the referral pathways from the two-day training that YICOD conducted last week with support from the  Hlanganisa Community Fund.

During the training, women and girls learned about understanding disabilities and the different forms of GBV, with examples of issues faced by women and girls with disabilities in the area, including their impacts. They also learned about referral pathways to improve reporting of GBV-related issues.

Various stakeholders in Dedza district have expressed their optimism regarding a project titled "Breaking Barriers for Women and Girls with Disabilities in Combating Gender-Based Violence (GBV)," which YICOD is implementing in the district. They believe the project will bring positive changes, mainly in ensuring that the rights of women and girls are respected and safeguarded.

These stakeholders made these remarks of optimism during the inception meetings supported by the Hlanganisa Community Fund, which YICOD has been conducting.

Speaking at the Kachere Area Development Committee (ADC) under Traditional Authority Kachere in the district where the project is being implemented, members of the committee described YICOD’s initiative, which aims to create a safe and supportive environment for women and girls with disabilities to access essential services, as beneficial for community development.