SSRLP TTL Visits Nkhatabay

The Task Team Leader of the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project – SSRLP at the World Bank, Malawi Office has visited Nkhata-Bay district to appreciate progress of the project’s implementation

The visit was especially focused on the two components of the project; Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Program, CS-EPWP and Livelihoods Support Programme.

The Livelihoods Support Program under the SSRLP is being implemented by COMSIP Cooperative Union Limited that mobilizes willing beneficiaries of the SCT and participants of the CSEPWP into savings and Loan Groups where they are trained in transformational mindset change and supported to get out of extreme poverty.

The SSRLP is a government of Malawi project being implemented with funding from the World Bank and Social Protection Multi Donor Trust Fund and is being implemented in all 28 districts of the country.

Apart from appreciating progress made at district level, Chipo Msowoya, who is also the Social Protection Specialist at the World Bank, learnt challenges being faced by the council and beneficiaries, that would hinder achievement of the project’s objectives.

Msowoya was accompanied on the tour by the SSRLP implementing coordinator at the National Local Government Finance Committee Paul Chipeta, who hailed the initiative for improving livelihoods of the ultra-poor.

“It is pleasing to note that beneficiaries of this project are now responsible for their social economic needs and they are devising ways on their own to sustain them” said Chipeta.

Chipeta made the remarks after the task  team leader visited Vilemba COMSIP Cluster of T/A Nyalubanga in the district which has purchased and is operating a maize mill as a group business and has members who are into different individual businesses.

He said seeing a group of participants of a social protection program qualified as - for the ultra-poor- achieve such initiatives for the improvement of their livelihoods was encouraging.

In his remarks the District Community Development Officer for Nkhatabay, who is responsible for the implementation of the Livelihoods Support Programme said SSRLP has transformed livelihoods in the district, by empowering beneficiary households economically.

The visit started with an engagement with Council officials responsible for CSEPWP and Livelihoods Support Program, where they made progress presentations and handled reactions from the visiting team.

Apart from savings and investment, members of COMSIP groups under the project are also benefitting in Youth Skills Support, Value addition enterprise, market linkages, financial linkages, farm input support and seed capital injection into their businesses.

By the end of the project in 2027 COMSIP targets to mobilise 590,000 beneficiaries of SCT and CSEPWP into savings and loan groups across the country.