By Gerhard Quincke and Dyson Mthawanji
“This is devastating. It would have been devastating enough if this was the first disaster to befall us in recent times. But unfortunately, in the four years that I have been your President, this is the fourth time I have had to declare a State of Disaster,” said Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera on the 23rd March. In 23 of the 28 districts of Malawi, harvests will be insufficient to feed all as 44.3 percent of the national crop area with close to two million farming households are affected. To avoid a severe hunger crisis, the President appealed to all the solidarity of all.
We all know, how Malawi is vulnerable to the effects of the human-made climate change acerbated by local factors including deforestation, improper land-use practices, and inadequate infrastructure. Late and erratic onset of rains and prolonged dry spells on the one hand and severe floods on the other.
In the face of these challenges, Adult Learning and Education (ALE) emerges increasingly as a crucial tool for raising awareness in communities, empowering communities and individuals to build resilience to future disasters and to contribute to the mitigation of effects of climate change. Interventions – points are manyfold and depend on the specific situation in the communities. If it has to do with specific adaptations of agricultural practice, handling local infrastructures, ALE can foster knowledge, skills, and behavioral change necessary for climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.
DVV International and its partners will increasingly deal with issues related to climate change and its consequences in its efforts to facilitate access to opportunities of lifelong learning of quality for all. This requires more than ever collaboration across all sectors and all layers of governance. Yet without populations of all ages informed about the challenges and skilled to adapt and act, there cannot be meaningful prevention and responsiveness to disasters.
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