IPOR’s Director of Training and Programmes, Dr. Michael Chasukwa, says IPOR believes that providing development grants to rural communities is a powerful catalyst for sustainable improvement in quality of life. Dr. Chasukwa made the remarks at Chikala Primary School in Zomba during a symbolic cheque presentation to best-performing community-based organizations that took part in small community grants competition that IPOR organized.

IPOR, through the Metaketa V project, gave out grants worth MK15 million shared equally among ten community-based organizations. These qualified out of the 2,500 groups that applied for the grants in Zomba and Mzimba districts. The aim of these grants was to help communities to identify pressing needs that require urgent attention thereby fostering a sense of ownership of the interventions and collective action effort.

“Communities, when supported correctly, can contribute significantly to the attainment of the Malawi 2063 agenda (MW2063). The MW2063 agenda aims to transform Malawi into a wealthy, industrialized, and middle-income nation by the year 2063, with a focus on three key pillars: agricultural productivity and commercialization, industrialization, and urbanization. We therefore received proposals that aligned perfectly with the country’s broader goals of sustainable development and social progress,” said Dr. Chasukwa.

Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for Zomba District Council, Davi Sato, applauded IPOR for the support though the Metaketa V programme for complementing the Council’s development efforts. He observed that support of this nature lessens the financial burden that the Council faces in fulfilling its development agenda.

He commended IPOR’s competitive approach to providing support to local communities because it ensures that funds are allocated to projects that offer the greatest potential benefits. This maximizes resource utilization, collaboration, and guarantees equal participation, which are essential for transformative and sustainable development.