Malawi Victim Support Units
Donation protected
I am a retired Police Officer from Northern Constabulary. Prior to my retirement in 2008 I traveled to Malawi to meet with colleagues there. This was facilitated by the Edinburgh charity World Exchange. During this visit I was shown round the Malawi Police Service by members of their Community Policing Department and in particular their Victim Support Unit Scheme. I saw for myself how effective this scheme is and have maintained contact with the officers since. It had been my intention to complete the Loch Ness Etape, a 66 mile cycle around Loch Ness in an attempt to gather support and funding to continue this work and ensure people in one of the poorest parts of the world, do have a voice, however, due to the corona virus pandemic this event had to be cancelled. Given the preparation that had been done and, in particular, the disappointment of the Malawi staff who had really bought in to this event I decided to go for a Plan B. I devised a route through Nairnshire and Moray which I was sure would be at least 66 miles or slightly more, and on the Sunday following the cancellation I cycled this route with a Strava App and camera, completing the journey which turned out to be a distance of 83.3 miles.
Domestic Violence and Child Abuse are serious problems in Malawi suffered by some of the poorest people in the world with nobody to turn to and without adequate and appropriate support being available. (Children who have been abandoned,orphaned and abused. Families torn apart by criminal behaviour and natural disasters). The Victim Support Unit Scheme provides the support required be it Policing, social, health, voluntary etc delivered by professional, specialist trained officers,enabling the people to carry on with their lives, families, businesses and employment. (All appropriate agencies and individuals in the community work together) This support is guaranteed providing the people can reach a Victim Support Unit. These provide refuge, sanctuary, beds, clothing and food. They take various shapes from total builds to partially completed buildings, to containers, tents or to simply meeting outdoors. Obviously this does not offer an appropriate environment in many cases. These officers also provide mediation and guidance for the community - from minor grievance to serious crime. A response is guaranteed if the VSU can be reached. Having witnessed the work done by committed officers and the positive impact it has on individuals, and an area, we were able to 'host' 2 senior Malawi officers in Scotland show them how we worked and also visit the Scottish Police College. We were then able to fund the complete building of a VSU in Mkuminiza on the Malawi/Mozambique border. In 2010 I visited the completed VSU and witnessed the great work undertaken and the difference it had made. Although Malawi has been very unstable since then we have managed to maintain contact, (again showing the commitment of the Malawi officers), and provided cycles, some laptops and mobile phones.
Given all of the difficulties experienced and the passage of time , this Crowdfunder is an attempt to try and build, or complete, another VSU or provide much needed equipment. It should be noted that in Mkuminiza a significant amount of money was saved as the local community made the bricks with clay from the river, provided the labour and the local merchants provided goods and materials at cost price as it was a community project.
This is an attempt to give a voice and support to victims in one of the world's poorest countries. The process has been done and proved to be successful!
Domestic Violence and Child Abuse are serious problems in Malawi suffered by some of the poorest people in the world with nobody to turn to and without adequate and appropriate support being available. (Children who have been abandoned,orphaned and abused. Families torn apart by criminal behaviour and natural disasters). The Victim Support Unit Scheme provides the support required be it Policing, social, health, voluntary etc delivered by professional, specialist trained officers,enabling the people to carry on with their lives, families, businesses and employment. (All appropriate agencies and individuals in the community work together) This support is guaranteed providing the people can reach a Victim Support Unit. These provide refuge, sanctuary, beds, clothing and food. They take various shapes from total builds to partially completed buildings, to containers, tents or to simply meeting outdoors. Obviously this does not offer an appropriate environment in many cases. These officers also provide mediation and guidance for the community - from minor grievance to serious crime. A response is guaranteed if the VSU can be reached. Having witnessed the work done by committed officers and the positive impact it has on individuals, and an area, we were able to 'host' 2 senior Malawi officers in Scotland show them how we worked and also visit the Scottish Police College. We were then able to fund the complete building of a VSU in Mkuminiza on the Malawi/Mozambique border. In 2010 I visited the completed VSU and witnessed the great work undertaken and the difference it had made. Although Malawi has been very unstable since then we have managed to maintain contact, (again showing the commitment of the Malawi officers), and provided cycles, some laptops and mobile phones.
Given all of the difficulties experienced and the passage of time , this Crowdfunder is an attempt to try and build, or complete, another VSU or provide much needed equipment. It should be noted that in Mkuminiza a significant amount of money was saved as the local community made the bricks with clay from the river, provided the labour and the local merchants provided goods and materials at cost price as it was a community project.
This is an attempt to give a voice and support to victims in one of the world's poorest countries. The process has been done and proved to be successful!
Organizer
ANDREW WALKER
Organizer
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