After a successful four-day training session organized by Save the Children in partnership with MANAD, both the parents/guardians of deaf children and special needs teachers received sign language dictionaries from Save the Children. A total of 400 dictionaries, valued at 6.2 million Kwacha, were printed and distributed across various districts including Neno, Mangochi, Zomba, Ntcheu, and Dedza.

During the training, Malonje Phiri, who is deaf and serves as the Acting Programs Officer for the Malawi National Association of the Deaf (MANAD), lauded Save the Children’s efforts through the Strengthening Disability Inclusive Project in supporting individuals with disabilities, particularly the deaf community.

“MANAD initiated its interventions three decades ago, we are currently in all districts however, some interventions such as these training are not in all districts. We have always aimed to extend our reach to more districts, but due to financial challenges we have always failed. It was until 2023 that we began working with Save the Children. Despite working with them for a short period, we’ve already expanded our reach (training the parents/guardians and special needs teachers) to five districts,” remarked Phiri.