Green Jobs for Adolescent Youth

Project
Baseline Study
Project Summary
Project Name Green Jobs for Adolescent Youth (GJ4AY)
Donor Save the Children Italy
Duration 3 years (June 2023 – May 2026)
Total Budget 2.2 Million Euro
Project Goal To contribute to addressing lack of employable skills and income for
sustainable transition of young people to adulthood, which contribute
to environmental protection and restoration
Lead Agency Save the Children Malawi
Key Partners CRECCOM, ADRA, TEVETA, Mzuzu E-Hub and Mzuzu University
Targeted Districts Ntcheu and Mzimba South
Beneficiaries Youth 15-24 years of age
Categories of the Adolescent Girls
Youth Targeted Young women
Girls and women with disabilities
Key Result Areas GJ4AY seeks to address the following:
(KRAs) 1. Lack of decent jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities
2. Lack of green skills that contribute to positive social and
environmental outcomes (including technical, vocational and
financial) and
3. Gender inequality, limited opportunities, ableism and gender-based
violence, and lack of a platform to voice needs and ideas
Strategies Community mobilization, capacity building, mentorship, seed capital
granting and organizational development
Purpose of the Study To provide baseline figures for impact and outcome indicators to serve
as points of comparison or benchmarks for the final evaluation of the
project or any subsequent assessments
Timeline 15 September to 22 January 2024

Table of Contents
iii
Project Summary.............................................................................................................................i
Table of Contents........................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgement........................................................................................................................ iii
List of Acronym............................................................................................................................. iv
Executive Summary....................................................................................................................... vi
1.0 Introduction............................................................................................................................. 1
1.2 An Overview of the GJ4AY Project...........................................................................................1
2.0 Objectives of the Baseline Study..............................................................................................2
3.0 Baseline Methodology............................................................................................................. 4
3.1 Study Sites................................................................................................................................4
3.2 Study Approach and Design.....................................................................................................4
3.3 Quantitative Assessment......................................................................................................... 4
3.3.1 A Youth Survey......................................................................................................................4
3.3.2 Sample Size Determination...................................................................................................4
3.3.3 Exclusion Criteria...................................................................................................................5
3.3.4 Measuring Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)............................................5
3.4 Qualitative Assessment............................................................................................................5
3.4.1 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs).............................................................................................5
3.4.2 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)...........................................................................................6
3.5 Recruitment and Training of Enumerators...............................................................................7
3.6 Field Work................................................................................................................................ 7
3.7 Data Analysis............................................................................................................................7
3.8 Debriefing Sessions.................................................................................................................. 7
3.10 Limitations for the Study........................................................................................................8
4.0 Baseline Results....................................................................................................................... 9
4.1 Demographic Information........................................................................................................9
4.1.1 Age and Marital Status of the Youth Interviewed.................................................................9
4.1.4 Forms of Disability among the Youth in the Baseline Survey..............................................11
4.2 Specific Objective (SO) 1: Reviewing the feasibility of the project results framework
including the envisaged impact, outcomes in view of the local context......................................12
4.3 SO2: Establishing baseline values for the project result framework indicators and propose
annual targets against all impact, outcome and output indicators; refer to Annex A for the
indicators..................................................................................................................................... 12
4.4 SO3: Identification of youth-led approaches relevant to the local context............................33
4.5 SO4: Identification of the most suitable communication channels for key behaviour change
messages......................................................................................................................................36
4.6 SO5: A reflection on sustainability of the envisaged outcomes and impact..........................39
4.7 SO6: Identification of potential areas for learning and further research...............................39
4.8 SO7: Recommending other relevant collaborators and linkages that can contribute to
effectiveness and bringing impact to scale..................................................................................41
5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations........................................................................................43

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List of Tables
Table 1 : Key persons consulted in the study from both districts..................................................6
Table 2 : Table 4: Groups engaged in the focus group discussions (FGDs).....................................6
Table 3 : Traditional Authorities visited in the baseline study.......................................................9
Table 4 : Age categories of the youth who participated in the study............................................9
Table 5 : Categories of the youth in the project interviewed by the baseline study....................10
Table 6 : Proposed changes to some of the indicators of the project..........................................12
Table 7 : Adolescents and youths engaged in apprenticeship at baseline...................................18
Table 8 : Adolescents and youth 15-24 years who have received green skills.............................19
Table 9 : Assessing life skills through understanding self in the study.........................................21
Table 10 : Relationship skills in the girls and young women at baseline......................................22
Table 11 : High order thinking skills among the girls and young women in the study.................23
Table 12 : Aims of the personal development plan (PDP) documented......................................25
Table 13 : # of A&Y who have developed and tested green business model and plans..............25
Table 14 : Knowledge, Source of Information and Service points...............................................30
Table 15 : Access to Sexual Reproductive Health services and Services......................................31
Table 16 : Contraceptive methods currently used.......................................................................32
Table 17 : % Young women making own informed sexual decisions...........................................32
Table 18 : Youth-led approaches proposed for the GJ4AY project..............................................33
Table 19 : Communication channels of young people in the targeted districts...........................37

List of Figures
Figure 1 : Highest levels of education attained by the youth of this study..................................10
Figure 2 : Proportion of the youths who reported having no disabilities ....................................11
Figure 3 : Sources of income for the youth in the study..............................................................12
Figure 4 : Average monthly incomes for the youth interviewed in the study..............................14
Figure 5 : Decent Jobs for the youth in the GJ4AY project ..........................................................15
Figure 6 : Reasons for not engaged in decent jobs......................................................................16
Figure 7 : Proportion of adolescents and the youth in sustainable businesses ...........................21
Figure 8 : Youths knowing specific youth friendly laws, policies and initiatives ..........................29
Figure 9 : Source of information about SRHR for young people in the project............................38

Acknowledgement
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This report is for the baseline study of the Green Jobs for Adolescent Youth (GJ4AY) project
implemented in Mzimba and Ntcheu by Save the Children, CRECCOM, ADRA, TEVETA, Mzuzu E-
Hub and Mzuzu University for three years, from June 2023 – May 2026.

We are very thankful to several project staff members at various levels for their technical and
logistical support. Without this kind of support, it would have been difficult to deliver in this
assignment.

Our sincere appreciation should also go to field staff on the ground, master crafts persons
(MCP) operating privately owned green trades, TEVET instructors, MCP apprentices, out of
school youths, savings and loan group members and youth clubs that responded to the
questions and gave valuable information for the study.

Field work was carried out for 12 days, from 18 to 30 November 2023. Vehicle drivers took us
to the villages and TEVET institutions in the districts. To all of them, for the time, patience and
diligence they provided throughout the process, the consultant is deeply thankful

To CRECCOM, ADRA and Save the Children field staff and local guides who helped us locate the
youths for the study, we also say thank you.

For the readers, the opinions expressed in here are those of the consultant and do not
necessarily reflect views of Save the Children, its implementing partners and the donor, Save
the Children Italy.

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List of Acronym
A&Y: Adolescents and Youth
ADRA: Adventist Development and Relief Agency
ASST: Adolescent Skills for Successful Transition
CRECCOM: Creative Centre for Community Mobilization
DSWO: District Social Welfare Office
E-Hub: Entrepreneurship Hub
FGD: Focus Group Discussion
GENET: Girls Empowerment Network
GJ4AY: Green Jobs for Adolescent Youth
ICT: Information and Communication Technology
ISSDP: Informal Sector Skills Development Program (ISSDP)
KII: Key Informant Interviews
MAD: Ministries, Departments and Agencies
MCP: Master Crafts Persons
NEEF: National Economic Empowerment Fund
NEET: Not if employment, education or training
SC: Save the Children
SMEB: Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket
SRHR: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
STIs: Sexually Transmitted Infections
TA: Traditional Authority
TEVET: Technical, Entrepreneurial and Vocational Education and Training
TEVETA: TEVET Authority
ToRs: Terms of References
TVET: Technical and Vocational Education and Training
UNEP: United Nations Environment Program
YE: Youth Empowerment
YONECO: Youth Net and Counselling
YSLA: Youth Savings and Loan Associations

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Executive Summary
This report summarises results of the baseline study of the Green Jobs for Adolescent Youth
(GJ4AY). Save the Children Malawi is the grant holder and implementing the project together
with CRECCOM, ADRA, TEVETA, Mzuzu E-Hub and Mzuzu University for 3 years, from June 2023
– to May 2026. Funded by Save the Children Italy, GJ4AY aims to contribute towards addressing
lack of employable skills and income for sustainable transition of young people 15-24 years of
age to adulthood. There are three categories of the youth in the project 1) 90 youths trained
and with Informal Sector Skills Development Program (ISSDP) certificates from TEVETA in
Mzimba, 2) 400 vulnerable out of school girls and boys without the ISSDP certificate in Ntcheu
and 200 youths newly enrolled in green skills.

Field work for the baseline study took place from 18-30 November 2023 (12 days). The main
sources of data were 302 surveys with the youths targeted by the project, 14 key persons and
14 focus group discussions with 108 people (87 female and 21 male. De-briefing sessions were
conducted at the end of every day and data collection in each district to summarise the results
and plan for the next interviews.

Key highlights from the study.

1. According to the results obtained, the average monthly income for the youth who
participated in the study is MWK27,774.50, Ntcheu MWK28,901.01 and Mzimba
MWK25,629.81. Young women 25-35 years of age have the highest average income of
MWK56,548.39, followed by younger women 18-24 years at MWK25,260.36 and girls
MWK13,416.67. These results were expected because girls are largely in school and, as
such, not involved much in income generating activities as young women did. These
incomes are far much lower than the average Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket
(SMEB) of a typical household in Malawi which is MWK92,637 (US$54.5) per month as of in
December 2022. Youths married and feeding own families (38.3%) are very much affected.
2. Only 10.3% of the youths reported being in wage employment. An additional 39.1% (42.3%
in Mzimba and 37.4% Ntcheu) were self employed. The NEET indicator, which measures
the percentage of young people who are not in employment, education or training was
found to be 48.3%. These youths are neither gaining experience in the labour market, nor
receiving an income from work, nor enhancing their education and skills in any way.

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3. The consequences of these factors and high NEET rates are two-fold. Firstly, on an
individual level, the absence from both education and employment increases the risk of
poverty and a permanent disengagement from the labour market. Secondly, on a country
level, high NEET rates are a loss in terms of unused labour supply, lower productivity and
lower GDP output.
4. Only 30.8% of the adolescents and youths surveyed have received training in green skills
relating mainly to agri-TEVET due to a proliferation of NGOs in the sector. The other skills
have lagged in terms of programming and promotion.
5. Only a quarter (25.2%) of them reported applying the green skills they have received,
11.5% in Mzimba and 32.3% Ntcheu.
6. Conversely, a large majority of them demonstrated to have a very good understanding of
the self in the different facets of every day life and skills for relationships and high order
thinking. For example, 72.2% and 80.7% of the girls 15-17 years and young women 18-24
years strongly agreed to this sentence in the questionnaire, “I want to acquire the skills
that will make me succeed in whatever I desire to be” respectively. The aspects to which
they disagreed to a larger extent were 1) I consider the consequences of my action before I
do something (61.1% girls and 97.6% for young women), 2) I know that my skills are more
valued than those of my peers (61.1% versus 24.9%) and 3) I do things that are important
to me or others, even if I don’t want to (50% versus 13.9%).
7. Another area where both groups showed to lag, related to the higher order thinking, was
on, “People say I am bad at identifying the main issue in a problem situation” where only
44.5% of the the girls and 40.7% of the young women either agreed or agreed strongly to,
making the life skills component vital in the GJ4AY project.
8. Descriptive analysis of the survey data shows that 91.7% of the adolescents and youth in
the study (91.4% Ntcheu and 92.3% Mzimba) had short, medium or long term personal
development plans (PDP) through which they wanted to transit to a sustainable livelihood.
More than half of them (52.3%) reported testing green business models and plans they
have developed.
9. Data from the District Youth Offices (DYO) additionally show that 40 youth savings and loan
groups (YSLGs) meet the criteria for being functional, 24 in Ntcheu and 16 Mzimba.
10. After sharing out at the end of the cycle, YSLG members reported addressing pressing
needs like food, agricultural inputs, assets, small livestock and health care. The main
challenges, however, are lack of awareness, collateral for loans and long walking distances
to commercial banks and other financial service providers. There is also no technical know-
how within the groups on how they can engage with such institutions as reported in FGDs.
11. However, the DYO disclosed that there is currently no budget allocated towards
adolescent’ green skills by the government because this is a new area in Malawi. The
phrases like “green skills” or “green trades”are not mentioned anywhere in the National
Youth Policy (2023-2028) and other policies in the youth empowerment space, making
resource mobilization and budget support difficult to do at the moment.

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12. On child protection, the percentage of cases managed in accordance with standards
defined in Steps to Protect Common Approach toolkit, according to the District Social
Welfare Office (DSWO), is 28.5%.
13. The study found that half of the community-based child protection groups (50%) are
functional and actively identifying, reporting, and referring child protection cases.
14. According to the District Social Welfare Offices (DSWO), 42 cases of violence, abuse and
exploitation against youths with disabilities were identified and documented in 2023 - 38
(13 male, 25 female) in Mzimba and 4 Ntcheu. Only 7 of the 38 cases were sexual in
Mzimba e.g. 3 in Mbelwa, 1 in Kampingo sibande, 2 Mzikubola and 1 Mtwalo TA.
15. In Ntcheu, the cases identified include:
i. Forced marriage (a parent forcing her child to get married in TA Tsikulamowa)
ii. Rape of a girl by the gule wamkulu cult at Ganya
iii. Defilement involving a step father and a physically challenged 14-year old girl in TA
Masasa.
iv. A youth with disability being abused physically and emotionally in TA Masasa by a
brother and other family members by not giving him food and proper care.

16. Two (50%) of the 4 cases in Ntcheu (forced marriage and defilement) were referred to the
primary community Justice Court by the village leadership after the cases were reported to
them. The defilement case was first confirmed through a medical check-up. The other two
cases (rape and mistreatment at home) were reported to the Victim Support Unit (VSU)
and mother support group respectively. The DSWO said that the marriage was dissolved,
while the culprits of rape and defilement were arrested. The family neglecting the youth
with disability was given a stern warning on the other hand. For Mzimba, 7 of the 38 cases
(18.4%) identified for youths with disability, deemed as serious, were also referred for
further action. Five of them related to child marriages and were referred to and addressed
by the local chiefs by terminating the marriages, while 2 were referred to the police and
community court because they related to perpetual sexual exploitation. The culprits were
prosecuted and placed on bail with stiff conditions, while awaiting the final verdict. Extra
efforts are needed in both districts to prevent such issues from happening in the first place.
17. On sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), 94.4% of the adolescents and youths
who participated in the study demonstrated knowledge, 88.5% in Mzimba and 97.5%
Ntcheu. The main sources of this information according to the youth interviewed are peers
(58.3%), Save the Children (54.3%), health centres (42.1%), churches (28.8%), and
newspapers (18.2%).
18. The following are the main services they accessed in descending order of importance:
voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) at 85.7%, modern contraceptives (85.3%), Sexually
transmitted infections (75.9%), Pregnancy test & care (72.4%), and SRH information
education and counselling (74.2%).
19. One major factor reducing access to SRHR services that the youth disclosed during the
interviews is shyness due to lack of privacy and social stigma by peers. For example, they
said that “every time we want to access SHR services, the following questions come to

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 mind: what will happen if I meet someone who knows me? How will my parents react if
they see me asking for condoms? What will the nurse say and think about me? Will all this
be confidential?” “We opt for other avenues such as shops at times, which unfortunately
do not offer comprehensive SRH packages,” they added. The study has recommended
additional channels appealing to the youth which the project can use to increase social
behaviour change.
20. It has also recommended youth-led approaches to be used. They include the Green TEVET,
Economic Activity Selection, Planning and Management (EASPM), Gender transformative
approach (GTA), Life Skills for Success (LS4S), and Social and Behaviour Change
Communication (SBCC) approaches. Annex 1 is the logical framework of the project with
baseline values and targets.

In conclusion, these results mean that GJ4AY is a timely and needed intervention in the local
context and situation of young people in Malawi. The following are the recommendations for
the project going forward:
1) Continue to provide support for innovation incubation, business start-up capital for green
jobs and youth savings and loan (YSL) groups to help reduce the NEET rate in the targeted
districts. Experience and lessons from previous projects by Save the Children and other
organizations show that provision of start-up capital can be cheaper and sustainable if
provided to groups than individuals. GJ4AY should consider doing the same.
2) The need to strengthen partnership and collaboration at the district level is crucial, not only
within consortium partners (ADRA, Mzuzu E-Hub, TEVET and MZUNI) but also among
district partners. Currently, there is lack of a platform to ensure coordinated planning and
supervision of youth projects as highlighted in the interviews with the Social Welfare and
Youth Offices in the districts. Despite existence of multiple partners in the districts
dedicated to youth project, the absence of a collaborative framework hinders effective
implementation and overall oversight. It is imperative therefore to establish mechanisms
that foster cooperation and coordination among the existing stakeholders to avoid overlaps
and ensure the initiatives are sustainable in the end. CRECCOM and ADRA confided in the
baseline team that they have rightly started working and strengthen the collaborations.
3) The main focus of the project should be to give priority to the youths who were involved in
the previous projects, ensuring that they are all certified in their respective trades as
quickly as possible. Currently, the youths as pointed above are not recognised, trusted and
valued within the market. Furthermore, it is important to provide them with the
opportunity to select green trades that align with their interests and aspirations.
4) Apprenticeships are equally critical to internalizing knowledge and skills which the majority
of the youth lack currently. The apprentices exposes them to specialised equipment and
resources, enabling them to demonstrate and apply the skills competitively well in their
professional career thereafter.
5) The master crafts persons (MCPs) plying privately owned trades are the ones who can
absorb the majority of the youth as apprentices since there are not many other outlets in

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 these areas. The engagement will however have 3 implications in terms of support needed:
1) incentivizing them for their time and resources such as electricity and working tools due
to cost, wear and tear involved, 2) providing them with curricula and training as they
currently teach based on experience in their trades and 3) supporting with working tools on
agreement that the MCPs are attached to the TEVET institutions and at the end of the
project they will continue working as such to ensure sustainability. The support will help
them cope with the financial challenges they face and ensure their continued commitment
to the program.
6) The main barriers for the Youth Savings and Loans (SLGs) are limited supervision by village
agents, lack of collateral for loans, long walking distances and poor linkages with
commercial banks and other financial service providers, and lack of knowledge about
financial literacy, business management and group dynamics. Many of them operate at a
micro level and lack resources to invest meaningfully in shares for the groups. Unless these
challenges are addressed and the groups that are idle are revamped, trained and mentored
through out, the success of this intervention remains questionable and far from reach.
7) The district youth office should work on having a reliable data bank for all the youth
activities in the district. This is crucial in every area of programming as it informs decision
makers on which direction to take.
8) Save the Children Malawi, CRECCOM, ADRA and the other partners should prioritize early
procurement of training materials to ensure that the young people targeted by the project
have sufficient time for training and practice. This will enable them to develop their skills
and apply them with mentorship and on their own for a sufficient period of time before the
project comes to an end.
9) The assessment of the youth clubs, scheduled to be done by CRECCOM and ADRA, should
have its findings merged with those of formative research and proper decisions made to
have an effective and successful project.
10) In addition, the GJ4AY project should initiate dialogues with GoM institutions engaged in
policy and resource allocation for green jobs, such as TEVETA, Ministry of Labour (MoL),
Ministry of Education (MoE), Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS), Ministry of Trade and
Industry (MoTI), and Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) at the national, council and district
levels to achieve key aspects of outcome 3. These aspects relate ideally to 1) lobbying for
budgetary increase towards adolescents' green skills development by government (ASST)
and 2) influencing adoption of policy instruments on green jobs by the government
ministries, departments and agencies (MAD). GJ4AY should also invite the private sector
and industry actors to join the dialogues and leverage efforts.

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1.0 Introduction
Save the Children’s definition of green skills for adolescents and youth is, “The knowledge,
abilities, attitudes and behaviours that help adolescent and youth to access and perform green
jobs, realise their rights, and make sustainable consumption and lifestyle choices every day,
contributing to sustainable development and a low-carbon economy.” This definition of green
skills aligns with SC’s Adolescent Skills for Successful Transitions (ASST) position paper, which
aims to provide A&Y with capabilities (i.e. skills, attitudes, knowledge and behaviours) and
opportunities for obtaining decent and productive work, as well as agency, hope and
aspirations for their life chances. In the case of green skills, these capacities and opportunities
are oriented towards accessing and performing green jobs (which are also decent and
productive work) and to make sustainable choices in their lives.

The main principles of Green Skills for A&Y for SC,that constitute the main building blocks of
this definition, are:
1. Green Skills consist of knowledge, abilities, attitudes and behaviours that A&Y need to
access and perform green jobs, realising their rights.
2. Green Skills help A&Y make sustainable consumption and lifestyle choices every day.

A number of set of skills, which includes a mixture of technical and transferable life skills, and
skills for the world of work and the world of life, have been identified by SC as key for A&Y to
access and perform green jobs. These skills include transferable life skills, engineering and
technical skills, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), coordination,
management and business skills, green entrepreneurial skills, innovation skills, awareness and
knowledge of environmental issues, impacts and risks, knowledge of environmental rights,
systems and risk analysis skills, marketing skills, advocacy and campaigning skills and
adaptability and transferability skills.

1.2 An Overview of the GJ4AY Project

The Green Jobs for Adolescent Youth (GJ4AY) project is a 3-year (June 2023-May 2026) 2.2
million Euro SC Italy funded project that Save the Children is implementing in Mzimba and
Ntcheu. Key implementing partners are CRECCOM, ADRA, TEVETA, Mzuzu Entrepreneurship
Hub and Mzuzu University. GJ4AY is a successor of two projects: Youth Empowerment and
Unsafe Migration Prevention Project in Ntcheu and Youth Transition from Poverty to Formal
TEVET and Employment in Mzimba. The goal is “to contribute to addressing lack of employable
skills and income for sustainable transition of young people to adulthood, which contribute to
environmental protection and restoration.” GJ4AY seeks to address three immediate causes in
this regard:
1. Lack of decent jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities
2. Lack of green skills that contribute to positive social and environmental outcomes
(including technical, vocational and financial) and

1
3. Gender inequality, limited opportunities, ableism and gender-based violence, and lack of a
platform to voice needs and ideas.

There are three categories of the youth aged 15-24 in this project 1) 90 youths trained and with
Informal Sector Skills Development Program (ISSDP) certificates from TEVETA in Mzimba, 2) 400
vulnerable out of school girls and boys who did not get ISSDP certificates in Ntcheu and 3) 200
youths newly enrolled in green skills. Unemployment is high among the Malawian youth,
estimated at 14%1 in 2020 for this age group. Job opportunities favour male and urban
graduates. Many adolescent girls and young women, youth with disabilities, and rural youth are
disproportionately affected. They face additional challenges like lack of attractive and
sustainable job opportunities, high incentives for risky migration, pressure from families to stay
at home and work on the household farm, and the long-term risks of climate change. GJ4AY will
engage adolescent girls and young women through a rapid gender analysis, labour market
assessments and consultations at the very beginning to 1) assess the situation on the ground
through youth lenses, 2) refine the design of the project based on priorities highlighted during
the assessments regarding green skills and jobs that can work, 3) select appropriate
implementing tools and 4) monitor and evaluate results over time to make adjustments based
on learning.

The project also plans to train the youth on gender transformative concepts and approaches,
and how to create an inclusive environment in addition to creating an opportunity for self-
employment and empowerment for adolescent girls and young women. A second key group for
the project are the youth with disabilities. GJ4AY has an increased focus on engaging
Organisations of Persons with Disabilities to identify, engage and support meaningful
participation of youth with disabilities better.

Outcomes of the Project

1. Strengthen inclusive economic opportunities for adolescents and youth that benefited from
YE and TEVET projects
2. Promote gender transformative, inclusive, and green employment opportunities for
vulnerable adolescents and youth.
3. Promote an enabling environment to boost inclusive green society and economy in support
of young people.
4. Improve child protection systems for and with young people

2.0 Objectives of the Baseline Study

The main purpose of this baseline study is two-fold:
1. Provide baseline figures for impact and outcome indicators to serve as points of comparison
for the final evaluation of the project or any subsequent assessments and
2. Inform project targeting and, where possible, project design modification. The baseline
information will provide an opportunity for the project to have a better understanding of

1
World Bank Data: “Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) (modelled ILO estimate)”

2
 the current operational environment and existing priorities in the targeted areas of
intervention.

Specific Objectives
1) Review the feasibility of the project results framework including the envisaged impact,
2) outcomes in view of the local context
3) Establish baseline values for the project result framework indicators and propose annual
targets against all impact, outcome and output indicators
4) Contribute to the identification of youth-led approaches relevant to the local context.
5) Identification of most suitable communication channels for key behaviour change
messages
6) Contribute to reflection on sustainability of the envisaged outcomes and impact
7) Identify potential areas for learning and further research
8) Recommend other relevant collaborators and linkages that can contribute to
effectiveness and bringing impact to scale.

3.0 Baseline Methodology

3.1 Study Sites

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The baseline study was conducted in both districts. GJ4AY selected these districts primarily
because of high prevalences of poverty and unemployment. The other reasons are (a) project
partner’s experience, knowledge of the gaps in the youth sector, and availability of
infrastructure and human resources to implement planned activities, and (b) synergies to be
achieved with other projects on youth empowerment, like the ones SCI implemented
previously.

3.2 Study Approach and Design

The baseline study used mixed methods and participatory approaches to triangulate views and
perspectives of all stakeholders and ensure that the findings are verified. The design was both
retrospective, to respond to accountability, and prospective, to provide organizational learning.
Information was obtained through a rigorous review of the secondary data relevant to the
project initially. The design for data collection at participant level was largely quantitative, using
a pre-tested and pre-translated survey instrument administered to young people targeted by
the project. At community level, three kinds of qualitative data gathering techniques were
used:
1) Semi- structured individual interviews with 24 key persons at various levels.
2) 14 Focus group discussions (FGDs) with various groups of interest attended by 108 people,
87 female and 21 male.
3) Direct observations of green skills and jobs on the ground.

3.3 Quantitative Assessment

3.3.1 A Youth Survey
The consultant developed the baseline questionnaire based on the indicators in the M&E plan
for the project as presented in the Terms of References (ToRs). The questionnaire was
translated into Chichewa and Tumbuka during training to prevent misunderstanding and
misinterpretation of questions by respondents. The baseline team included enumerators fluent
in Tumbuka who collected the data in Mzimba. It was uploaded into Kobo and android tablets
by an ICT expert in the team. The use of electronic questionnaire helped us to minimize errors
during data collection and speed up analysis as there was no need to do a separate data entry
exercise.

3.3.2 Sample Size Determination

A sample size of this baseline study, calculated using a statistical formula (n= z x p(1-p)/ɛ )2, was
2 2

420. The study interviewed 302 youths, 198 in Ntcheu and 104 Mzimba, representing a
response rate of 71.9%. These were the girls and youths who were available and came for
interviews upon receiving an invitation from CRECCOM and ADRA.

2
n is the sample size, z is the z score at 1.96 for a 95% confidence level, ε is the margin of error
at 5% and p̂ is the population proportion.

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Box 1: A summary of the sampling procedure for the youth survey
1. Mobilization of the youth 15-24 years to a common place
2. Stratification of the youth into female and male, in school and out of school, youth with
disabilities, youth practitioners of green jobs and so forth.
3. Drawing of the sample size from these categories based on random sampling and
probability proportionate to size (PPS) sampling to ensure more youths come from larger
strata than their counterparts for interviews.
4. Interviewing the selected youth individually.
5. Following up the youth in apprenticeship and self-business or employment and do
interviews at their premises.

3.3.3 Exclusion Criteria

i. Youths not targeted by the project were excluded from the study.
ii. Youths participating in similar projects to avoid overlaps and dual membership. A good
example is the Ntchito Mbambande (Skilled youth for an inclusive, wealth creating, and
self-reliant nation) project focusing also on green jobs that CARE Malawi is
implementing in Mzimba and other districts of the country for 4 years, from March
2023-February 2027.

3.3.4 Measuring Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)

Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) is one of the core cross cutting issues of this
project. The baseline study used instruments designed to ask young people about SRHR. These
instruments include an Illustrative Questionnaire for Interview-Surveys with Young People
designed by John Cleland, and Topics for Individual In-Depth Interviews and Focus Group
Discussions: Partner Selection, Sexual Behaviour and Risk Taking by Roger Ingham and Nicole
Stone (sponsored by the UNDP, UNFPA, WHO and World Bank). Each of these instruments is
best viewed as a tool to assess the needs and problems of young people.

3.4 Qualitative Assessment

3.4.1 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs)
The study interviewed a total of 15 key persons to triangulate results from the youth survey.
The persons interviewed included TEVET instructors, MCPs, owners and staff from privately
owned green trades, project staff, staff from government ministries, departments and agencies
(MAD) and other organizations of relevance to the project (Table 1).

5
Table 1: Key persons consulted in the study from both districts
Numbers of KIIs
District TEVET Privately Project Staff from Other Total
instructors owned field staff relevant organizations
/ MCPs green (SC and government (police,
trades partners) ministries, YONECO,
(Owners departments GENET etc.)
/ staff) and on issues of
agencies SRHR, GBV
(MAD) and child
protection
Ntcheu 1 12 1 3 1 18
Mzimba South 2 0 0 4 0 6
Total 3 12 1 7 1 24

3.4.2 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)

Focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with groups of 8-12 people selected
purposively for their first-hand information. Discussions centred on selected topics with
planned questions, while allowing for interesting, new or unplanned follow up questions to be
asked as well. All sessions explored participants’ specific experiences and opinions on topics of
relevance to the GJ4AY project like green skills and jobs, employment and self employment,
disability inclusion, gender based violence, and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in a
flexible and engaging manner. Each group discussion was led by one facilitator, with assistance
from note-takers. Consent was obtained from all participants along with permission for any
materials produced in the sessions to be kept by the research team for analysis. The key
persons and groups were sampled purposively because they are the ones mentioned in the
M&E plan and with the information about the project. The study developed checklists to guide
discussions. Groups engaged are summarised in Table 2. Annex 2 presents more details about
key persons and groups consulted in the study.

Table 2: Table 4: Groups engaged in the focus group discussions (FGDs)

District Types and Numbers of FGDs
ISSDP ISSDP Youths in YSLG Total Total Number of
certified uncertified Green Number of People in the
Skills Groups Group

Ntcheu 0 4 4 1 9 76 (62 f and 14 m)

Mzimba 3 0 0 2 5 32 (25 f and 7 m)

6
 Total 3 4 4 3 14 108 (87 f and 21 m)

3.5 Recruitment and Training of Enumerators

The consultant recruited and trained 12 enumerators with experience on issues of the youth
and data collection (6 with Chichewa and 6 Tumbuka fluency). The training took place for 3 days
at Lilongwe Sanctuary and covered interviewing techniques, translation of questions, how to
administer and record answers in an electronic questionnaire using Kobo and seek consent
from the youth. The enumerators were also trained in safeguarding and data protection as
outlines in the SCI Malawi’s policies and procedures. A pre-test exercise was conducted on the
first day of field work by each one of the two teams (team A in Ntcheu and B Mzimba) to
familiarize them with the methodology and tools.

3.6 Field Work

Field data collection was carried out in both districts for 12 days (18-30 November 2023). The
team split into two - one went to Mzimba and the other one Ntcheu. Upon arrival in the
districts, the teams made courtesy calls to ADRA and CRECCOM to provide them with an
overview of the baseline study plan developed by the research team respectively. During these
meetings, ADRA and CRECCOM conveyed that community leaders and the youths to participate
in the survey had already been notified. Each team carried out a pre-testing exercise on the first
day. The actual field work followed after this exercise to familiarize enumerators with the
questionnaire and methodology. At every site, ADRA, CRECCOM and the baseline team were
convening a general meeting with the youth pre-booked and gathered to explain about the
study to them. This process was followed by a verification exercise to ensure that the correct
individuals were interviewed. Save the Children provided a list of the study participants, which
the team used to verify names and conduct random sampling. Each enumerator was taking a
respondent aside for interviews to ensure comfortability and confidentiality. Each one of them
ought to interview 5-7 youths a day. The consultant supervised them directly during field work.
Supervision involved ensuring that the evaluation methodology was followed closely, checking
completeness of electronic questionnaires every evening, continuing to mentor the
enumerators, and discussing and rectifying any problems encountered on spot or at the end of
every day.

3.7 Data Analysis

Quantitative data from the baseline study (Kobo questionnaire) was exported, cleaned and
analysed in SPSS (Version 21, IBM Corp. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Armonk, NY: IBM
Corp. Released 2016). Descriptive statistics, such as frequencies and percentages, were
generated and used to describe the findings. Cross tabulations were also used to disaggregate
the data by district, category of the youth, sex, age and vulnerability. Graphs, tables and

7
photographs have been used to put illustrations and evidences in the report, where necessary.
Analysis of qualitative data was manual through content analysis and used to contextualize
quantitative results from the survey.

3.8 Debriefing Sessions

De-briefing sessions took place at the end of each day and field work in the district. All sessions
were attended by the consultant, supervisors and enumerators. Save the Children’s staff was
also with the teams during field work and at some of the de-briefing sessions. The sessions
were useful because they provided an opportunity to get feedback and preliminary results
from the interviews with the youth. They were also used to discuss observations, challenges
and plans for the next interviews. The consultant took notes in detail for report writing. At the
end of the assignment, ADRA and CRECCOM were briefed on the preliminary results coming
from the interviews and the way forward.

3.9 Ethical Consideration

The study followed all ethical requirements, such as safeguarding, anti-fraud, human rights and
cause No Harm policies followed by Save the Children and its implementing partners. The
consultant and every member of the baseline team listened to the presentation SCI made and
committed to comply before and after data collection. Interviews with girls, boys and young women
were conducted in private, away from other youths and guardians. Due to the sensitivity of the
SRHR issues, female enumerators were in most of the cases interviewing girls and young women,
while male ones were assigned to the boys. All the interviews were preceded by a brief introduction
by the interviewers about the purpose of the survey and then seeking consent for participation.
Parents, guardians and other gatekeepers were asked for consent to do interviews and discussions
with adolescent girls and boys 15-17 years of age, considered as children. Assent was sought from
the girls and boys after getting consent from their parents and guardians. Prior to administering
questionnaires and checklists, enumerators also informed respondents that participation was
voluntary, highlighting on the youth’s rights to refuse, skip questions they did not want to answer,
and to discontinue their participation at any time. They assured them that there would be no
consequences for exercising these rights. Each respondent (boys, girls and youth) was informed
about the confidentiality of the information that they were asked to provide. The survey teams
abided by their professional ethical conduct, such as neutrality, respect for respondent’s dignity,
culture and data verification throughout the process. Completed questionnaires were not shared
with anyone outside the team to observe confidentiality as promised. Additionally, all findings have
been reported in aggregate form without identifiable individual participant information.

3.10 Limitations for the Study

1) The baseline study found that the youths targeted by the GJ4AY project are from different
areas in the districts. Although it wanted to interview those from surrounding villages, the
numbers were small. Other youths therefore walked longer distances to meet us. A few lucky
ones cycled to the interview sites.

8
2) The youth survey was conducted according to the planned schedule. Dedicated CRECOM and
ADRA staff were always on hand to offer guidance and assistance. They rendered unwavering
commitment and accompanied the study team every day to the field for interviews. However,
the desired sample size (N=420) was not achieved because some youths either relocated to
areas outside the district or discontinued their involvement in the project. Other youths did not
turn up after receiving the call from field staff for unknown reasons.

3) The 400 youths targeted by the project do not have TEVET ISSDP certificates. This poses a
challenge for them to enter the market successfully. Without proper qualifications, they face
difficulties in finding employment or starting own businesses. In comparison to their
counterparts in Mzimba, the young entrepreneurs in Ntcheu are not recognized in their jobs.
Many of them were not familiar with the concept of green skills and could struggle to answer
certain questions until a lot of clarification was made.

4.0 Baseline Results

4.1 Demographic Information
Of the 302 youths interviewed, 198 came from Ntcheu and 104 Mzimba (Table 1). The youths
were from 10 Traditional Authorities (TAs) in the districts (Table 3).

Table 3: Traditional Authorities visited in the baseline study

Traditional Authority District Total
Ntcheu Mzimba (N= 302)
(n = 198) (n=104)
Ganya 74 0 74
Kampingo Sibande 0 23 23
Making Sibande 0 3 3
Makwangwala 10 0 10
Mandingo Sibande 0 1 1
Masasa 64 0 64
Mbelwa 0 34 34
Mkutumula 50 0 50
Mtwalo 0 26 26
Mzikubola 0 17 17
Total 198 104 302

4.1.1 Age and Marital Status of the Youth Interviewed

The majority of the youth (83.8%) who participated in the study were young women in the age
range of 18-24 years in both districts. These were the youth in the project who turned up in
large numbers for interviews upon invitation by field staff and local volunteers. Girls 15-17
years and young women 25-35 years contributed 6% and 10.3% of the sample size respectively
(Table 4). More than one third of the young women (38.3%) were married, 43.5% in Ntcheu and
28.8% for Mzimba.

9
Table 4: Age categories of the youth who participated in the study
District Frequency Age Range
Girls Young Women Young Women Total
(15-17 (18-24 Years) (25-35 Years)
Years)
Count 12 162 24 198
Ntcheu
% 6.1% 81.8% 12.1% 100%
Count 6 91 7 104
Mzimba
% 5.8% 87.5% 6.7% 100%
Total Count 18 253 31 302
% 6.0% 83.8% 10.3% 100%

4.1.2 Levels of Education

Figure 1 shows that the majority of the youth interviewed had some levels of formal education.
Around one quarter of them reported having the Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE,
23.9%) and Junior Certificate of Education (JCE, 25.3%). A total of 28.3% of them were primary
school leavers and another 22.2% had no education at all, particularly in Ntcheu (27.3%).

Levels of education attained by the youth

45
39.8
40
35
29.9
30 27.3 25.3 27.3 28.3
23.9 25.2
25 21.4 22.2
20
15.5
15 12.6
10
5
0.0 1.0 0.3
0
Adult Literacy JCE MSCE None PLSCE

Ntcheu Mzimba Total

Figure 1: Highest levels of education attained by the youth of this study

4.1.3 Categories of the Youth Interviewed

Table 5 shows that the majority of the youth interviewed were not ISSDP certified in Ntcheu
(47.5%) followed by those who were certified in Mzimba (17.9). The study also interviewed the
youth with green skills and their counterpart newly enrolled in the programs (Table 5).

Table 5: Categories of the youth in the project interviewed by the baseline study

10
 District Frequenc Category of the Youth
y
Green ISSDP ISSDP Newly Total
Skills (Both Certified Uncertified Enrolled
Districts) (Mzimba) (Ntcheu)
Mzimba Count 8 54 0 42 104
% 7.7 51.9 0 40.4 100
Ntcheu Count 42 0 144 12 198
% 21.2 0 72.7 6.1 100
Total Count 50 54 144 54 302
Total 16.6 17.9 47.7 17.9 100

4.1.4 Forms of Disability among the Youth in the Baseline Survey

At baseline, the majority of the youth reported having no disability of any kind as shown in
Figure 2. The common forms of disability, but mild in most of the cases, were deficiencies in
remembering, seeing and walking, particularly in Mzimba at 17.3, 14.4 and 10.6 respectively.

Youths without any disabilities

100 98.5
96.4
95 92.9 93.4 94.4
92.9 92.4 92.1 92.3 93
91.3 91.4
90.4 90.4
90 89.4
88.4
85.6
85 82.7

80

75

70
Seeing Hearing Walking Remembering Self care Communicating

Mzimba Ntcheu Total

Figure 2: Proportion of the youths who reported having no disabilities

4.1.5 Source of Income for the Youth

Figure 3 shows the main sources of income for the youth interviewed in the study.

11
 Sources of income
50 47.5
45 43.7
40.4
40 35.9 36.5
35 30.8
30 28.5 28.8
25 22.2 23.8
20
14.4 13.5
15
9.610.9 10.6
10
5
0
Crop sales Fresh produce Casual work Artisan work YSLA

Mzimba Ntcheu Total

Figure 3: Sources of income for the youth in the study

4.2 Specific Objective (SO) 1: Reviewing the feasibility of the project results framework
including the envisaged impact, outcomes in view of the local context
The results framework of the GJ4AY project, in its current form, has been assessed to be largely
feasible and attainable within the available budget and 3 year lifespan of the project. The
framework has 37 indicators, the majority of which are those that Save the Children has
experience with and, if not, the partners (CRECCOM, ADRA, TEVETA, Mzuzu E-Hub and Mzuzu
University) can assist with expertise. Activities to be done and means of verification for the
achievements attained are well presented. However, there are a few indicators that the
baseline study is suggesting to change in terms of phrasing as it may not be possible to achieve
them in the current phrasing based on the protocols and external factors that the project may
not be able to control. These indicators are those that the project is relying on the government
and other stakeholders to achieve. Table 6 presents them and changes in the wording
suggested.

Table 6: Proposed changes to some of the indicators of the project

Logframe Level Indicator Proposed Changes
Output 2.3 # of employers who have put # of employers reached and
in place some forms of influenced to put in place some
reasonable accommodation forms of reasonable
to employ youth with accommodation to employ youth
disabilities with disabilities
Outcome 3 % Budgetary increase # of advocacies for the
towards adolescents' green government to increase the
skills development by budget towards adolescents' green
government (ASST) skills development. It is better to

12
 phrase this indicator like this
because any increase in the budget
by the government is contingent
upon availability of resources
among competing needs and
priorities.
# of policy instruments # of policy instruments related to
related to green jobs green jobs promoted for adoption
adopted by the government y the government Ministries and
Ministries and agencies. agencies.

4.3 SO2: Establishing baseline values for the project result framework indicators and
propose annual targets against all impact, outcome and output indicators; refer to
Annex A for the indicators
The GJ44AY project has a total of 37 indicators at output, outcome and impact levels
designated for the 3 years. Save the Children tasked the baseline study to measure 20 of these
indicators according to the Terms of References (ToRs) provided. The section below presents
the results obtained. Annex 1 populates the values into the logical framework and proposes
annual targets to be achieved considering the local context of Malawi to date.

Overall Impact Result: Vulnerable adolescents and youth (15 to 24 years) successfully
transition into adulthood and achieve sustainable economic independence.

Average monthly income for the targeted youths aged 15-24 years old
According to Figure 4, the average monthly income from the above-mentioned sources for the
youth who participated in the study was MWK27,774.50, Ntcheu MWK28,901.01 and Mzimba
MWK25,629.81. Young women 25-35 years of age reported the highest income of
MWK56,548.39, followed by younger women 18-24 years at MWK25,260.36 and girls
MWK13,416.67. These results were expected because girls are in school and, as such, not
involved much in income generating activities as young women do. The average Survival
Minimum Expenditure Basket (SMEB) of a typical household in Malawi was MWK92,637
(US$54.5) per month in December 2022, translating to MWK3,087.9 (US$1.82) per day,
according to the World Food Programme (WFP) report of 26 January 2023. The international
poverty lines were updated in 2022. The three poverty lines are: surviving on less than US$2.15
a day (extreme poverty), US$3.65 (lower middle income) and US$6.85 (upper middle income).
These figures mean that the youth engaged in the study are living in extreme poverty, making
GJ4AY the most relevant and timely to increase income sources and opportunities.

13
 Average monthly income (MWK)
60,000.00 56,548.39

50,000.00

40,000.00

28,901.01 29,943.75
30,000.00 27,774.50 27,774.50 27,774.50
25,629.81 25,330.28 25,270.36

20,000.00
13,416.67
10,000.00

-
Ntcheu Mzimba Total Female Male Total Girls Women Women Total
(18-24) (25-35)
District Sex Age

Figure 4: Average monthly incomes for the youth interviewed in the study

% of targeted adolescent and youth in decent work/livelihoods

Save the Children’s GJ4AY is about green jobs. Green jobs are defined as “decent jobs because
they contribute to preserving or restoring the environment”, be they in traditional sectors such
as manufacturing and construction, or in new, emerging green sectors such as renewable
energy and energy efficiency according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). Every job
has the potential to become green if it preserves or restores environmental qualitypromotes
environmentally friendly practices to some degree. The baseline questionnaire included a list of
jobs under the Technical, Entrepreneurial and Vocational Education and Training (TEVET)
programs for the youth as these are considered decent in the local context of Malawi. The jobs
include motorcycle mechanics, bicycle repair and dealership, Agri-TEVET, welding and
fabrication, photovoltaic (solar and electric installation), ICT, digital skills, tailoring and fashion
design, cosmetology (saloon) and energy saving cook stoves.

The baseline study found that half of the GJ4AY adolescents and youths (50.3%) interviewed
(51.5% in Ntcheu and 48.1% Mzimba) were engaged in decent jobs. Figure 5 shows that the
common ones were tailoring and fashion design (15.6%) and welding and fabrication (12.9%) in
both districts. The proportion of the youth in self employment was, however, larger at 39.1%
(n=118), 42.3% in Mzimba (n=44) and 37.4% Ntcheu (n=74). The variation is because the
majority of them were in non-TEVET jobs like doing casual and artisan work, Youth Savings and
loans (YSLA), and crop sales as presented already in Figure 5.

A total of 4.8% (n=5) and 13.1% (n=26) were in wage employment in these districts respectively.
The unemployment rate, considered as youth out of self-employment, wage employment or
both, is 50.7% (n=153), Mzimba 52.9% (n=55) and Ntcheu 49.5% (n=98).

14
 Decent jobs done by the youth
20
17.3
18 15.6
16 13.1 14.6
14 12.5 12.9
12
10
8 6.7
6 4.8 4.0
4 2.5 3.5
2.5 2.5
4 1.9 2.3 1.9 2.3 0.5 0.5
1 1.0 0.7 1.0 0.7 0.5
2 0 0.3 0.0 0.3
0
Mechanics Bicycle repair Agri-TEVET Welding Photovoltaic ICT Digital skills Tailoring Cosmetology Cookstoves

Mzimba Ntcheu Total

Figure 5: Decent Jobs for the youth in the GJ4AY project

Photo: A young woman tailor at Masasa. She has other smaller income generating activities
emanating from the business as depicted in the picture

Barriers to wage and self employment

Figure 6 shows barriers the youth are facing to engage in wage and self employment as
reported in the survey, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs).

15
 Barriers to employment
25
19.2
20 16.9
15 12.5 12.1
10 8.9

5 2.9 3.8 2.5 3

0 1 0.7 0 0.5 0.3
0
Capital Lack of employers Lack of TEVET certification No markets Raw materials

Mzimba Ntcheu Total

Figure 6: Reasons for not engaged in decent jobs

According to FGDs and individual interviews conducted, the youth, including those with ISSDP
skills and certificates, are lacking capital and equipment to get started and operate
sustainably. As a result, they engage in other businesses outside their areas of expertise like
being bicycle taxi operators and running small businesses like those in Figure 5, barbershop,
and TNM and Airtel money agent shops.
Lack of employers due to remoteness of the areas where the GJ4AY youth reside. There is
generally lack of private companies to employ the youth in these areas. The problem is
compounded by lack of electricity for the companies to operate easily
Scarcity of viable markets. For example, the demand for ICT, welding and fabrication, motor
vehicle mechanics, digital skills and other services is low because the areas are rural, with a
limited flow of disposable cash. However, there are trading centres where some of the green
jobs can work, if supported by the GJ4AY project as designed.
Lack of TEVET certificates is an additional barrier in particular for the youth in Ntcheu.
Employers, contractors and other clients are lacking trust in them.
Lack of loans for the youth. Loan opportunities have also shown to disfavour the youths.
Formal financial institutions look for businesses that are already on the ground and just
requiring a boost in most of the cases. The youths also said in the FGDs that they are perceived
as lacking trustworthiness, seriousness, business plans, capacity and collateral. “No
organization is available to give us meaningful loans. When given, the loans are small ranging
from MK100,000 to MK200,000,” said the youth in Mzimba. Similar sentiments were echoed in
Ntcheu.
Unavailability and cost of raw materials are one of the main drawbacks for green jobs as
reported by the youths themselves. “The materials we want are not available here. We have to
go to Mzuzu, very far. Prices keep on increasing beyond what we can afford,” complained a
group of welders in Mzimba.
Culture: An additional barrier that emerged from FGDs is culture. The traditional Ngoni people
forbids women from putting on a trousers. Trades that demand girls and women to put on
trousers ply against this culture. Girls and young women have also low self-esteem and a

16
preconceived mind that that such jobs are mannish. The problem is very big because even for
the few girls who choose to go against the odds by choosing skills that are considered mannish,
male dominated tthe first resistance comes from their parents and spouses. For example,
according to the District Gender Officer for Mzimba “after receiving training, one young woman
wanted to become a motorbike mechanic, but men convinced her husband to be careful with
the wife’s choice of trade if he doesn’t want to lose her to other men. The men justified their
point further by asking the husband in terms of who is going to take care of the kids and the
home when the wife is away at the garage. The woman reported the issue to her parents for
help, but they supported their son in-law saying it is not in their culture for women to be
working with men as a lot of motorbike owners and workers are men.” On the contrary-positive
note, the gender officer disclosed that girls who choose skills that society believes are for men
stand a good chance of getting employment with less competition and can be more trusted
than men. Unless GJ4AY exposes such opportunities and convinces everyone, including girls,
young women and those living with disabilities that they are all capable of doing any decent job
if they so wish, discrimination in the green jobs space will not end in the foreseeable future.

Photo: Girls and young women are into tailoring or saloon which are comparatively less
rewarding than the other green trades considered mannish. In this photo, Stella aged 18 and
trained in cosmetology under TEVET is serving a client. Based at Manyamula trading centre in
Mzimba, Stella used the money from Tiwonge YSLG to to start her business.

17
Outcome 1: Strengthen inclusive economic opportunities for adolescents and youth
that benefited from YE and TEVET projects
% of Adolescent and youth (15-24 years) currently engaged in apprenticeship
Of the 302 youths interviewed, only 46 were engaged in apprenticeship (15.2%) where they
were doing on-the-job training to gain experience and competencies in specific trades as
practitioners, 6 in Mzimba (5.8%) and 40 Ntcheu (20.2%) as shown in Table 7. Further
disaggregation of the data showed that 10 of these youths were those who considered
themselves employed, 28 self employed and 8 unemployed. The apprenticeship was done by
working for TEVET institutions, master crafts persons (MCP) owning private businesses and
employers (Table 7) who in turn were helping the apprentices learn their trade in exchange for
their continued labour for an agreed period. The youths in Ntcheu were in most of the
apprenticeship positions because they were proactive as they wanted also to gain a license for
practicing legally in their areas of profession.

Table 7: Adolescents and youths engaged in apprenticeship at baseline

Training and apprenticeship by the youth District
Mzimba Ntcheu Total
Adolescent and youth currently on training / 5.8% 20.2% 15.2%
apprenticeship in any of the decent jobs
Institutions offering the trainings:
TEVET institution 4.8% 2.5% 3.3%
Master craft person (MCP) 1.0% 14.1% 9.6%
NGOs (Save the Children, Maziko & Third party) 1.0% 12.6% 8.6%
Type of trade being trained in:
Motorcycle mechanics 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Bicycle repair and dealership 0.0% 1.5% 1.0%
Agri-TEVET 1.9% 1.5% 1.7%
Welding and fabrication 1.9% 5.6% 4.3%
Photovoltaic (Solar and electric installation) 0.0% 2.5% 1.8%
Information and communication Technology (ICT ) 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Digital skills 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Tailoring and fashion design 1.9% 4.0% 3.3%
Cosmetology (saloon) 0.0% 1.0% 0.7%
Energy saving cook stoves 0.0% 1.0% 0.7%

% of youth aged 15-24 years not in education, employment or training (NEET)

18
The NEET indicator, which measures the percentage of young people who are not in
employment, education or training, is an important indicator because it captures a broad array
and severity of vulnerabilities among youth. Cross tabulations of these aspects in the
questionnaire showed that close to half of the youths 15-24 years interviewed in the baseline
survey (n=146) were NEET (48.3%). It means they are neither gaining experience in the labour
market, nor receiving an income from work, nor enhancing their education and skills in any
way. The 5th Integrated Household Survey (IHS5) of 2020 shows that 38% and 23% of young
women and men are NEET, not in employment, education or training, in Malawi respectively.
The increasing NEET rate is due to multiple factors that have shown to erode the gains the
country has been making over the years. They, among other things, include the economic
recession, population growth, COVID 19 pandemic, climatic shocks like the Tropical Cyclone
Freddy and young women being extremely vulnerable to early marriage in Malawi. The IHS5
(2020) data. fFor instance, shows that 46% of women in Malawi are married by the time they
are 19. In this baseline, 7 of the 37 adolescent girls of this age (15-19 years) interviewed or
18.9% reported being married.

The consequences of these factors and high NEET rates are two-fold. Firstly, on an individual
level, the absence from both education and employment increases the risk of poverty and a
permanent disengagement from the labour market. Secondly, on a country level, high NEET
rates are a loss in terms of unused labour supply, lower productivity and lower GDP output.

Outcome 2: Promote gender transformative, inclusive, and green employment

opportunities for vulnerable adolescents and youth
Save the Children’s definition of green skills for adolescents and youth is, “The knowledge,
abilities, attitudes and behaviours that help adolescent and youth to access and perform green
jobs, realise their rights, and make sustainable consumption and lifestyle choices every day,
contributing to sustainable development and a low-carbon economy.” A set of skills, which
includes a mixture of technical and transferable life skills, and skills for the world of work and
the world of life, have been identified by SC as key for adolescents and youths to access and
perform green jobs. These skills include transferable life skills, engineering and technical skills,
technical and vocational education and training (TVET), coordination, management and
business skills, green entrepreneurial skills, innovation skills, awareness and knowledge of
environmental issues, impacts and risks, knowledge of environmental rights, systems and risk
analysis skills, marketing skills, advocacy and campaigning skills and adaptability and
transferability skills.

Table 8 shows that 30.8% of the adolescents and youths 15-24 years of age who participated in
the baseline study have received the skills. The main ones relate to agri-TEVET, e.g.
conservation agriculture (28%), agro-forestry (19.2%), compost manure making (8.6%) and
organic manure (6.3%), because of a proliferation of NGOs in the sector. The results serve as
evidence that the other skills have lagged in terms of programming and promotion. Nearly all
(29.1%) the adolescents and youths who received the skills reported that they are useful in
their career development (Table 8).

19
Table 8: Adolescents and youth 15-24 years who have received green skills.
Parameter Gender Total
Female Male
% of adolescent and youth aged 15-24 years received any 32.5 28.9 30.8
skills building in green skills
List of green skills received
Organic agriculture 5.0 7.7 6.3
Conservation agriculture 23.1 34.1 28.0
Agro-forestry 20.0 18.3 19.2
Compost manure making 7.5 9.9 8.6
Briquettes making 0.6 1.4 1.0
Eco-tourism 0.0 0.0 0.0
Bee-keeping 1.2 1.4 1.7
Solar installation 1.9 1.4 1.7
Water conservation technologies e.g., harvesting water 0.0 4.9 2.2
Energy cooking saving technologies 1.2 1.4 1.3
Coordination, management and business skills 5.0 3.5 4.3
Innovation skills 0.0 0.0 0.0
Awareness and knowledge of environmental issues 0.6 4.2 2.3
% adolescent and youth reporting the training was useful 31.2 26.8 29.1
% of A&Y who have applied green skills in their current job, business or Income
Generating Activities (IGAs)
One quarter (25.2%) of the adolescents and youths reported applying the skills they have
received, 11.5% in Mzimba and 32.3% Ntcheu. These results are contradictory to the
expectation of the study. It anticipated the opposite to be true considering that the youth in
Mzimba are the ones with ISSDP certificates that would enable them apply the skills easily.
Barriers already presented above have dominated and prevented them from excelling.

% of sustainable businesses led by adolescents and the youth

Self reports in the household survey show that 62.6% of the green jobs are sustainable and led
by adolescents and youths, 67.2% in Ntcheu and 53.8% Mzimba. Young women 25-35 years, by
virtue of age, were by far most likely and expectedly to lead (93.5%) than girls and younger
women 18-24 years (Figure 7). These jobs are those they considered environmentally, socially
and economically viable and sustainable in comparison to others they were also doing. Topping
the list, as mentioned in the interviews, are Information and Communication Technology (ICT,
100%), cosmetology (100%), Agri-TEVET (83.3%), photovoltaic (71.4%) and bicycle repair and
dealership (14.3%).

20
 Sustainable businesses by youth
100 93.5
90
80
70 67.2 63.4
62.6 60.9 62.6 61.9 62.6
60 53.8
50
40 33.3
30
20
10
0
Ntcheu Mzimba Total Girls Women Women Total Female Male Total
(18 -24) (25 -35)
District Age Sex

Figure 7: Proportion of adolescents and the youth in sustainable businesses

% of Adolescent girls and young women who demonstrate life skills in their everyday life
i.e. at home, school, workplace and in the community
One aspect for assessing life skills was on understanding self. Using a likert scale of 1-4 (strongly
agree 4, agree 3, disagree 2 or strongly disagree 1) tThe youths were asked in the survey to say I
strongly agree 4, agree 3, disagree 2 or strongly disagree 1 to a set of 9 nine statements
included in the survey. All the statements were positive in nature about life skills during
adolescence and young age. Table 9 shows that both girls and young women agreed and, in
most cases, strongly agreed to the statements when posed to them in the survey. For example,
72.2% and 80.7% of the girls and young women strongly agreed that, “I want to acquire the
skills that will make me succeed in whatever I desire to be” respectively. Sixty one point one
(61.1%) of the girls and 63.6% of young women also strongly agreed to, “I am positive or
optimistic in attitude” with 38.9% and 36.0% agreeing affirmatively also. The aspects to which
they disagreed to a larger extent were 1) I consider the consequences of my action before I do
something (61.1% girls and 97.6% for young women), 2) I know that my skills are more valued
than those of my peers (61.1% versus 24.9%) and 3) I do things that are important to me or
others, even if I don’t want to (50% versus 13.9%).

Table 9: Assessing life skills through understanding self in the study

Response Girls 15-17 Women 18-24 Years
Agree Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree Strongly
agree disagree agree disagree
I want to acquire 27.8 72.2 0.0 0.0 19.4 80.6 0.0 0.0
the skills that will
make me succeed in
whatever I desire to
be
I want to have 44.4 55.6 0.0 0.0 33.2 65.2 1.2 0.4
qualities that I will
feel proud of.
I am positive or 38.9 61.1 0.0 0.0 36.0 63.6 0.4 0.0

21
optimistic in
attitude
I am a responsible 44.4 55.6 0.0 0.0 33.2 65.6 1.2 0.0
person
I am good in 50.0 38.9 11.1 0.0 43.1 45.1 11.1 0.8
whatever I do
I know that my skills 11.1 27.8 50.0 11.1 44.7 30.4 21.7 3.2
are more valued
than that of my
peers.
I reflect to check if 77.8 16.7 5.6 0.0 58.9 36.0 4.0 1.2
what others say of
me has any truth in
it.
I do things that are 27.8 22.2 33.3 16.7 35.2 51.0 11.9 2.0
important to me or
others, even if I
don’t want to.
I consider the 0.0 0.0 61.1 38.9 0.4 2.0 46.2 51.4
consequences of my
action before I do
something

Relationship skills
Like with understanding self, relation ship skills were found to be very good in the girls and
young women of this study. On the same scale of I strongly agree 4, to strongly disagree 1,
Table 10 shows that the majority of them strongly agree and agreed in many cases to the 13
statements listed in the questionnaire. All the girls and young women, for instance, either
strongly agreed or agreed that they, “respect all people for who they are even if they are
different from me.” The large majority (94.4% girls and 98.4% young women) agreed and
strongly agreed that. “I understand that one earns the respect of others by their own actions.”
The trend is the same for the other statements used in the questionnaire, except the third one.
On this one, 38.9% of the girls and 17% for young women disagreed and strongly disagreed in
principal that they, “try to understand what the other person may be feeling in a particular
situation.”

Table 10: Relationship skills in the girls and young women at baseline
Response Girls 15 - 17 Women 18-24 Years
Agree Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree Strongly
agree disagree agree disagree
I respect all people 27.8 72.2 0.0 0.0 26.9 73.1 0.0 0.0
for who they are
even if they are
different from me
I understand that 38.9 55.6 5.6 0.0 45.1 53.4 1.6 0.0

22
one earns the
respect of others by
their own actions
I try to understand 27.8 33.3 33.3 5.6 44.3 38.7 15.4 1.6
what the other
person may be
feeling in a
particular situation
When I am 38.9 55.6 5.6 0.0 37.2 61.7 0.8 0.0
watching a movie or
reading a story, I
find myself feeling
the emotions of the
character being
portrayed
Whenever I work in 44.4 50.0 5.6 0.0 39.9 37.3 1.2 1.6
a team, I take full
responsibility for
completing tasks
allotted to me
I help my team 61.1 38.9 0.0 0.0 39.9 37.3 1.2 1.6
members whenever
they face any
difficulty in
achieving their task
In a conflict, I strive 66.7 33.3 0.0 0.0 47.4 50.6 1.6 0.0
to find a solution
that will be fair to
me as well as the
other party
I resolve conflicts 61.1 38.9 0.0 0.0 47.4 51.8 0.8 0.0
such that all
involved feel that
they have been
heard or considered
I articulate what I 50.0 33.3 5.6 11.1 43.9 41.9 13.4 0.9
want to
communicate,
clearly in a way that
the other person
understands it
I use gestures when 33.3 61.1 5.6 0.0 52.2 46.2 0.8 0.8
I talk to others to
express myself
appropriately
I ask for clarification 50.0 44.4 5.6 0.0 49.4 49.0 1.6 0.0
before I judge and

23
conclude what the
other person is
telling me
I do not hesitate to 50.2 58.3 3.4 0.0 30.9 65.3 2.1 1.0
share my opinions
or suggestions
when it is needed
People tell me that I 61.1 27.8 0.0 11.1 46.2 38.7 14.2 0.8
am very creative

High order thinking skills

In this study, the results for high order thinking skills mirrored those for the other skills
presented above. The majority of girls and young women agreed to most of the statements
related to their ability to think critically and highly on issues of concern in their lives. The
proportion that said it is “able to differentiate the root cause of a problem from its effects” is
94.6% for girls and 99.2% young women. Table 11 also shows that 100% of the girls and 98.4%
of the young women felt they, “carefully look for gaps in the information that they collect”
respectively. An area where both groups showed to lag was on, “People say I am bad at
identifying the main issue in a problem situation” where only 44.5% of the girls and 40.7%
young women either agreed or agreed strongly, suggesting the need for improvement.

Table 11: High order thinking skills among the girls and young women in the study
Response Girls 15-17 Women 18-24 Years
Agree Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree Strongly
agree disagree agree disagree
People say I am bad 27.8 16.7 44.4 11.1 31.6 9.1 50.6 8.7
at identifying the
main issue in a
problem situation
I am able to 38.9 55.6 5.6 0.0 63.6 35.6 0.8 0.0
differentiate the root
cause of a problem
from its effects
I believe that there is 61.1 33.3 5.6 0.0 53.8 38.7 7.5 0.0
always a common
issue which is the
root of many
problems
I seek all the relevant 50.0 44.4 5.6 0.0 53.8 45.5 0.8 0.0
information, not just
what is presented to
me
I carefully look for 55.6 44.4 0.0 0.0 56.1 42.3 1.6 0.0
gaps in the
information that I
collect

24
 I analyse the pros and 56.6 4.4 0.0 0.0 43.9 56.1 0.0 0.0
cons of any situation
before coming to
conclusions
I can foresee the 72.2 27.8 0.0 0.0 58.1 39.9 2.0 0.0
consequences of the
decisions I make
I consider a number 55.6 38.9 5.6 0.0 49.8 49.4 0.0 0.0
of possible strategies
before I come to a
decision
I think of different 72.2 22.2 5.6 0.0 54.9 44.7 0.4 0.0
ways of doing things
People tell me that I 61.1 27.8 0.0 11.1 46.2 38.7 14.2 0.8
am very creative

Output 2.1: Adolescent & Youth are equipped with inclusive competencies for life
(trained on life/ resilience skills, environmental sustainability, basic reading, writing,
numeracy, and logical reasoning, etc.)

# of Adolescents and youths with a documented personal development plan (PDP)

Descriptive analysis of the survey data shows that 91.7% of the adolescents and youths in the
study (91.4% Ntcheu and 92.3% Mzimba) had short, medium or long term personal
development plans (PDP) through which they wanted to transit to a sustainable livelihood. The
PDPs, for one third of them (32.8%), were documented in both districts - Ntcheu 39.4% and
Mzimba 20.2%. Table 12 shows that the plans were largely about getting a loan to increase
investment, moving to another area in search of a better market, joining with other businesses,
starting another business altogether and going for further training.

Table 12: Aims of the personal development plan (PDP) documented

Aims of the Plan District
Ntcheu Mzimba Total
Getting a loan to increase investment 18.7% 10.6% 15.9%
Moving out in search of a better market 3.5% 5.8% 4.3%
Joining with others 5.6% 2.9% 4.6%
Starting another business altogether 16.7% 3.8% 12.3%
Going for further training 7.1% 3.8% 6.0%

# of adolescents and youth with strengthened basic functional literacy and numeracy skills
The results from self assessment during interviews show that, out of the 302 adolescents and
youths interviewed, 277 (91.7%), Ntcheu 178 (89.9%), and Mzimba 99 (95.2%) are able to read,
write and make basic arithmetic operations, including addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division without problems. Ideally, learners acquire basic writing and numeracy in Malawi

25
generally from standard 3 or 4. These results mean that while 22.2% had no education at all,
particularly in Ntcheu (27.3%), the have learned the reading and numeracy skills informally
through adult education, their peers and with own effort.

Output 2.2: A&Y are trained on inclusive and gender transformative green skills (VSL
(SLGs), entrepreneurial, technical, vocational, etc.) in line with private sector needs and
supported in designing long term green business /career plans

# of A&Y who have developed and tested Green Business Models and Plans
Table 13 shows that more than half of the adolescents and youths (52.3%) reported testing
green business models and plans they have developed. For those not testing, 30.5% of them
cited lack of resources as the major drawback and 8.3% were still contemplating on whether
the plans can work (Table 13).

Table 13: # of A&Y who have developed and tested green business model and plans
Green Business Model and Plans District
Mzimba Ntcheu Total
A&Y with personal development plans (PDP) 96 181 277
(92.3%) (91.4%) (91.7%)
Number of A&Y who have developed and tested 54 104 158
green business models and plans (51.9%) (52.5%) (52.3%)
Reasons for not yet started testing the plan
Lack of resources 28.8% 31.3% 30.5%
Still contemplating on whether it can work 8.7% 8.1% 8.3%
Lack of opportunity for a joint venture 4.8% 0.5% 2.0%
Lack of loans 6.7% 4.5% 5.3%

26
Photo: An action plan for one of the youth groups in Ntcheu in vernacular Chichewa, detailing
activities to be done, responsible parties and materials required

# of active youth Savings and Loans groups (YSLGs)

The assessment of this indicator involved counting the number of YSLGs that satisfy the
following criteria: formed by the youth, leadership positions held by the youth, availability of
well defined meeting times, documented and up to date financial records, having an active
savings and lending cycle and with at least 15 members. Data from district youth officers (DYO)
show that 40 YSLGs meet the criteria, 24 in Ntcheu and 16 Mzimba. After sharing out at the end
of the cycle, they get lump sums of the savings plus interests on loans, which they use to
address pressing needs like food, agricultural inputs, assets, small livestock and health care. The
main challenges, however, are lack of awareness, collateral for loans and long walking distances
to commercial banks and other financial service providers. There is also no technical know-how
within the groups on how they can engage with the banks as reported in FGDs. To deal with the

27
distance issues, GJ4AY should explore best ways of how it can work with the financial
institutions to bring services much closer to the rural masses.

Outcome 3: Promote an enabling environment to boost inclusive green society and

economy in support of young people
% Budgetary increase towards adolescents' green skills development by government (ASST)
Interviews with the DYO in the targeted districts revealed that there is currently no budget
allocated towards adolescent’ green skills by the government because green trade is a new
area. It is not mentioned anywhere in the National Youth Policy (2023-2028) and other policies
in the sector, making resource mobilization and budget support currently difficult to do.

% of A&Y (m/f) who report the existence of youth friendly laws, gender and disability
sensitive policies/initiatives addressing green opportunities.
The new National Youth Service (NYS) program launched in July 2022 has a component of green
job skills and inclusion. The New Youth Policy (2023-2028) launched on 31 October, 2023 at
Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) also talks about young people, including those
with disabilities as a priority target. The policy, aims to address various challenges faced by the
youth, empowering them to contribute their energy, creativity, and innovation to the country's
economy. It recognizes that the youth population constitutes a significant portion of our society
and is an indispensable force for sustainable development. The launch was done alongside the
2023 UN Day Commemoration held under the theme "Malawi Unite: Championing Youth Led
Innovation for a sustainable future and resilient communities". Other policies of relevance are
the National Employment and Labour Policy (2014-2019), Gender Equality Act 2013 and
Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurial Training Act of 1999 among others.

At baseline, the percentage of adolescents and the youth aware of youth friendly laws, gender
and disability sensitive policies and initiatives addressing green opportunities is 57.3%, in
Ntcheu 67.7% and Mzimba 37.5%. The variation is due to differences in exposure to these
issues. The study found more NGOs and the private sector companies working with the youth in
Ntcheu, through which they have learned laws, policies and initiatives in the green jobs space,
than Mzimba. Figure 9 disaggregates the awareness reported by gender. The general trend is
that there are no awareness differences on the youth policies, laws and initiatives between
male and female youths, including those living with disability. It means that the available
sources of information have been able to target and reach them equally.

Outcome 4: Improve Child protection systems for and with young people
The percentage of child protection cases that have been managed in accordance with standards
defined in Steps to Protect Common Approach toolkit, according to the District Social Welfare
Office (DSWO), is 28.5% (e.g. 2 out of the 7 cases identified in 2023). More efforts are needed to
promote the use of the standards in dealing with these issues.

28
 Youths with knowledge about youth friendly laws
70.0%
59.4%
60.0% 56.9% 56.6%
53.5% 53.1% 52.3%
49.7%
50.0% 47.2% 45.8%

40.0%

30.0%

20.0%

10.0%

0.0%
Male Female Total

Youth friendly laws Gender policies Disability policies

Figure 8: Youths knowing specific youth friendly laws, policies and initiatives

% of community members (m/f) who have a positive opinion of youth with disabilities’
contribution in their community
For this indicator, the baseline study counted the number of the youth demonstrating positive
opinions towards fellow youths with disabilities. To be counted for the indicator, a youth ought
to report an opinion that demonstrates that youths with disabilities can make a positive
contribution to their community e.g. through running a business, employment, voluntarism,
political leadership and other similar initiatives. Direct questions to both female and male youth
participants during FGDs showed that nearly all the youths (98%) had such positive opinions in
both districts at baseline (99% female and 97% male). There is need to nurture and sustain this
gesture of social inclusion and equality.

Proportion of community-based child protection groups that are actively identifying,

reporting, and referring child protection cases
Key activities that child protection groups perform include ensuring that children and
adolescent girls and boys remain protected and prevented from gender-based violence (GBV)
both at and out of school, helping in providing age and sex-based SRHR knowledge and serving
as structures to which any forms of abuse can be reported to, for action.
The baseline study collected this information for this indicator from child protection
committees at district and community levels. To be counted for, such groups or committees had
to demonstrate the following:
1. Up-to-date records of documented cases
2. Up-to-date records of referred cases
3. Evidence of activities aimed at sensitizing community members on reporting child
protection concerns
4. Evidence of consistent committee meetings at agreed frequency

29
The results obtained show that Mzimba with 182 community-based child protection groups had
90 of them (49.5%) functional and actively identifying, reporting, and referring child protection
cases. For Ntcheu, the baseline value for this indicator is also 50% as reported by the DSWO.

Output 4.1: Capacity of child protection structures and communities are strengthened to
prevent and respond to violence, against girls, boys, young men and women

# of cases of violence, abuse and exploitation identified particularly for youth with disability
According to the District Social Welfare Offices (DSWO), 42 cases of violence, abuse and
exploitation against youths with disabilities were identified and documented in 2023. Thirty
eight (13 male, 25 female) of these cases were identified in Mzimba and 4 in Ntcheu. The
variation is due to the differences in the population and social-cultural behaviours in the
districts. A large majority of the cases in Mzimba were mild. Only 7 were sexual in nature 3 in
Mbelwa, 1 in Kampingo sibande, 2 Mzikubola and 1 Mtwalo TA (Annex 3 shows further
breakdown by sex).

In Ntcheu, the cases identified include:

1) Forced marriage (a parent forcing her child to get married in TA Tsikulamowa)
2) Rape of a girl by the gule wamkulu cult at Ganya
3) Defilement involving a step father and a physically challenged 14-year old girl in TA Masasa.
4) A youth with disability being abused physically and emotionally in TA Masasa by a brother
and other family members by not giving him food and proper care.

# of cases of violence, abuse and exploitation referred particularly for youth with disability
Overall, 9 of the 42 cases (21.4%) identified in both districts were referred to other authorities
for further action. Two (50%) of the 4 cases in Ntcheu (forced marriage and defilement) were
referred to the primary Justice Court3 by the village leadership after the cases were reported to
them. The defilement case was first confirmed through a medical check-up. The other two
cases (rape and mistreatment at home) were reported to the Victim Support Unit (VSU) and
mother support group respectively. The DSWO said that the marriage was dissolved, while the
culprits of rape and defilement were arrested. The family neglecting the youth with disability
was given a stern warning on the other hand. For Mzimba, 7 of the 38 cases (18.4%) identified
for youths with disability, deemed as serious, were also referred for further action. Five of them
related to child marriages and were referred to and addressed by the local chiefs by
terminating the marriages, while 2 were referred to the police and community court because
they related to perpetual sexual exploitation. The culprits were prosecuted and placed on bail
with stiff conditions, while awaiting the final verdict. Extra efforts are needed in both districts to
prevent such issues from happening in the first place.

3
Primary Justice Courts are community-based non-legal committees created by CCJP in Ntcheu to deal with cases
of abuse and exploitation at community level. When an issue is beyond their control, they refer it to the police or
legal court.

30
Output 4.2: A&Y access to gender sensitive and youth friendly SRHR services Knowledge
about sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)
Overall, 94.4% of the adolescents and youths who participated in the study demonstrated
knowledge about sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), 88.5% in Mzimba and
97.5% Ntcheu. The adolescents and youths mentioned various sources from which they receive
this information. However, as shown in Table 14 the major ones are peers (58.3%), Save the
Children (54.3%), health centres (42.1%), churches (28.8%), and newspapers (18.2%).

Table 14: Knowledge, Source of Information and Service points

Knowledge of SRHR ad Sources of Information District
Mzimba Ntcheu Total
Knowledge about sexual and reproductive health 88.5% 97.5% 94.4%
and rights (SRHR)
Sources of information about SRHR
Radio 8.7 4.5 6.0
Television 4.8 3.0 3.6
Newspapers 28.8 12.6 18.2
Teachers / books 20.2 3.0 8.9
Internet (Facebook, WhatsApp, emails etc.) 7.7 5.6 6.3
Churches 43.3 21.2 28.8
Same sex friends and relatives 19.2 17.2 17.9
Girl and boy friends (peers) 48.1 63.6 58.3
Health centres 24.0 51.5 42.1
Save the Children 44.2 59.6 54.3
Other Youth Organizations (GENET, YONECO etc.) 1.9 9.1 6.6

% of young people (15-24 years) accessing SRH services disaggregated by age and gender
The baseline study found that the proportion of the youth 15-24 years of age with access to
SRHR services in the past 12 months is 85.8%. It did not observe significant differences in access
to this information between female and male youths at 87.7% and 83.5% respectively. The
following are the main services they accessed in descending order of importance (Table 15):
voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) at 85.7%, modern contraceptives (85.3%), Sexually
transmitted infections (75.9%), Pregnancy test & care (72.4%), and SRH information education
and counselling (74.2%). Unsafe abortion is one of the leading causes of pregnancy-related
deaths in Malawi. Girls and young women are at the highest risk of dying from the
complications as their bodies are not fully mature. In spite of this, none of the adolescent girls
and young women reported accessing safe abortion and care services in their respective
healthcare centres. “Many of the Adolescent girls and young womenyoung women abort
secretly in the communities. They feel it is inhuman and unacceptable to abort” said girls in
Ntcheu. “One is shy also to ask for abortion at the health centre,” added young women in
Mzimba. Given that most girls indulge in sexual activities even before the age of 18 years, there
is need to improve awareness, access and uptake of these services.

31
Table 15: Access to Sexual Reproductive Health services and Services
Access to SRHR services Sex
Female Male Total
Access to SRHR services in the past 12 months
Young people with access to SRHR services in the past 87.7% 83.5% 85.8
12 months %
Services used in the last 12 months
SRH information education and counselling 63.6 61.9 62.8
Modern contraceptives / Family planning methods 86.7 83.3 85.3
Pregnancy test & care 72.7 71.4 72.4
Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) 86.1 85.3 85.7
Sexually transmitted infections (STI) screening, 80.0 68.4 75.9
diagnosis, and/or treatment services
Safe abortion care 0.0 0.0 0.0

Contraceptive Use
Unplanned teenage pregnancy is an issue of public health concern in Malawi. Data from the
Malawi’s 5th Integrated Household Survey (2020) 46% of women in Malawi are married by the
time they are 19. Recent data on the 15- to 19-year-old childbirth and pregnancy rate further
shows that between 29% and 33% have had a child or are pregnant (MDHS 2016). Given the
increased teenage sexual activity and decreased age of first sex, the use of contraceptives is
essential. While the percentages for contraceptive use in Table 15 is quite high, the methods
that the youth in the GJ4AY districts are using are limited. Table 16 shows that the most
common contraceptives used are oral contraceptive pills (95.7%), condoms (40.7%),
contraceptive injection (11.9%) and implant (11.3%). Table 15 shows that the use of other
methods that are available and equally effective is low. Uptake of these contraceptives among
adolescents and young people is affected by numerous socio-cultural and demographic factors,
which includes cultural beliefs, peer influence, religion, fear of the side effects and prior
discussion of contraceptive use with a partner. The other factors are age of the youth,
education, knowledge of the ovulatory cycle, non-youth-friendly health services and marital
status as the spouse or partner may make the decision for the girls and young women to or not
to utilize contraception as reported in FGDs. An additional factor that the youth also disclosed
during the interviews is shyness due to lack of privacy and social stigma by peers. For example,
they said that “every time we want to access SHR services, the following questions come to
mind: what will happen if I meet someone who knows me? How will my parents react if they
see me asking for condoms? What will the nurse say and think about me? Will all this be
confidential?” “We opt for other avenues such as shops at times, which unfortunately do not
offer comprehensive SRH packages,” they added.

These results suggest the need for the GJ4AY project to provide training at the very onset for
the youth and healthcare providers to increase quality of service delivery and access to youth
friendly SRHR services in the targeted districts. There is also need explore avenues for
enhancing partner involvement, intensifying health education and providing detailed

32
counselling to address misconceptions and myths surrounding SRHR. Besides misconceptions
about side effects, there were other myths and misinformation mentioned during FGDs, which
the project should strive to address, like “girls cannot get pregnant when they do the following:
having sex in the water (such as a river), washing quickly after sex and having sex while
standing.”

Table 16: Contraceptive methods currently used

Contraceptive methods Adolescent & Youth Adolescent & Total
Age 15-17 Years Youth Age 18-24
Refraining from sex 5.1 0.0 4.6
Condoms 40.4 43.3 40.7
Implant 10.7 16.7 11.3
Intrauterine Device (IUDs) 0.0 0.0 0.0
Oral contraceptive pill 96.7 86.7 95.7
Contraceptive injection 11.0 20.0 11.9
Emergency contraceptive pill (the 1.8 0.0 1.7
morning after pill)
Contraceptive ring 1.8 3.3 2.0
Diaphragm 0.0 0.0 0.0
Sterilization 0.4 0.0 0.3
Traditional herbs 0.0 0.0 0.0

% of A&Y who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations,
contraceptive use and reproductive health care
Four in every five (81.6%) of the sexually active young women 18-35 years reported making
own decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care in the
project districts. Table 17 shows the other decisions they are able to make related to this
subject matter. These results mean that disseminating SRHR messages directly to them, besides
other avenues like holding gender sessions together with their partners at times, can help
increase uptake.

Table 17: % Young women making own informed sexual decisions

Decision Young women
(≥18 years)
Decisions about sexual relations, contraceptives and reproductive health care 81.6%
Decisions about who to have sexual relations with, when and how frequent 77.2%
Decisions regarding whether to use contraceptive methods 77.6%
Decisions on what contraceptive method to use 78.7%
Decisions regarding when, where and how often to give birth 72.8%
Decisions regarding where to access Sexual Reproductive HR services 81.2%

4.4 SO3: Identification of youth-led approaches relevant to the local context

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The baseline study consulted the youth, key persons and groups on the youth-led approaches
to be used in the implementation of the GJ4AY project. The feedback reiterated on using a
thoughtful blend of multiple approaches (Table 18), to deliver the project, based on the
outcomes in the logical framework and what has shown to work previously.

Table 18: Youth-led approaches proposed for the GJ4AY project

Outcome Recommended Approaches
Outcome 1: Strengthen inclusive economic i. Youth Savings and Loan (YSL) Groups
opportunities for adolescents and youth that ii. Green TEVET approach
benefited from YE and TEVET projects iii. Economic Activity Selection, Planning
and Management (EASPM) Training
iv. Mentoring and coaching of the youth
Outcome 2: Promote gender transformative, Gender transformative approach (GTA)
inclusive, and green employment opportunities
for vulnerable adolescents and youth
Outcome 3: Promote an enabling environment Policy dialogues with the government and
to boost inclusive green society and economy private sector
in support of young people
Outcome 4: Improve child protection systems i. Life Skills for Success (LS4S) Approach
for and with young people ii. Social and Behaviour Change
Communication (SBCC) Approach
iii. Establishment, revamping and
training of local structures

1) Establishing and supporting Youth Savings and Loan (YSL) Groups

Youth Savings and Loan (YSL) groups are a proven model that has the potential to help the
youth targeted in this project save and build their capital, leverage investments and accumulate
assets they need as they transit into adulthood. The baseline has found that some of the youths
are already in the groups, but efforts are needed to establish new ones, revamp those that are
inactive and enhance their capacities. For better results, the project should train project
officers, community development assistants (one per traditional authority) and 2 district
community development officers (one for each district). It will map out village agents available
and work with them to supervise the youth alongside village savings and loan groups run by
adults to which they are designated.

2) Green TEVET approach

Every job has the potential to become green if it contributes to reducing environmental
impacts, or preserve the environmentit promotes environmentally friendly practices. The GJ4AY
should select jobs using the green TEVET approach as the targeted youth have TEVET ISSDP
certificates or are aspiring to get them. While Save the Children already has a list of potential
green jobs, the actual selection of the jobs to be promoted in this project should be done
cautiously in view of the working environment in which the youths are. According to

34
suggestions from FGDs and KIIs conducted, the Green TEVET approach used in the project
should base the selection on a number of factors. These factors include inter alia (a) the
potential to address social challenges e.g. access to education, information and communication
in remote areas or for people with disabilities, (b) Potential for sustainable sourcing of materials
and markets for final products, (c) relevance to Industrialisation Pillar II of the Malawi vision
2063 agenda, and (d) high likelihood for green transformation in sourcing, production,
utilization of the products/ or services and waste disposal). The selection will also have to
consider market saturation (either with qualified or unqualified labour). The overall goal of the
approach is to prevent environmental degradation, promote conservation, facilitate climate
change adaptation and support management of the impact of extreme weather events.

3) Economic Activity Selection, Planning and Management (EASPM) Training

The EASPM training will help the adolescent girls and young women to create a vision, do a
situation analysis, prepare action plans and implement them, monitor progress and sustain the
actions. The training will also help them analyse different types of enterprises and choose the
best enterprise that fits them. The project shall take them through a process to assess their
capacity, knowledge and skills, capital, profit, market and expenditure on a daily and monthly
basis. To strengthen the saving culture and prudent finance management, the girls and young
women will go through finance literacy training focussing on savings, budgeting, debt
management and bank services. The output of the EASPM training will be a Personal
Development Plan (PDP) with a clear roadmap, business goals, visions and missions.

4) Mentoring and coaching of the youth through apprenticeships

The project will identify and engage master crafts persons (MCP), individuals running privately
owned green trades, to train the targeted girls and young women as apprentices for them to
practice and internalize the skills for easy application. The MCPs will undergo a 5-day
mentorship training and, thereafter, be attached to the youths in the ratio of not higher than
1:5. The mentorship and coaching will involve training the adolescent girls and young women at
the MCP’s working station to impart hands-on skills and experience in them. To ensure that
there is commitment and value for money, the project will provide stipends to the mentors on
monthly basis for 4 months upon checking activity reports. By the end of 4 months, it is
anticipated that the youth will become well knowledgeable to run their businesses
independently or with very minimal support. Since the MCPs reside in the same communities,
they will be urged to still keep an eye on their apprentices and where necessary render
additional support.

5) Gender Transformative Approach (GTA)

“Approaches that target women only in the name of women empowerment spark
disagreements among family members because men think women are being trained to be
disobedient,” said the Gender Officer for Mzimba. The recommendation is for the GJ4AY project
to apply the gender transformative approach (GTA) to addressing gender inequalities and
disparities that are there. The project will achieve this by establishing a network of gender
champions, composed of women and men, who can work as role models to provide peer-to-
peer support. Through the GTA model, the project will build the capacities of male leaders and

35
positive male role models identified through the Social Analysis and Action (SAA) process to
disseminate messages on different definitions of positive masculinity that supports adolescent
girls and young women access to TEVET education, apprenticeship, employment and self-
employment. It will use the household (also known as Umodzi) model, visioning and gender
balance tree tools, to balance power, control of resources and decision-making by individual
girls and young women as well as their groups, households and communities.

6) Policy dialogues with the government and private sector

In addition to classic advocacy activities, the project should initiate dialogues with GoM
institutions engaged in policy and resource allocation for green jobs, such as TEVETA, Ministry
of Labour (MoL), Ministry of Education (MoE), Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS), Ministry of
Trade and Industry (MoTI) and Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) at the national, council and district
levels to achieve key aspects of outcome 3. These aspects relate ideally to 1) lobbying for
budgetary increase towards adolescents' green skills development by government (ASST) and 2)
influencing adoption of policy instruments on green jobs by the government ministries,
departments and agencies (MAD). GJ4AY should also invite the private sector and industry
actors to join the dialogues wherever possible for them to address the problem of NEET
observed.

7) Life Skills for Success (LS4S) Approach

The GJ4AY will target women, men, adolescents and youth to specifically promote the
engagement of men and boys in addressing challenges of gender-based violence (GBV)
encountered by girls and young women. The project will additionally adapt manuals used in
previous projects to train adolescent girls, young women, community health action groups
(CHAG) and project staff on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and sexual and
gender-based violence (SGBV). It will also train them on how to recognize when cases have
occurred, in accordance with the project’s or universally-available SGBV Monitoring and Risk
Mitigation Plan. The plan includes information and training material on psychological first aid, a
list of referral organizations, and organizational policies and procedures. Project staff will
engage on disseminating information on SGBV prevention and available community level SGBV
protection services as part of implementing the plan in this regard. Youth facing specific
challenges or risks (e.g. GBV) will receive counselling and GBV referral pathway information.
The project will reach youths in hard-to-reach areas with mobile integrated outreach clinics to
avoid leaving anyone behind.

8) Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) Approach

The GJ4AY will use Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) to promote and
facilitate changes in knowledge, attitudes, norms, beliefs and behaviours. For improved health
outcomes to be attained, it is necessary to support broader social change. The SBCC approach
will follow a systematic process to analyse existing problems in order to define key barriers and
motivators to change, and to design and implement a comprehensive set of interventions to
support and encourage positive behaviours. An accompanying communication strategy will be
used to provide the guiding design for SBCC campaigns and interventions, ensuring
communication objectives are set and consistent messages are determined for all the activities.

36
9) Establishment, revamping and training of local structures
The project will 1) enhance the capacity of community structures like the child protection
committees (CPC), civil protection committees (CPC), area development committees (ADCs),
youth networks, parents, caregivers, youths and community members on child protection for
young people and to challenge social norms that exacerbate SGBV and 2) collaborate with them
on SGBV sensitization, referral and response mechanisms. It will revamp committees that are
idle and train them together with others.

4.5 SO4: Identification of the most suitable communication channels for key behaviour
change messages
Identifying and selecting the right mix of channels and activities for a social and behaviour
change communication (SBCC) program is important.It maximizes reach and effectiveness of
the messages.It also increases repetition and audience’s exposure to messages, allowing
different channels to reinforce meaning. Repeat exposure improves the likelihood that a
message will be understood, accepted and acted upon. Young people receive communication
from various channels. Discovering where they are and which channels do they use to access
information is one of the first and key steps to effective communication.

The baseline study brainstormed a list of the different channels that can be used in the
project.When developing the list, a consideration was made on current channels, difference in
preference between girls and young women, habits in terms of how they spend their time and
which channels are suitable therefore, literacy levels and potential barriers to accessing
information. Figure 9 shows channels included in the questionnaire and the most frequently
used ones by the girls and young women in the SRHR space.

Sources of information for the youth

Youth organizations 6.6

Health centre 42.1

Peers - opposite sex 58.3

Peers - same sex 17.9

Digital media 6.3

Teachers 8.9

Newspapers 18.2

TV 3.6

Radio 6
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0

Figure 9: Source of information about SRHR for young people in the project

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According to Figure 9, girls and young women targeted by the GJ4AY project receive SRHR
information from various sources. The most common ones are peers of opposite sex (58.3%),
health centres (42.1%), newspapers (18.2%) and peers of same sex 17.9%). The study found age
and district variations in the sources of this information (Table 19). Young women 25-35 years
in Mzimba mentioned the radio (57.1%) and teachers and books as also vital information
sources. Half of the girls 15-17 years in the district also said they get SRHR information from the
teachers and books like their 25-35 year old counterparts.

Table 19: Communication channels of young people in the targeted districts

Channel Ntcheu Mzimba Overall
15-17 18-24 25-35 Total 15-17 18-24 25-35 Total
Radio 0 4.9 4.2 4.5 16.7 4.4 57.1 8.7 6.0
TV 0 3.1 4.2 3.0 16.7 3.3 14.3 4.8 3.6
Newspaper 16.7 13.0 8.3 12.6 33.3 28.6 28.6 28.8 18.2
Teachers 8.3 2.5 4.2 3.0 50 16.5 42.9 20.2 8.9
Digital media 8.3 6.2 0 5.6 16.7 6.6 14.3 7.7 6.3
Peers 1* 8.3 19.8 4.2 17.2 16.7 17.6 42.9 19.2 17.9
Peers 2 33.3 63.6 79.2 63.6 16.7 47.3 85.7 48.1 58.3
HC 41.7 53.1 45.8 51.5 16.7 23.1 42.9 24 42.1
YO 16.7 8.6 8.3 9.1 0.0 2.2 0.0 1.9 6.6
*Peers 1 stands for peers of the same sex, Peers 2 is peers of the opposite sex, HC health centre
and YO youth organizations.

Recommended Communication Channels

The study recommends a variety among the following channels based on the results above,
objectives of the GJ4AY project and availability of resources:
Community-based media through locally established outlets. Such outlets include local radio
stations and community newsletters, newspapers as well as activities, such as rallies, music,
comedy, dramas and sporting events, to reach out to a wide audience of the girls and
youth.Inviting well known comedians, youth celebrities and musicians to perform a free music
show about the youth and decent jobs or organizing football, netball and other games that can
attract masses of the youth because they love entertainment. A theatre group composed of the
youth themselves performing a play about gender-based violence (GBV) they face for a
community and holding a discussion afterwards is another example of the channel GJ4AY can
use to promote social behaviour change. “Youths are attracted to and like patronizing activities
that are for the youth only. These channels are good for them,” said the District Youth Officer in
Ntcheu.
Counselling, based on one-to-one communication and done with a trusted and influential
communicator such as a counsellor, teacher and health provider. Counselling tools and job aids
will have to be produced to help clients and counsellors improve their interactions, with service
providers trained to use the tools and aids.
Digital media to disseminate highly tailored messages to the girls and young women, while also
receiving feedback from them and encouraging real-time conversations. Social media is a sub-

38
set of digital media, which the project can use as well, and examples include Facebook,
WhatsApp, Twitter (X), Linked In, blogs, eForums, SMS texts, chat rooms and Internet sites.SMS
texts, WhatsApp and Facebook are already used commonly among the targeted girls and youth
targeted as reported in interviews, except that SRHR communication hardly use them for
unknown reasons.If used, the coverage, reach and impact would be extremely good.
Interpersonal and peer or one-to-one communication. This could be parent-child
communication, peer-to-peer communication or communication with a health educator or
service provider.
Mass media, such as public radio, television and newspapers, can help the project reach large
audiences of the girls and youth with key SRHR messages cost-effectively.
Mid-media that includes posters, brochures and billboards and can be typically used in
partnership with mass media.
Social mobilization to bring relevant sectors such as youth organizations, policy makers,
networks and communities together to raise awareness, empower individuals and groups of
young people for action, and work towards creating an enabling environment and effecting
positive behaviour and social change.

Stages of Communication Initial Outcomes Behavioural Outcomes

Change Channels
Continuum
Unaware  Community-  Knowledge  Increased condom use
Aware based media about SRHR  Increased STI care-
Concerned  Counselling  Positive seeking behaviour
Knowledgeable  Digital media attitude  Delayed sexual debut
Motivated to (SMS texts,  Increased  Reduced number of
change WhatsApp and practice partners
Practicing trial Facebook)  Emergence of  Increased safer sexual
behaviour  One-to-one role models practices (more
change communication and health frequent condom use,
Practicing  Public radio, educators fewer partners)
sustained television and  Peer-to-peer  Increased contraceptive
behaviour newspapers networks use
change  Posters,  Increase  Increased incidence of
brochures and demand for healthcare-seeking
billboards services behaviour for STIs
 Social  Interest of  Reduced GBV
mobilization policy makers  Reduced incidences of
in investing in early marriages
youth-friendly
services

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4.6 SO5: A reflection on sustainability of the envisaged outcomes and impact
According to the feedback from key persons, groups of interest and the youth themselves, the
likelihood of sustaining the outcomes and impact of this project is very high. The likelihood
hinges upon the design of the project and can be explained at 5 levels as follows.

1) Structural level: The plan to build the capacity of local structures and empower them to
lead in the whole implementation and monitoring process of the project is a good design.
It gives an assurance that continuity will be there since those trained are master crafts
persons (MCPs), TEVET instructors, SRH educators and counsellors, gender champions,
child protection committees, village agents for YSLAs and others from the same
communities. All of them will be engaged on a voluntary basis. In this way, the project will
prepare them already to work without a salary so that when it comes to an end they should
not see any difference. For example, government frontline workers committed already
during interviews that they will continue doing various activities not only due to the
capacities in them after receiving training from the project, but also because that is what
they already do in their daily routine work.
2) Economic: Start up grants for green jobs and YSLA to be supported by the project will help
increase self employment opportunities and net incomes, which the girls and youth will be
using to invest in alternative business. Together, these synergies will make them more
resilient and sustainable in their operations.
3) Social: The baseline study has found cases of gender disparities and GBV against girls and
young women in the targeted districts. The girls, young women and their communities are
anticipating reductions in these cases, which if attained, will lead to the sustainability of the
life skills and SBCC activities beyond the project’s lifespan. The linkages and relationships
that will be created between the youths and health educators, guides and counsellors are
an additional factor for long term social gains.
4) Environmental: Trainings and the promotion of green skills and jobs will help the girls and
youth to do business in a way that sustains the environment from inception, raw material
acquisition and processing to the final product.
5) Policy: It is highly expected that the government of Malawi will feel duty bound and
continue sustaining activities of GJ4AY as they contribute towards Pillar 2 of the Malawi
Agenda 2063, industrialization. Since green trades are a new area in the context of
humanitarian nexus in Malawi, the best practices and lessons learned will be used to
inform policy formulation for the youth.

4.7 SO6: Identification of potential areas for learning and further research
1) Are there any areas in the green jobs sector that the GJ4AY can potentially contribute to?
There are many things requiring investment support from the GJ4AY project based on the
problems that the youth are facing as reported by the youth themselves, key persons and other
people interviewed. These things include incubation of innovations in the green skills sector,
scholarships for the newly enrolled youth to pursue and complete TEVET programs and
apprenticeships (on-job training to gain hands-on experience), which are currently low due to
remoteness of the areas in which the targeted youth reside. The other areas requiring support

40
from the project are TEVET certification after completion of the programs, development of
business plans, provision of business start-up capital and post-grant mentorship. GJ4AY already
planned to do some of these things and these results are therefore an endorsement and
confirmation that the project is on track of supporting what the youth need.

The master crafts persons (MCPs) plying privately owned trades are the ones who can absorb
the majority of the youth as apprentices since there are not many other outlets in these areas.
The engagement will however have 3 implications in terms of support needed: 1) incentivizing
the MCPs for their time and resources such as electricity and working tools due to cost, wear
and tear involved, 2) providing them with curricula and training as they currently teach based
on experience in their trades and 3) supporting with working tools on agreement that the MCPs
are attached to the TEVET institutions and at the end of the project they will continue working
as such to ensure sustainability. Linkages to formal financial service providers, from which they
can access loans and grow their businesses, policy advocacy for green jobs are crucial too for
long term success.

Photo: Carpentry is one of the common trades in the project districts. Investment in tree
planting and afforestation can help make the trade green, more productive and sustainable

2) Do you have research questions you want to be explored more in the green jobs sector?
The baseline study found a variety of non-green jobs like brick making, bakery and carpentry
that the youth are doing because markets are readily available. The youth are earning
favourable returns from these businesses and, because of this, they continue doing them. The
following were the main questions that arose from the interviews therefore:

41
 i. How can the youth turn the non-green jobs into green ones e.g. How to run a bakery or
brick-making business without using charcoal and firewood?
ii. Are technologies available that can be used easily even in areas where there is no
electricity? Are these technologies cheap, affordable and sustainable in the end?

3) What are the new potential green jobs that have not yet been explored in the area, but if
taken on board would have a huge impact?
 Electricity generation and supply: Generating electricity using locally available natural
resources like what one boy is doing in one of the villages in Mzimba. The project may
want to learn from him, see how that can be improved and make the boy a trainer to
train other interested youth. The need for electricity is high and will always be there,
hence creating more jobs for new installation and maintenance. Other youths are
making durable electricity extension also using locally found materials that can easily be
recycled, which the GJ4AY can explore further and scale up.
 Fashion and designing - This area of trade is different from mere tailoring. It is an
emerging and rewarding trade as people look for new ways of dressing that suit their
local styles and traditions.
 Motorbike mechanics – There is a high demand of this skill as the numbers of
motorbikes continue to increase. If the project introduces this trade as one of the skills
to train the youth, it will really address the gap for the mechanical services.

Photo: A group of young people demonstrating how the make honey in TA Ganya. There are no
similar groups in the other TAs despite the need.

42
  Bee keeping is another green business not yet well explored in the targeted districts.
However, in a few areas where it is being done like in TA Ganya the trade is contributing
to natural resource management as the culprits of deforestation fear the bees.
 Making of cement and sand bricks – the youth recommended the making of these
bricks that they are environmentally friendly since fire is not needed to produce.
However, the question remain on how to tailor the technologies used to work in rural
areas with small investment to enable the majority of the youth afford them.

4.8 SO7: Recommending other relevant collaborators and linkages that can contribute
to effectiveness and bringing impact to scale
The National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) is one of the main programs to collaborate
with and add value to the project. According to the interviews and FGDs held, NEEF is providing
start-up loans with collateral being TEVET certificates held by the applicant. The loans are
requested through TEVET as the guarantor. TEVET keeps the certificates and return after the
recipient pays back the loan. The loans disbursed range from MWK100,000 to MWK200,000
with 4% interest per annum. NEEF encourages the youth to form groups, each member to
identify a business they want to venture into and offers training. When the loan is approved, it
is granted through the group and each member receives the amount they applied for.
Collaboration with NEEF can help girls and young women access the loans easily and top up
start up capital the project to increase investment and returns.

FINCA, One-Acre Fund, Vision Fund and Agricultural Commercialisation (AGCOM) emerged in
the interviews as other organizations disbursing loans but in the form of inputs like seed and
fertilizer. They are potential stakeholders of the GJ4AY since some girls and young women may
want to venture into Agri-TEVET. Briefly, for example for the farmers to receive a loan from One
Acre Fund they have to be in groups of 9-25 members, with each group having a chairperson,
treasurer and secretary. The following are the packages that are on offer:

 1st package: 50 Kg NPK, 50 Kg Urea and 10 Kg maize

 2nd package: 25 Kg NPK, 25 Kg Urea and 5 Kg maize
 3rd package: 10 Kg NPK, 10 Kg Urea and 2 Kg maize

One Acre Fund also offers groundnut and soybean seed, Itel phone for communication and a
Sun king boom brand torch with a radio attached for the loan recipients to be receiving
agricultural messages and early warning information about adverse weather conditions. They
are given a period of 12 months to pay back the loan through One Acre Fund’s Airtel money
account. There is 0% interest rate for the loans. One Acre Fund does not also need collateral. It
only requires the applicants to pay upfront payment to show commitment. The recipients pay
back their loans less this amount at the end.

To mitigate risks for youth with disabilities within a rights-based approach, the GJ4AY project is
expected to also collaborate actively with Federation of Disability Organizations in Malawi
(FEDOMA), Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA), District Disability Forum and

43
Organizations of People with Disabilities to help identify and support inclusion of girls and
young women with disabilities in the project.

Additionally, it was recommended in the interviews held that the project should work closely
with key line ministries, agencies and departments (MAD) to support implementation of the
project through activity design, planning, monitoring and policy direction. The MAD includes
ministries of health, education, gender, community development and social welfare District
Youth Office (DYO) and the police. They will be equally vital in fostering ownership and
sustainability of the activities in the long run after project closure. At the community, level local
structures concerned with child and youth welfare such as local volunteers and committees or
groups like ADCs, CPCs, Area Social Support Committee, victim support unit (VSU) and others,
are very key to success as well.

The other key organizations to collaborate with and avoid overlaps according to interviews
conducted are:
1) Care Malawi which is implementing a 4 year (March 2023-February 2027) “Ntchito
Mbambande – Skilled youth for an inclusive, wealth creating, and self-reliant nation”
project in Mzimba south and other districts in the country. Ntchito Mbambande aims to
increase employment and self-employment opportunities in the green jobs sector for 5,300
young TEVET graduates and out-of-school youths 15-24 years of age. Green jobs supported
by the project are information and communication technology (ICT), fabrication and
welding, bicycle repair and dealership, motorcycle repair and dealership, Agri-TEVET – seed
production and processing and photovoltaic: solar power installations, maintenance and
dealership. Besides collaboration, clear demarcation of communities and beneficiaries is
needed because the two projects are similar in many facets of their design.
2) Plan International Malawi, implementing SRHR and Gender project in TA Kampingo Sibande
in Mzimba
3) LISAP in collaboration with Plan International Malawi, which are implementing a Child not a
Bride project addressing gender issues in TA Maulawo of Mzimba.
4) Farms Project – this project is linking the youth to banks that are giving youth businesses
like UNAYO Agent and Bank pakhomo in Mzimba.

5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations

In conclusion, these results mean that GJ4AY is a timely and needed intervention in the local
context and situation of young people in Malawi. The following are the recommendations for
the project going forward:
1. Continue to provide support for innovation incubation, business start-up capital for green
jobs and youth savings and loan (YSL) groups to help reduce the NEET rate in the targeted
districts. Experience and lessons from previous projects by Save the Children and other
organizations show that provision of start-up capital can be cheaper and sustainable if
provided to groups than individuals. GJ4AY should consider doing the same.
2. The need to strengthen partnership and collaboration at the district level is crucial, not only
within consortium partners (ADRA, Mzuzu E-Hub, TEVET and MZUNI) but also among

44
 district partners. Currently, there is lack of a platform to ensure coordinated planning and
supervision of youth projects as highlighted in the interviews with the Social Welfare and
Youth Offices in the districts. Despite existence of multiple partners in the districts
dedicated to youth project, the absence of a collaborative framework hinders effective
implementation and overall oversight. It is imperative therefore to establish mechanisms
that foster cooperation and coordination among the existing stakeholders to avoid overlaps
and ensure the initiatives are sustainable in the end. CRECCOM and ADRA confided in the
baseline team that they have rightly started working and strengthen the collaborations.
3. The main focus of the project should be to give priority to the youths who were involved in
the previous projects, ensuring that they are all certified in their respective trades as
quickly as possible. Currently, the youths as pointed above are not recognised, trusted and
valued within the market. Furthermore, it is important to provide them with the
opportunity to select green trades that align with their interests and aspirations.
4. Apprenticeships are equally critical to internalizing knowledge and skills which the majority
of the youth lack currently. The apprentices exposes them to specialised equipment and
resources, enabling them to demonstrate and apply the skills competitively well in their
professional career thereafter.
5. The master crafts persons (MCPs) plying privately owned trades are the ones who can
absorb the majority of the youth as apprentices since there are not many other outlets in
these areas. The engagement will however have 3 implications in terms of support needed:
1) incentivizing them for their time and resources such as electricity and working tools due
to cost, wear and tear involved, 2) providing them with curricula and training as they
currently teach based on experience in their trades and 3) supporting with working tools on
agreement that the MCPs are attached to the TEVET institutions and at the end of the
project they will continue working as such to ensure sustainability. The support will help
them cope with the financial challenges they face and ensure their continued commitment
to the program.
6. The main barriers for the Youth Savings and Loans (SLGs) are limited supervision by village
agents, lack of collateral for loans, long walking distances and poor linkages with
commercial banks and other financial service providers, and lack of knowledge about
financial literacy, business management and group dynamics. Many of them operate at a
micro level and lack resources to invest meaningfully in shares. Unless these challenges are
addressed and group that are idle are revamped, trained and mentored through out, the
success of this intervention remains questionable and far from reach.
7. The district youth office should work on having a reliable data bank for all the youth
activities in the district. This is crucial in every area of programming as it informs decision
makers on which direction to take.
8. Save the Children Malawi, CRECCOM, ADRA and the other partners should prioritize early
procurement of training materials to ensure that the young people targeted by the project
have sufficient time for training and practice. This will enable them to develop their skills

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 and apply them with mentorship and on their own for a sufficient period of time before the
project comes to an end.
9. The assessment of the youth clubs, scheduled to be done by CRECCOM and ADRA, should
have its findings merged with those of formative research and proper decisions made to
have an effective and successful project.
10. In addition, the GJ4AY project should initiate dialogues with GoM institutions engaged in
policy and resource allocation for green jobs, such as TEVETA, MoL, MoE, MoYS, MoTI, and
MoA at the national, council and district levels to achieve key aspects of outcome 3. These
aspects relate ideally to 1) lobbying for budgetary increase towards adolescents' green
skills development by government (ASST) and 2) influencing adoption of policy instruments
on green jobs by the government ministries, departments and agencies (MAD). GJ4AY
should also invite the private sector and industry actors to join the dialogues and leverage
efforts.

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