Tullamore Lions continue to roar for Africa

The roar of the Tullamore Lions Club continues to be heard in far off Africa even during these worrying times of the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to the continuing partnership that the group has forged with leading Irish development charity, Self Help Africa.

Tullamore Lions Club committed generously to a four-year collaboration with Self Help Africa that saw the organisation set out raise a whopping €22,000 over four years, for a project to improve food production for rural poor families in a remote corner of southern Africa in Malawi.

The group organised a campaign of fundraising events and activities in conjunction with Self Help Africa’s well known fundraising coordinator Ronan Scully from Clara in Offaly. Proceeds will be, and have been, invested in a project that will establish a network of community-based farmer ‘field schools’ that provide training to farming families in the far north of Malawi, one of Africa’s poorest countries.

Over 24,000 people in the Karonga district of northern Malawi - 60% of whom are women - will benefit. The project provides training in new farming techniques, introduces new crop varieties and supports households to cope with and adapt to changing climate in a region that has become notorious for extreme flooding and drought in recent times.

It wil alsoimprove measures to keep people safe during this Covid-19 pandemic.

Households are, and will, be supported to establish backyard vegetable gardens where they can grow fruit and vegetables and other crops. Theywill receive assistance with small-scale farm irrigation schemes, and will be trained in the implementation of ‘climate smart’ farming practices including ‘zero tillage’ crop production, the effective use of home-produced compost and manure, and a range of other activities that will help them earn more on their small farms.

Tullamore Lions Club has supported efforts to improve post-harvest crop storage which can lead to up to 40% of produce on small farms in Malawi being lost before it can be sold or eaten. They have also helped out with providing Covid-19 safety measures and equipment like soap and detergents for many of the villages in the area again, thanks to the support of the Tullamore Lions Club.

“We think of food waste in Ireland as being an issue of not eating everything that’s on your plate, or throwing things out of the fridge, but in Africa it’s a case of crops being lost because people don’t have electricity, and the hand built grain silos that they use are vulnerable to rains, to heat, and to vermin eating the crops,” Ronan Scully said.

Tullamore Lions Club Karonga Project is part of a wider ‘farmer field school’ project that is being implemented by Self Help Africa in Malawi, and is receiving part-funding from the European Union.

“This has been and is a great opportunity for our members to get behind a really worthwhile cause, and sits well with the Lions Club ethos of helping the less fortunate in the world,” said Tullamore club spokesman John Lyons.