Making Voices Count (MVC) is a community-based project that seeks to empower communities surrounding mining areas to hold miners and mining companies accountable and contribute to the social and economic development of youth, women and children. MVC recognises that communities are rights holders as well as duty bearers. Communities as rights holders should ensure that they demand the rights to development (Malawi Constitution Section 30) while also becoming duty bearers ensuring that they make contributions to the communities.
Among the project activities are Airing of Pam’godi Radio program, capacity building of communities around the mines to demand accountability for the miners and mining companies, inspecting mining areas and many more
2.0 Project Goals
The goal of the project is to amplify the voices of the communities and beneficiaries of the mining industry in the targeted districts. The project objectives are:
(a) To enhance community capacity to demand transparency and accountability from the miners and mining companies
(b) To improve the safety and protection of women, girls and children from gender-based violence (GBV), trafficking and child labour in mining areas
(c) To increase youth and children’s access to quality health services, protection and education within the mining communities
(d) To enhance community’s capacity to manage environmental issues emerging from the mining activities
