About Us

WHO WE ARE

CADECOM Lilongwe

CADECOM Lilongwe is a faith-based not-for profit Organization whose mission is to create awareness and empower disadvantaged women, men and the youth to undertake development, which is integral, gender and environmentally sensitive, sustainable and which promotes justice, human dignity, and self-reliance with the active participation of the people themselves so that they take up the responsibility of their own destiny. CADECOM Lilongwe is legally registered in Malawi under the Trustees Act of 1962 and is also registered with the Malawi NGO Board. CADECOM is a member of CONGOMA and an affiliate member to Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET), Civil Society Network on Climate Change (CISONECC), CURE and Caritas Internationalis. CADECOM also networks with through the Food Security, Agriculture, Nutrition and Protection Clusters and the Country Humanitarian Team. 

CADECOM Lilongwe has for over 30 years been implementing various developmental projects across in the areas of Agriculture, Livelihoods, Food Security and Nutrition, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Gender, HIV/AIDs, Climate Change, Youth and Women Economic Empowerment. Through its developmental work, CADECOM Lilongwe adopts various approaches including the Strength-Based Approach (SBA) or Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), Rights-Based Approach (RBA), Theatre for development, Farmer-Field School (FFS), Sports for change among others. CADECOM Lilongwe takes facilitation and enabling role in the development process, empowering vulnerable populations mostly in the hard-to-reach areas. We use participatory strategies to empower the marginalized in line with its motto “Empowering Communities”.

CADECOM Lilongwe operates in the seven (7) of the eight (8) districts of the central region of Malawi: Dowa, Kasungu, Lilongwe, Mchinji, Nkhotakota, Ntchisi and Salima. In addition to managing various developmental projects, CADECOM Lilongwe also manages St Paul’s Agriculture Training School, which is based in Mitundu, Lilongwe.

Mission

CADECOM -Lilongwe strives to create awareness and empower disadvantaged men, women and the youth at all levels to undertake development which is integral, gender and environmentally sensitive, sustainable and which promotes justice, human dignity and self-reliance with the active participation of the people themselves so that they take up the responsibility of their own destiny.

Vision

CADECOM -Lilongwe envisions a Holy Spirit filled family of God committed to holistic evangelization and integral development for all through facilitating sustainable development that enhances human dignity.

Our Values

These are areas we value the most.

Respect for human dignity

Human dignity emerges neither from what people accomplish or own, but because we are created in the image and likeness of God. Consequently, every person is worthy of respect simply by virtue of being a human being. People do not lose the right to being treated with respect because of disability, poverty, age, lack of success or race, let alone gain the right to be treated with greater respect because of what they own or accomplish.

Justice and Peace

Catholic teaching promotes peace as a positive, action-oriented concept. In the words of Pope John Paul II, "Peace is not just the absence of war. It involves mutual respect and confidence between peoples and nations. It involves collaboration and binding agreements." There is a close relationship in Catholic teaching between peace and justice. Peace is the fruit of justice and is dependent upon right order among human beings.

Common Good

A community is genuinely healthy when every single person is flourishing. This is not the utilitarian formula of the greatest good for the greatest number, but the moral formula of the greatest good for all, simply on the basis that they are human beings and therefore inherently worthy of respect.

Integrity of Creation & Stewardship

We show respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. We have a responsibility to care for the world's goods as stewards and trustees, not primarily, let alone merely, as consumers. As people working toward making these principles a reality, good stewardship also means making careful and responsible decisions with the resources entrusted to us.

Subsidiarity

The word subsidiarity comes from the Latin word 'subsidium' which means help, aid or support. The principle of subsidiarity means clearly determining the right amount of help or support that is needed to accomplish a task or to meet an obligation: "not too much" (taking over and doing it for the other: thereby creating learned helplessness or overdependence) and "not too little" (standing back and watching people thrash about, thereby increasing frustration and perhaps hopelessness). The principle might be better summarized as "no bigger than necessary, no smaller than appropriate."

Preferancial Option for the Poor

In a world where we see deepening divisions between rich and poor, the powerful and the powerless, the Catholic tradition reminds us that God stands firmly on the side of the most marginalized members of society. While every person's needs are important, we must consider first and foremost how the lives of the most vulnerable people are impacted or enhanced by decisions we make.

Moral Integrity

We believe every person has an understanding of what is wrong and what is right. With Moral integrity, a person should be able to do the right even when no one is watching at all times.

Accountability

We believe that an individual or an organization should be evaluated based on their performance or behaviour related to something for which they are responsible.