''The Big Issue Malawi'' is a street paper in

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

.International Network Of Street Papers "Our street paper" (accessed July 21, 2010) ' It is a bimonthly magazine sold only by

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

individuals.Masina, L. (13 March 2009) Malawi Magazine to Help Provide Financial Support to Poor"

' The project's facilitator is a local charity known as the "Culture Awakening Society"''The Big Issue - Malawi edition''. 8th edition. ''

The Big Issue ''The Big Issue'' is a street newspaper founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991 and published in four continents. ''The Big Issue'' is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer homeless people, or indiv ...

'' Malawi project started on 24 January 2009 with the first issue of the magazine coming out in January 2009. The founder and current Executive Chairman of the project, Dr. John Chikago, imported the street paper concept from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, where he was working as Malawi's ambassador. He said that he was fascinated by the experience of ''The Big Issue Japan'' and decided to establish a similar project in Malawi.

The magazine

''The Big Issue Malawi'' is currently sold in the main Malawian cities:

Lilongwe Lilongwe (, , ) is the capital and most populated city of the African country of Malawi. It has a population of 989,318 as of the 2018 Census, up from a population of 674,448 in 2008. In 2020 that figure was 1,122,000. The city is located in th ...

Blantyre Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Li ...

, Zomba,

Mzuzu Mzuzu is the capital of Malawi's Northern Region and is the third largest city by population in Malawi. The city has 221,272 residents and 20,000 commuters (Mzuzu University students) with about 1.7 million people in its metropolitan area. It i ...

and

Karonga Karonga is a township in the Karonga District in Northern Region of Malawi. Located on the western shore of Lake Nyasa, it was established as a slaving centre sometime before 1877. As of 2018 estimates, Karonga has a population of 61,609. H ...

. In July 2010 its circulation accounted to 2000 copies. The language of the magazine is both English and Chichewa, a Bantu language widely spoken in Malawi. Vendors buy the magazine for 150 Kwacha (around 1

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

) and sell it for 300 Malawian Kwacha. They are trained in business management skills and sign a code of conduct outlining rules they must adhere while selling the magazine (including no

begging Begging (also panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public space ...

, no drinking, no swearing and no harassment of the public) and are issued an official identity card. Vendors wear identifying bright reflectors. As of 2010, approximately 200 people have been recruited; the majority of whom are women.“Islamic charity donates blankets to magazine sellers”.
Nyasatimes, July 21, 2010.

Funding

''The Big Issue Malawi'' receives funding through the Scottish Government's International Development Fund,StreetNewsPapers.WordPress.com "PRESS RELEASE: Scottish Minister for External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop to visit INSP partner, The Big Issue Malawi", February 15, 2010.
/ref> who are supporting the project with a three-year grant of £93000 GB sterling (starting in 2009).Ponsford, D., "Edition of The Big Issue to launch in Malawi"
, October 27, 2008. The publication is produced with the assistance of the United Nations Democracy Fund. It has also received financial support from Ubuntu Trading, the company the produces the fair trade version of Coke. The magazine has its head offices in

and regional office in the Lilongwe. The Malawian street paper belongs to the International Network of Street Papers (INSP) and it is affiliated to ''The Big Issue'' of London. Malawi has become the sixth country in Africa to introduce the magazine.

Timeline

* 24 January 2009: ''The Big Issue Malawi'' magazine is launched * January 2010: Lameck Masina is appointed as Chief Editor * February 2010: Scotland's Minister for External Affairs,

Fiona Hyslop Fiona Jane Hyslop (born 1 August 1964) is a Scottish politician who served as Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture from 2020 to 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been a Member of the Scottish Parliamen ...

, meets the ''Big Issue Malawi''′'s staff, board and vendors in the headquarters in Blantyre. * June 2010: Omega Chanje-Mulwafu is the new executive director at ''The Big Issue Malawi''. * July 2010: Shoe manufacturing firm Bata Shoe Company donates jackets and reflectors to more than 60 vendors. * July 2010: Islamic charity Gift of Givers Foundation donates 120 blankets to vendors of ''The Big Issue Malawi'' street magazine.

References

External links

International network of Street Papers (INSP)

Ubuntu Trading
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Issue Malawi Bi-monthly magazines Magazines established in 2009 Street newspapers Newspapers published in Malawi