Caritas Malawi was established in 1984. During 1999, it was renamed CADECOM (Catholic Development Commission in Malawi) to change its image from a relief organisation to a development organisation.
CADECOM is under the Social Development Directorate, which works in accordance with Catholic Social Teaching, especially targeting marginalised, excluded and poor households and communities of Malawi. The Social Development Directorate was officially established at the Catholic Secretariat on 1 September 2015. Although the Social Development Directorate is an arm of the Catholic Church in Malawi, it works with people of all religions; its work and targeting procedures are determined by levels of vulnerability.
CADECOM is currently active in all 28 administrative districts through its 6 diocesan offices in the country, namely Dedza, Chikwawa, Karonga, Mangochi, Mzuzu, Zomba and the archdioceses of Blantyre and Lilongwe. Each diocese has a minimum of 30 staff members working on different donor-funded projects, and for every community, each project has a minimum of 20 volunteers.
CADECOM implements programmes in the following thematic areas:
- Political, economic and corporate governance: Promotion of active citizen participation; peacebuilding; conflict management, resolution and transformation; eco-justice and extractive governance
- Livelihood improvement and empowerment: Disaster risk reduction and entrepreneurship (over 30 years), agriculture, nutrition and food security, enhancement of community resilience to climate change
- Environmental and natural resources management: Climate change mitigation and adaptation; soil and water conservation; promotion of renewable energy
- Gender and women empowerment: Gender equality; women’s leadership; reduction of gender-based violence
- Health: Communicable diseases; HIV and AIDS; general advocacy on health issues
- Education: Early childhood development; youth formation; inclusive education (special needs education)
The CADECOM relief, emergency and recovery programme has been supported by several Caritas members, such as Trócaire, Cordaid, Caritas Australia, CRS, Caritas Sweden, SCIAF and CAFOD.
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and faces immense challenges such as extreme poverty, disease, and a lack of critical resources. A variety of other social and environmental impacts, such as hunger, orphaned children, limited access to education (especially for girls), air pollution, prolonged dry spells, flooding and HIV/AIDS, are also barriers to improved livelihoods.