LocationsFrom fear to dignity: Young people claim their right to health in Mwanza
July 14, 2026
John Richard (not his real name), pictured with his back to the camera, interacts with a CHREAA officer in Mwanza. As a peer educator, John supports people from key populations to understand their rights and access health services with dignity.
Along Malawi’s southern border with Mozambique, Mwanza is a district shaped by farming, small businesses and cross-border trade. In its villages and trading centres, daily life is closely connected with people relying on one another through family ties, community networks and the movement of goods and people across the border.
But in communities where everyone knows everyone, being different can also bring fear. For people already living on the margins, the simple act of seeking health care, reporting abuse or asking for help can be difficult. Some fear being judged. Others fear being insulted, exposed, rejected or turned away when they need support the most.
For key populations, including sexual minorities, this fear is not abstract. It can shape everyday choices: whether to walk freely in the market, join a football game, visit a health facility, or speak up when their rights have been violated.
In the district, the Strengthening Human Rights for Vulnerable Populations Project is working with communities, service providers, police officers, faith leaders and local leaders to reduce stigma, strengthen access to services and promote dignity for people at risk of exclusion. The project is implemented by Centre for Human Rights, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA), with support from UNDP and funding from the Governments of Norway and Iceland. Through the project, CHREAA has trained communities and members of minority groups on their human rights, the importance of respecting the rights and dignity of all people, and where to seek help when those rights are violated.
For John Richard (not his real name), a 20-year-old, a peer educator from the sexual minority community, this work is personal.
John is a part-time photographer and volunteers as a peer educator, supporting people from key populations in accessing health services and understanding their rights.
His work is rooted in personal experience. John remembers a time when stigma made ordinary life difficult.
“It reached a point where I felt shy even to go to the market,” he says. “I did not feel like myself.”
John’s journey changed when he connected with peer educators supported through the Strengthening Human Rights for Vulnerable Populations Project. The peer educator who listened to him, advised him and helped him regain confidence. Through the project, he also participated in legal awareness sessions, peer education and community engagement, that empowered him to understand more his rights and available support mechanisms.
“Before, I did not fully understand my rights,” John explains. “Now I know that I deserve to access services like anyone else.”
That experience shaped his decision to support others facing similar exclusion.
Today, he helps others find the same courage.
“Many people are afraid to seek medical help because they fear discrimination,” he says.
“I help escort them to the hospital when necessary, so that they can receive proper treatment and be treated with dignity. I also teach them that they have the right to health, just like anyone else.”
A bridge to services
For John, peer education is not only about sharing information. It is about trust, patience and walking beside someone until they feel strong enough to speak for themselves.
In a typical week, he connects with people who need support and helps link them to health services. At first, he believed he had to personally accompany every client to the hospital. Over time, he realized that real empowerment meant helping people understand their rights so they could seek services even when he was not there.
“At first, I thought I had to personally escort every client to hospital,” he says. “But I later asked myself, ‘What if I am not there?’ Now, many people are empowered to go on their own because they understand their rights and know how to demand respectful treatment.”
One case remains vivid. A client had gone to hospital for treatment but returned without receiving care. According to John, the client came back distressed after being refused treatment.
“The next day, I went with him to the hospital,” he recalls. “I reminded the doctor that treatment is treatment, regardless of a person’s sexual orientation or how they acquired the infection. After that intervention, the doctor agreed to treat him.”
Group Village Headman Zakeyu Mponda (left) interacts with a CHREAA officer in Mwanza. Through continued engagement and human rights awareness, local leaders are helping promote understanding, reduce stigma and encourage respect for the rights and dignity of all community members.
Changing attitudes, one conversation at a time
The project’s approach goes beyond individual support. It works with community structures to promote understanding, reduce stigma and strengthen access to protection.
Group Village Headman Zakeyu Mponda of Nchotseni village says that before the project, stigma and misunderstanding were common. Some people viewed sexual minority groups with suspicion and hostility. Since the training on minority rights began, he says, people are learning that every person has rights that must be respected.
The message is also reaching wider community spaces. Local leaders, police officers and faith leaders are being engaged to help communities understand that human rights are for everyone.
Sub-Inspector Mahomed Kulisinje, Community Policing Coordinator at Mwanza Police Station, highlights the role of collaboration between the police, CHREAA and communities in promoting human rights, strengthening access to support and encouraging people to report violations without fear or judgment.
Sub-Inspector Mahomed Kulisinje, Community Policing Coordinator at Mwanza Police Station, says the project has helped open pathways for people to seek support. He says police have worked with CHREAA and other partners to conduct awareness campaigns on human rights, gender-based violence, child protection and community policing. Through these sessions, communities are encouraged to understand that key populations are part of society and should be able to access assistance without judgment.
The awareness is beginning to make a difference.
“Members of minority groups are now beginning to come forward to report cases of assault, rape and other violations,” he says. “Before, these things were happening, but people were suffering in silence.”
Oris Chilombo of the Salvation Army shares how the project is helping faith leaders promote respect for human rights and dignity.
Faith leaders have also been part of the conversation. Oris Chilombo of the Salvation Army says the project helped religious leaders better understand the connection between rights and responsibilities.
“Before the project, some people at risk of rights violations were left out of community and church activities. After the trainings, people are beginning to understand that everyone has rights and should be treated with dignity,” he says.
Family support and community challenges
For John, his family has been a source of strength. His mother supported him during a difficult period and even suggested that he spend time with relatives away from the district when the pressure in Mwanza became unbearable. His brothers also understand his situation.
But outside the family, the challenges remain real.
“The main challenge is the wider community,” he says, “especially verbal abuse and lack of respect for my dignity.”
That is why John believes that awareness should continue beyond Mwanza. He wants more people across Malawi to understand that marginalised groups have rights, including the right to health, safety and dignity.
“We need national awareness campaigns, not only in Mwanza,” he says. “People in every district should know that marginalised groups have rights.”
He also believes that sports can help open difficult conversations. Football, he says, can bring people together, create trust and provide a space to share information about rights and health.
For a young man who once felt too afraid to go to the market, football now represents something bigger: the possibility of belonging.
A future with dignity
For John, the change he wants is simple. He wants a community where people can seek health care without fear, report abuse without being dismissed, and live with dignity.
The Strengthening Human Rights for Vulnerable Populations Project is helping to make that possible through trainings that have brought together communities, service providers, police officers, faith leaders and local leaders to build understanding of human rights, reduce stigma, improve access to justice, protect rights and promote social inclusion for marginalised groups.
Once afraid to step into public spaces, John now stands confidently as a bridge between communities and services.
His story shows that when awareness, support and systems come together, fear can give way to dignity and silence can turn into voice.
Related
content
content
