Form 3 Life Skills Notes

LIFE SKILLS NOTES
FORM 3
2018
A.K. Ndacheredwa (Mrs) Page 0

ENHANCING SELF ESTEEM
Self Esteem it is the way one feels about oneself either negatively or positively
Self Esteem is the belief and confidence you have on oneself
There are two types to Self-esteem:
 High/positive/healthy self esteem

 Low/negative self esteem
Factors that may lead to low self esteem
a. Lack of recognition - this is the state where one is not being noticed or identified by
people in the society. This lowers self esteem.
b. Poor upbringing - this is a state where one is not provided with basic needs such as food,
clothes, shelter, school fees etc. It is also where one is not properly directed or guided by
the parents or guardians. This destroys self esteem,
c. Poor or bad or negative comments - negative remarks make one to be disappointed

leading to low self esteem
d. Negative peer pressure - it is the external force one is involved in e.g. risky behaviour
such as smoking, prostitution, drug and substance abuse. This leads to low self esteem
e. Poor performance - when one is not able to do better in academic activities, business or
any other important activities it leads to low self esteem
Ways of building one’s self esteem
a. Avoid concentrating on past mistakes
 mistakes are learning opportunities

 an individual should be looking forward rather than looking backward
 thinking about past mistakes is a waste of time
 avoid feeling guilty every time you make mistakes to helps build self-esteem.
b. Developing positive thinking
 some people think that if they failed once they cannot do better in life. But there is a
second chance for everything
 a failure is not an end of everything rather change the way of doing things
 positive thinking builds self esteem
c. Feeling of belonging to a family or community
 anyone who feels that he/she belongs to family or economy has a feeling of being
successful in all the activities. This helps to build self esteem

d. Standing for one’s right and responsibilities
 we must know our rights and responsibilities and be ready to defend and protect them
no matter what. E.g. it is your right to sit on a chair and write using a desk.
 If anyone is planning to vandalise the school property a student with high self-esteem is
able to report to school authorities
e. Having a sense of individual worthiness (appreciating yourself)
 you should feel that your contribution to the family or community can make a
difference
 therefore, you should feel proud when participating in national exercises e.g. voting
f. Positive comments
 positive comments help to build self esteem

 give positive comments to your friends when they have done good
 teachers should give positive comments to learners . The same with parents to children
g) discovering one’s strength and weakness
 discovering one’s strength and weaknesses helps to control yourself in what you do
 e.g. if one is good in sciences and weak in languages you can allocate more time of
study in languages for a balanced performance
 this helps to avoid stress when examination results are out.
 it also helps to build self esteem
Our roles in society
 taking part in choosing leaders through voting

 paying taxes
 taking care of public properties e.g. school, hospitals and roads
 taking part in self-help projects
 attending meetings
 accepting responsibilities
 obeying laws
 caring for needy people
Importance of valuing one’s role in society
 it helps the society to achieve its goals and aspirations – goals and aspirations of a
society cannot be achieved if you as a member of the society do not take an active role
 it promotes effectiveness – valuing and playing your rightful role helps the society to
fulfil its development agenda
 it helps to build self-confidence – playing your role in the society helps to build self
confidence in oneself and the confidence one has in others.

 it promotes co-operation – An individual cannot develop a country. As different people
play their roles in the society cooperation and teamwork amongst them is strengthened.
This leads to active participation in any activity taking place in the society
 it promotes sense of belonging - participating in the activities of the society you live in
shows you are part and parcel of that society thereby promoting sense of belonging
 It helps to value society as a home for everyone – Every member’s role is appreciated
and this helps individuals to value that the society is not for one person but communal
TOPIC 2 : TIME MANAGEMENT
 it is fixing of priorities according to time

 it is a set of principles, practices, skills, tools and systems that help you to use your time to
accomplish what you want
 it is an act or process of planning and exercising control over the amount of time spent on
specific activities
Time management comprises the following aspects:
 Allocation of time against activities

 What should be done first and what should be done later
 How much time should be given to a task in accordance to its importance or nature
 What task should be avoided to save time
Effects of poor time management
1. Failure to achieve goals
 one becomes unsure of what you want to achieve e.g. if you fail to determine what time
to start from home you may fail to achieve your goal of getting to school by 07.30am
2. Wastage of resources
 poor time management leads to failure on the amount of resources such as time and
other resources for a particular task
 this leads to wastage of such resources
3. Poor academic performance
 poor time management leads to :

 Spending much time on wring things
 Engaging in behaviour such as beer drinking, smoking and premarital sex
 as such the student does not spend time on beneficial class assignments
 this therefore, leads to late reporting to class and poor performance

4. Frustration
 mismanaging time leads to:

 Doing too many things at the same time
 Doing many things within a short time
 this leads to incompletion of task and failure to do the task due to limited time
 therefore, it leads to frustration
5. School drop out
 mismanaging time leads to poor performance in examinations

 this may lead to repeating of classes several times and later to school drop out
Importance of time management
1. it enables you to accomplish more activities
 one is able to stay focused on activities

 this helps to achieve higher efficiency in whatever you do
2. it helps to make better decision regarding activities
 an individual has many activities to do in a days or any given period

 time management helps you to determine which choices to make
 having less time leads to jumping into conclusions fully considering different options
 therefore, it leads to poor decision making
3. it reduces stress
 one cause of stress is the rush to keep with time

 with time management you know how much time you have and how long each task will
take
 this reduces stress and frustration
4. allows you to have more free time for rest and relaxation
 time management helps to do more activities within a shorter period of time

 this leads to more free time which we can use for rest and relaxation
5. it leads to a disciplined life
 good time management reduces procrastination (an act of postponing or delaying

something)
 this means you do not postpone activities to the next time/days
 this reduces stress, anxiety and leads to a disciplined life.

6. it makes someone to learn more
 controlling your time and work more efficiently enabled you to learn more and increase
your experience faster
 this time management enables you to move up in life a lot sooner
7. it leads to higher quality work
 work is not done in a haste or hurry

 this leads to quality work
8. it involves someone to become more successful
 it allows you to take control of your life rather than follow the flow of others
 therefore, you accomplish more, makes better decisions leading to a more successful
life
WAYS OF MANAGING TIME
 Time is a non-renewable resource

 once it is lost it cannot be regained
Some of the ways that help to manage time are:
1. Setting goals
 Goals are targets one wants to achieve in a given period

 spend most of your time on activities/tasks that would help achieve the goals
2. Prioritizing
 prioritizing means treating something as important than the others

 give highest priority to tasks that are important and urgent
 e.g as a student, avoid time wasters such as being on social media checking facebook
notifications
 find ways to eliminate time wasters
3. listing things you need to do
 having a list of things to do reminds you what you have to do and at what time
 tick off activities as you complete them
4. evaluating activities
 if tasks have not been completed state reasons for the failure
 if possible re-schedule the tasks to another time

5. allocating time for fun
 you need time for fun, relaxation and rest

 this helps to refresh your mind and body
6. following our plans
 make sure to follow whatever you plan

 planning without implementation is a waste of time and resources
7. do one thing at a time
 if you do two things at the same time the result can be disastrous
 e.g. do not study and listen to music at the same time
Skills required for effective time management
 lack of proper management of time could result in waste of time

 the following may help to manage time effectively:
a. setting clear goals – this helps to identify areas that are working and those that are
not
b. prioritising – focus on urgent and important tasks
c. organising your work schedule – re-organise your work by listing the remaining
goals to remind you of what you need to do next
d. reviewing your progress – check for your successes and failures and plan again
TOPIC 3 : CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH ADOLESCENCE
We are in the world of technology. As a result, the adolescents are exposed to many
challenges
Media
 Media is the path through with messages, news or information is communicated from one
person to another.
 The media is there to inform, educate and entertain the public
 Forms of media are :
o Print media e.g. magazines, posters etc
o Electronic media e.g. radio, television
An Adolescent : is a person who is in the process of developing from childhood to adulthood

Effects of Media on Adolescence Behaviour
Positive Effects
1. Media influences positive changes in adolescent behaviour
 e.g messages not to indulge in risky behaviours

 this encourages positive behaviour change
2. Media influencing adolescents’ involvement in community activities
 exposes adolescents to news to become more interested in political and social issues
 this encourages adolescents to participate in charitable activities, engage in profitable
deeds and involved in community activities
3. Media allows adolescents to develop social skills
 this is done through involvement in media related activities e.g. social media
 social media opens up for new friendships
4. Media promotes reading culture in adolescents’
 It makes adolescents to read articles on internet, newspapers and become updated with
latest information
 this can also develop a reading culture which prepares them for university education
5. Adolescents look for information on internet
 adolescents are always searching for information on the internet

 therefore, media helps to develop research skills which are important in academic life
of a person
Negative Effects
1. Media influence adolescents to bad and risky behaviours
 media can influence bad habits like smoking, drug and substance abuse, kissing,
wearing of miniskirts through the movies and advertisements
 it creates an impression that it is alright to smoke and use drugs and substances
2. Media can influence violent behaviours among adolescents
 media through movies exposes adolescents to acts of violence.

 Adolescents’ practice such acts during their free time.
 it therefore influences adolescents to use violence as opposed to self-control during
conflicts

3. Media can influence sexual activities
 media exposes adolescents to pictures, information with sexual content

 such type of behaviours lead to contraction of STIs, HIV, unwanted pregnancies
4. Media can displace active types of action
 reduces time a person spends with peers, family

 it also takes away time for participating in sporting activities and other programs
beneficial to you.
5. Media interferes with time for studying and reading
 spending much time on internet or television reduces time for sleep and study
 this leads to failure in their studies
6. Media exposes adolescents to incorrect information
 some information on the media is incorrect

 this leads to making wrong decisions due to the false information
7. Media services have costs
 Media services are not for free

 this may influence adolescents to steal in order to access the media services
8. Media may cause accidents and hearing problems
 use of earphones blocks hearing senses

 this may cause accidents on the road
 earphones may also damage the eardrum
Peer Pressure
 it is when someone influences your decision around what you should do or should not do.
 peer pressure is common among the youth
Forms of Peer Pressure
a) Negative Peer Pressure
It is when peers influence you to do something bad. It is grouped as :
 Direct negative peer pressure – this is when friends ask you to do something bad
 Indirect negative peer pressure – you are indirectly forced to do something bad for the
sake of keeping company

Examples of negative peer pressure:
 encouraging others to smoke

 copying other people’s assignments
 encouraging others to steal, smoke, use drugs, cheat in exams etc
Some effects of negative peer pressure are:
 developing bad habits

 loss of identity
 making wrong decisions
b) Positive Peer Pressure
It is when one is influenced to do good things
Examples of Positive peer pressure include:
 stopping someone from smoking, drinking etc

 being nice and helpful to others
 avoiding sex before marriage
Coping with Peer Pressure
 Peer pressure is normal in life

 Everyone is influenced by people around them
The following are ways of coping with negative peer pressure:
1. Seeking support
 get help from other people on the areas you are being pressured
 e.g. teachers, parents, friends etc
2. Understanding your values (being assertive)
 it helps to stand up for what you believe in
3. Developing self confidence
 young people who lack self-confidence are easily enticed to do bad things by their
peers
4. Choose friends wisely
 good friends will not force you to do bad things or things you do not like
5. Learn to say “NO”
 do not allow anybody to make a decision for you

 learn to say ‘NO’ to things that are not good for you
6. Be mindful of the negative effects of peer pressure
 if results of what you are being forced to do are harmful it is better not to do it.
 this helps to refrain from negative peer pressure
7 . other ways include building self- esteem, developing a sense of identity, being aware of
natural development in their bodies, engage in sporting activities e.t.c
Sources of Information about the challenges associated with adolescence
Care must be taken on the degree of believing the information because some sources of
information are reliable while others are not
Reliable sources unreliable sources
-parents - peers
-health institutions -Community
-religious institutions -media
-Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
-School
Decision Making and Problem Solving
There is no problem that does not have a solution
Decision making is a process of selecting a course of action from several possible choices.
Problem solving is the implementation of a decision. Once a decision has been made it has
to be implemented.
The decision making and problem solving process
Consider a story about a young boy, Zweta, who is in form 3 and steals his friends’ items
time and again. To deal with this problem the learners applied the 7 steps in decision making
as below:
1. Identification of the problem
 carefully study the issue with a positive mind to find the problem
 e.g stealing by Zweta
2. Problem definition
 involves finding out details of the problem including its causes

 e.g. Zweta stays at home alone, he was chased from home, he supports himself

3. Generating possible solutions
 involves identifying various ways of solving the problem

 e.g. (1) identifying bursary for Zweta (2) sending Zweta to youth prison
(3) inviting Zweta’s parents for reconciliation (4) contributing money for Zweta’s daily
upkeep
4. Analysing possible outcomes for each solution
 outcome for solution (1) it will solve school fees problem but not other needs
 outcome for solution (2) Zweta will be transformed but will lose out on learning
 outcome for solution (3) Zweta will have parental care and financial support throughout
school life. It will bring peace with fellow learners
 outcome for solution (4) it is a temporary measure
5. Choose best solution(s)
 e.g. solution (3) – inviting Zweta’s parents
6. Implement the decision
 phoning and writing Zweta’s parents to come to school for reconciliation with their son
Zweta
7. Evaluating the process
 after sometime check if the solution has solved the problem e.g. Zweta’s stealing
 if not try another alternative
Situations that require decision making and problem solving
The situations include:
 Poverty – e.g. if your parents are poor, if you make hasty decisions you may end up
stealing or doing prostitution. These activities can lead you into imprisonment and
contraction of STI and HIV/AIDS respectively. Therefore, doing piece works during
holidays can help to accumulate enough money to be used in school.
 HIV and AIDS – a person who is HIV positive needs to accept his or her situation and
follow instructions from doctors. This helps him or her to live positively
 Cultural practices – Some cultural practices such as kusasa fumbi, polygamy etc are
harmful because they promote spread of HIV. It is our duty to come up with solutions on
how to end such cultural practices as well as ways of avoiding the cultural practices.
 Abortion – Abortion is the removal of embryo to end a pregnancy. This is common
among adolescents because they engage in early sex before making informed decisions.
Sexual intercourse leads to early pregnancy and eventually abortion. Abortion can
therefore lead to imprisonment and loss of blood which can result into death.

 Career choice - you need to consider different factors that could help you to come up
with the type of career to go by. E.g. job satisfaction and good working conditions are
some of the things one can think of when choosing a career. It is important that school
management should be inviting professionals from different angles to give career talks to
students right from Form 1.
 Drug and substance abuse – peer pressure forces adolescents to abuse drugs.
Adolescents need to be good at decision making in order to resist peer pressure. This can
be done by thinking of pros and cons of drug and substance abuse.
 Religion – For Churches to run they need money to pay for water and electricity bills,
guards salaries, food for pastors/priests and the needy etc. However, some pastors or
priests demand too much from the congregation e.g. luxury things such as smart phones,
expensive cars. This situation requires decision making. The solution is not quitting the
church but rather solve the problems by talking to responsible people in a polite manner
 Peer pressure – sometimes friends force you to do something which is against your
conscious. Some adolescents copy the behaviour of their peers in order to maintain
friendship or appease others. You need to have courage and stand for your values.
Thinking critically and making good decision cannot put you in problems.
 Orphanhood – orphans should concentrate on studies rather than keep on worrying about
their situation. Other people who lost parents while young are doing better today through
hard work and prayer.
 Sexual relationships – Due to physiological and psychological changes that youth
experience during adolescent stage, these young people would usually want to experiment
with their sexual life. Sexual relationships can lead to problems which require decision
making skills to resolve.
 Adolescence – Adolescence is a period during which a person develops from childhood
into an adult. Because of rapid emotional, physiological and mental changes, adolescents
face problems such as sexual desires, unplanned marriages, unplanned pregnancies, etc.
To deal with these problems an adolescent requires decision making and problem solving
skills.
 Environmental degradation – This is the deterioration of the resources around us e.g.
trees, wildlife, air, water etc. Environmental degradation results into climatic changes due
to human activities such as :
o careless cutting down of trees
o burning bushes and crop residues in the gardens
o making ridges along the slop
o farming along river banks
o careless dumping of waste.
These human activities result into the following negative effects of climate change :
o flooding
o hailstorms and strong winds which damage schools and other structures
o erratic rainfall resulting in poor harvest and hunger

o drought resulting in food and water shortages causing women and children to move
long distances to fetch water and food.
Adolescents can think of :
o planting trees, grass, shrubs around schools and houses

o dumping waste in appropriate places
o separating organic waste for composting
o harvesting rainwater from rooftops for different uses e.g. mopping, watering plants
o switching off electrical appliances when not in use to save energy
o advising parents to plant early maturing varieties of crops
o advising parents not to burn crop residues
TOPIC 4 : BLOOD DONATION
Blood donation is the process of collecting blood from a donor so that it can be used to treat
someone else in need of blood
Blood donor: a person who gives blood freely to a person in need of blood
The Malawi Blood Transfusion service (MBTS) is responsible for collecting safe blood and
distributing it.
You should not give blood if you are :
 feeling unwell
 anaemic
 taking certain medications such as antibiotics
 pregnant or have been pregnant within the previous year
 suffering from STI such as HIV and syphilis
 in certain medical conditions such as : low or high blood pressure, epilepsy, heart diseases,
diabetes.
 Involved in risky behaviours such as prostitution
Types of blood donations
a) Volunteer donations
 A person donates blood that goes to any patient in need.

 The blood is donated freely to the unknown patient
b) Directed donations
 Blood donor gives blood with an intention of helping a family relative or friend
 The donated blood goes straight to the targeted person

c) Autologous donations
 It is donating blood for yourself in advance before a non-urgent surgery during

which loss of blood is expected
 Autologous donations are useful for patients with rare blood types
 Autologous donors must be healthy to donate blood for themselves
Expectations of blood donor
It concerns information that a blood donor needs to know before he or she donates blood.
They include:
1. The quantity of blood to donate: a blood donor expects to know how much blood he or
she is to donate.
2. When to donate: the blood donor expects to know the date and time when the exercise of
donating blood will take place and the conditions under which blood donation will take
place
3. Where to donate blood: a blood donor expects to know exactly the place where blood
will be donated
4. How to donate blood: a blood donor expects to know the method that will be used to
collect blood from his or her body
5. What happens to the donated blood: a blood donor expects to know what happens to his
or her blood when it is donated
Method of donating blood
 Most frequent method is to simply take blood from a vein as whole blood. The blood is
then transfused to the recipient as recommended by doctors
 Drawing blood from the donor and separate it using a centrifuge or filter to have red blood
cells and plasma. This is done because most recipients need only a special component
(e.g. red blood cells or plasma) for transfusion
 In the past blood donor was giving blood direct to the recipient through connecting their
veins and arteries. The Challenge is that it was not possible to know the quantity
transferred from blood donor to patient. However, the system is no longer in use.
Importance of donating blood
 The joy (satisfaction) of saving human lives

 Free health check up e.g. for blood pressure abnormalities. Thus a person may enjoy early
medical attention if these diseases are detected.
 Reduces risk of heart diseases (especially in males) e.g. it keeps the levels of iron in check
as high levels of iron can cause heart attacks and stroke due to excessive oxidative damage
 It ensures availability of blood supply e.g. in hospitals, clinics

 It saves lives e.g lives of babies, women and all those in need of blood
 It reduces risk of cancer – high levels of iron in the body can lead to cancer. So, reduction
of iron is associated with lower cancer risk and mortality
UNIT 5 : USE AND ABUSE OF PRESCRIBED DRUGS
 Prescribed drugs are medicines that have been given by a doctor or a pharmacist for an
infection or disease.
 These drugs can only be obtained with prescription or order signed by doctors
 Prescriptions are instructions on the use of drugs
 Types of prescribed drugs:. antibiotics, analgesics, anaesthetics, stimulants and
depressants
Types of prescribed drugs
a) antibiotics
 they cure bacterial and fungal infections

 e.g. penicillin, Bactrim, tetracycline and chloramphenicol
b) analgesics
 they control pain (e.g. paracetamol).

 Other analgesics slow down brain activity or induce sleep (e.g. morphine and codeine)
used in surgical procedures
c) Anaesthetics
 these drugs are used to eliminate sensation and are usually used during operations
d) Stimulants
 they increase the activity of central nervous system.

 They are used to reduce sleepness and keep a person awake when necessary to improve
concentration and focus
 e.g. Adderall and Ritalin
e) Opioids
 are chemical substances with morphine like action in the body

 the main use is pain relief
f) Depressants
 they work on the body and slow it down

 they make people feel sleepy or seem to be in a daze

 they are used to reduce anxiety, induce sleep
 e.g. Librium and Xanax
Over-the-counter drugs
 they can be sold in shops without prescription from medical personnel

 e.g. panadol, aspirin, bufen
 painkillers should not be taken anyhow as they can destroy our lives
Suitable persons who can prescribe drugs:
 medical doctors
 nurses
 medical assistants
 pharmacists
 clinical officers
Importance of using drugs according to prescription
It is important to take drugs according to the prescription. The prescription is important for
the following reasons:
a) It prevents medical complications
 if you do not adhere to instructions you may not get well or may even develop
complications
b) It prevents death
 some drugs are poisonous if you take too much of them

 this may affect your body and can lead to death
c) It ensures quick healing
 when instructions are followed you get healed quickly

 it is dangerous to stop drugs when you start feeling better before the prescribed drugs
are finished
d) It saves money
 you are cured with the medicine you get the first time
 if you don’t follow instructions you go again to hospital and spend more money for
another prescription or drugs
e) It helps doctors to make informed decisions if the patient is not improving
 doctors can be misled that the drugs have failed on you if you are not following
prescriptions

How to prevent prescribed drug abuse
Prescribed drugs can be abused if patient is not careful. The following can help to prevent
prescription drug abuse:
 ask your doctor about your medication especially if you are unsure about its effects
 keep your doctor informed about your medication you are taking including over-the-
counter medications
 read the information your pharmacist provides before starting to take medication as
prescribed
 keep all prescription medications safe at all times and properly dispose all unused
medications
UNIT 6 : NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
 They are diseases that cannot be transmitted from one person to another
 They are not infectious diseases
 E.g. heart diseases (cardiovascular), stroke, cancer, autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis,
alzheimer’s diseases, cataracts, diabetes, asthma, chronic kidney diseases
Types of non-communicable diseases
 There are four major types of non-communicable diseases

 E.g. cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes
Cardiovascular diseases
 They are also known as heart diseases

 They involve the heart and the blood vessels (arteries, capillaries or veins)
 Factors that contribute to heart diseases include smoking, being overweight, not taking
regular exercises (physical inactivity), diabetes, too much fat in our diet, accumulation of
cholesterol, hypertension
 E.g heart attacks, stroke, blood pressure
Cancer
 It is the abnormal multiplication of cells at one part of the body

 This makes one part of the body to be improportional to the others
 The mass of tissue is called tumor
 Some tumors are benign (not harmful or non-cancerous)
 Malignant tumors are cancerous
 E.g. cervical cancer, breast cancer, leukemia
 Factors that increase risk of chancer are tobacco use, exposure to radiation, lack of
physical activity, high fat and low-fibre diet, Obesity, Environmental pollutants

Respiratory diseases
 They are chronic diseases of the airways and other parts of the lung
 E.g. asthma, sleep apnoea, bronchiectasis, lung cancer, cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructed
pulmonary disease
Diabetes
 It is a condition when there is too much sugar in the blood

 A person suffering becomes increasingly thirsty, hungry, experiences frequent urination
Ways of preventing non-communicable diseases
 Avoiding smoking e.g. for cancer, heart diseases, respiratory diseases

 Doing physical exercises e.g for stroke, heart attacks
 Eating healthy diets e.g for heart diseases and diabetes
 Conducting awareness campaigns e.g on the causes, effects and prevention
 Living in clean and hygienic environment e.g for asthma
UNIT 7 : BASIC FACTS ABOUT HIV AND AIDS
HIV – Human Immune-Deficiency Virus
AIDS – Acquired Immune-Deficiency Syndrome
Poverty Issues affecting the HIV Transmission
 Poor people in developing countries lack access to information needed to understand and
prevent HIV and AIDS
 Poor access to drugs : health centres are located far from their villages and they lack
money for transport to get to the health centres for diagnosis and treatment
 Due to poverty, some women opt to use sexual exchanges for survival
Some of the basic facts about HIV and AIDS
 HIV is transmitted through : Sexual intercourse, blood to blood contact, mother to child
 Early treatment of other STIs can dramatically reduce the risk of infection with HIV
 Women are especially vulnerable to HIV infection and need information to protect
themselves and their children from infection
 There are simple and effective ways for everyone to prevent HIV infection
 The time it takes for HIV to lead to AIDS can vary greatly, and our health behaviours can
affect that time period
 Although there is no cure for AIDS, there are many treatments available

 Protecting human rights of People Living with HIV and AIDS not only helps them to live
positive and productive lives, but also helps to prevent HIV transmission in our
community
The Impact of HIV and AIDS on the Individual, family, community, and nation
a) Impact on the Individual
 Losing friends or relatives who die of HIV and AIDS

 Failing to go to work because you are nursing an HIV/AIDS patient or attending a
funeral of someone who died of HIV/AIDS
 Spending a lot of money on the sickness of friends or relatives who are HIV
positive
 Having psychological problems (e.g worries, fear, anger, Depression) when found
HIV positive
 Possible death of an individual
 Health problems such as headache, high blood pressure, stomach ulcers, mental
disorders due to the emotional effects
 An individual with AIDS is usually weak and therefore non-productive in
economic activities
b) Impact on the family
 Loss of relation when the individual with AIDS dies

 It leads to orphanhood which leaves the children without any support and hence
dropping out of school
 Families experience food insecurity since due to illness, agricultural work is
abandoned or neglected.
 Family resources are lost as they spend different resources such as money, time
and livestock on the patient throughout the illness. They also travel from place to
place to obtain treatment
 When people are sick, relatives are burdened to take care of them
 If a father dies, the family may not have a wage earner to provide for them
 If a mother dies, other children may take over tasks of cooking, cleaning and caring
for younger children
c) Impact on the community
 Young people are forced to take adult roles as they may resort to manual labour
and petty trading in a bid to survive
 Productive people are lost (in community and country) as they die from
HIV/AIDS related illnesses at an age that is most productive
 There is an increase of orphans whose parents die of HIV related illnesses thereby
putting a burden on the community to find means of supporting the orphans

 Community may use a lot of financial resources to take care of the patient hence
find it difficult to develop itself economically
 Self-help projects such as police unit are delayed because people are always
attending to HIV and AIDS patients
 In most villages, people may not find time to work in their fields or do home
chores because they are forced to attend funeral ceremonies
d) Impact on the nation
 There is loss of human resources. Development of the nation is therefore affected

when people die of HIV/AIDS related illnesses
 It leads to loss of financial resources since sickness due to HIV/AIDS increase
medical bills, funeral costs (in case of death) and payment of premature death
gratuities on the part of employers
 High infection rates and cases of sickness increases absenteeism from work thereby
lowering productivity
 As the number of AIDS patients increase, hospitals will have fewer resources to
devote to other patients.
Caring for People Living With HIV and AIDS (PLWHA)
Some of the ways in which PLWHA can be cared for are:
1. Physical Care
 PLWHA are weak to take care of themselves.

 they need to be provided with physical support e.g. clean clothes and taking them
to the hospital when ill
2. Emotional care
 they have psychological problems such as fear, anxiety, depression and rejection
 they need to be loved and giving them encouragement
 family and friends need to be close to the PLWHA
3. Spiritual and moral support
 prayers and sharing of scriptures gives peace of mind, hope of life and
encouragement
4. Guidance and Counselling
 Guidance and counselling enables them to get information which helps them to
cope with their situation.

5. Material support
 PLWHA need to be provided with basic items such as soap, beddings, clothes and
medicines
6. Helping with household chores
 Sometimes PLWHA cannot carry out normal household duties due to weakness
 People should help with cooking food, sweeping, looking after children etc
7. Encouraging them to eat balanced diet
 provide them with food that provides all nutrients

 e.g. starchy foods, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, fats and oils, beans, lots of
fluids
 Nutritious food improves their immune system and general sense of well-being
GROUPS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE VULNERABLE TO HIV AND AIDS INFECTION
There are many groups of people who are vulnerable to HIV. Some of them are:
Name of Group of Reasons why they are vulnerable to HIV and AIDS Infections
people
Women There are biological and social (cultural) factors that put women at a
risk of HIV.
Possible Biological factors
 Women receive greater quantities of possibly infected fluids
during sexual activities
 Women have a wider surface area of mucous membrane than men
which allows HIV to penetrate into blood easily
 Use of natural substances to dry out the vagina may cause tearing
during sexual intercourse
 Vagina is an internal organ and women are less likely to know that
they have sores from other STIs and this facilitates HIV
transmission
 The micro-tears that can occur in vaginal (or rectal) tissue from
sexual penetration
Possible Social (cultural) factors
 Polygamy –where a man marries more than one wife. If one
person is infected it will be transmitted to all
 Spouse swapping (sex orgies) – exchanging wives or sexual
partners with friends. If one person is infected it will be
transmitted to all
 Men’s preference for dry sex – it encourages women to put
drying agents in the vagina that can cause tearing
 Extreme poverty – it encourages women to exchange sex for
money, food, school fees etc

Children If mother is HIV positive they can be infected:
 before, during and immediately after delivery
 During breastfeeding
 Other people offer children cheap things (e.g. sweats) in exchange
of sex
Widows  Cultural practices such as kulowa kufa and chokolo promote
transmission of HIV
Orphans  They lost one or both parents
 Female orphans are more vulnerable to HIV
 Selfish people take advantage of their lack of income and abuse
them sexually
Migrant workers  They move from their home to other places for employment
 It results in getting involved in casual sexual activities
Commercial sex  are found in bottle stores, pubs, taverns
workers  they sleep with different people
 They indulge in sexual activities in exchange with money
Mobile business  Move from one place to another to buy and sell goods
persons  Are away from home for long time
 Due to lack of self-control they indulge in casual sexual activities
Truck drivers,  They leave their homes for field trips which take a number of days
locomotive drivers,  If they are not faithful they indulge in casual sexual relationships
ship captains  It puts them at a risk of HIV
Physically  Misconceptions that HIV and AIDS patients can be healed forces
challenged females men who are HIV+ to rape physically challenged female
 This leaves physically challenged females infected
Sexual partners of the  The vulnerable people may contract HIV from casual sex
vulnerable groups
 This puts their partners at a risk of contracting HIV from them
Skills required for resisting engaging in risky behaviour
Vulnerable groups to HIV and AIDS could use the following skills to resist engaging in risky
behaviour:
 Abstinence – it is refraining from sexual intercourse. It helps people to resist engaging in

risky behaviour
 Self-control – there is need to control ourselves from immoral behaviours to avoid
contracting HIV and AIDS
 Being faithful to a faithful and uninfected partner – have one sexual partner who is
faithful and stick to him or her alone. This could help to resist from engaging in risky
behaviour
 Other skills include : self-esteem, assertiveness, peer pressure resistance, decision
making and problem solving skills, self-confidence

Rights of People Living with HIV and AIDS
 Right to health - Every person including PLWHA should have access to health services.
PLWHA should have access to adequate medicine and information on HIV prevention
without discrimination
 Right to human dignity – The PLWHA should be treated with respect and concern, not
be subjected to medical or scientific experimentation without their consent. The society
must not abuse them either physically or verbally because of their status.
 Right to education and information – every person has a right to receive education and
choose where to get educated regardless of their HIV status. PLWHA need this for
personal and professional development as well as information about HIV and AIDS
 Right to equality – It provides that no person should be discriminated against. PLWHA
need to participate in all activities just like any human being could do
 Right to privacy – Every person has right to privacy. HIV status for PLWHA must be
kept confidential unless they choose to share the information with others. In addition, no
HIV test should be done without his/her consent.
 Right to employment – Every person has a right to employment regardless of being
infected or affected with HIV and AIDS as long as they are able to fulfil job requirements
 Right to inherit property or finances – every person has a right to inherit finances or
property left behind by their deceased parents or relatives regardless of their HIV status
 Right to life – Every person has a right to life. PLWHA should not be put at a risk by
denying them access to health care services with regard to HIV.
 Right to marry – It is part of human nature to marry or get married. PLWHA have the
right to marry and raise a family provided they are of right age.
Rights and responsibilities
Responsibilities of people living with HIV and AIDS
 To protect themselves from contracting more HIV – if you get more and more HIV
then you are putting your life at stake. If you cannot abstain use condoms always
 To protect others from contracting HIV and AIDS – If HIV+ a person should protect
their partner by practicing safe sex. Unmarried people should refrain from sexual
intercourse or they should tell their partner their HIV status and use condoms
 To defend their rights if they are violated – it is the responsibility of people living with
HIV and AIDS to report to authorities if anyone violates their rights
 To protect their unborn and newly born babies from contracting HIV and AIDS –
Every child has a right to survival and to development. The HIV+ pregnant women
should protect their unborn babies from contracting HIV without any excuse.
Rights of caregivers
 Right to safety from contamination and harassment due to handling or treating

patients – caretakers are free to go to any hospital and ask for hand gloves which are used

when caring for HIV and AIDS patients. It is also against law to be harassed due to
handling or treating PLWHA.
 Right to have resources to enable them assist patients – you have the right to go to
nearest health centre even a private hospital and ask for gloves to wear when bathing and
HIV and AIDS patient
 Right to respect – caregivers of HIV and AIDS patients should not be insulted
Responsibilities of caregivers
 Ensure that rights and dignity of PLWHA are protected and upheld
 Honouring the right for privacy for PLWHA
 Being a link person between the health facility, the patient and his/her family
 Helping in finding other helpers such as counsellors and spiritual caregivers
 Facilitating the process of taking children suspected to be infected by HIV to a health
facility
 Assisting patients to live positively with HIV and AIDS
TOPIC 8 : SOCIAL AND MORAL RESPONSIBILITES IN ONE’S COMMUNITY
Community
A community is a group of people living together with one or more interest or similarities.
Relationship in one’s community
a) Family relationships
These relationships include those between husband and wife with or without children, a
single parent with children or relatives, a husband and a wife with relatives or adopted
children
b) Organisational relationships
These exist between organisations that work in the community to achieve particular
objectives. They may also exist to support development in the community
c) Peer group relationships
These exist between people of sam1e sex, age or social status. Peer group relationships
often exist to share interests, goals, aspirations and experiences
d) Relationships between leaders and their subjects
Leaders in a community include traditional leaders such as chiefs, political leaders,

religious leaders. These form relationships with their subjects, supporters and followers
respectively

 Family leader - locally known as mwinimbumba, mkulu wa limana, wamkulu wa
banja. He coordinates family issues with the community and chiefs e.g. during funerals
he/she speaks on behalf of the family.
 Village headperson – he is responsible for several families and coordinates
development projects such as moulding of bricks for construction of school blocks,
police units etc
 Group Village Headperson (GVH) – he is in charge of several villages. He
coordinates development projects in the area and makes sure that village heads are
governing their villages in a democratic manner.
 Sub-Traditional Authority (Sub TA) - he takes charge of Group Village
Headpersons and ensures good governance in all areas of GVH under his charge. He
can promote a village headperson to GVH.
 Traditional Authority (TA) – He takes charge of Sub-Traditional Authority or GVH.
It is possible for TA to have no Sub TA. His duties are more like those of STA
 Senior Traditional Authority – He is a leader of several TAs in his/her area and
checks if the TAs are governing their areas according to the rule of law.
 Paramount Chief – They are the most senior chiefs in Malawi and they oversee all
chiefs of one ethnic group. E.g. Inkosi ya Makosi Gomani is the paramount chief of all
Maseko Ngoni TAs and Senior TAs in Ntcheu, Balaka, Mwanza, Dedza, Thyolo, and
Mozambique. Paramount Lundu is the head of Chewa chiefs in Malawi. Chewas are
found in most parts of Central region and some parts of Southern region.
e) Community workers and community
Community members should treat the people who work in their community (e.g. teachers,
police officers) as their fellow human beings. If they are treated well they offer their
services with love and the community benefits a lot from them.
Needs of members of the community
Human basic needs
Basic needs are things which a person cannot survive without them e.g. water, food, shelter,
clothing etc
 Food and water – food is needed to build our bodies, to protect diseases from diseases
and to provide energy. Only healthy members can contribute to the development of their
community
 Health care – members need access to health service in order to contribute effectively to
development of their community
 Security – members of community need to be protected from attacks, robbers and other
dangers
 Social services – members of community in social services such as schools, play grounds,
community halls, water supply and clinics. These form a foundation for the development
of the community

Human wants
Human wants are things which are needed in life but a person can survive even without them
e.g. radio, camera, car, smart phone, bicycle and computer.
Some things may sound to be wants but situations may make them to be needs. E.g. Grace
wants a bicycle to travel to school which is 10km away from her home while Dalitso wants a
bicycle to use for fun during weekends. The bicycle is a need for Grace while for Dalitso it is
a want
Social and moral responsibilities in the community
Members of a community have a role to play to improve the lives of other members.
Therefore, the members have social and moral responsibilities such as :
 Participating in developmental projects – e..g building roads and bridges, clearing

paths, maintaining damaged infrastructure , building schools and clinics
 Obeying leaders – e.g traditional leaders, political leaders, civic leaders and religious
leaders. This makes their work of governing easier.
 Providing guidance – leaders have a moral responsibility to provide guidance to their
subjects and followers
 Accepting responsibilities – members of community need to accept responsibilities
placed on them by leaders and subjects
 Attending meetings – e.g. political meetings, religious meetings, civic meetings,
developmental meetings. Leaders and their subjects or followers need to attend such
meetings
 Caring for the less privileged – e.g. taking care of the sick, orphans, the elderly, people
with disabilities etc
 Initiating development projects – members of the community have a responsibility to
initiate development projects
 Caring for infrastructures – members of the community need to take care of
infrastructures in their community e.g. roads, bridges. This is important because :
 It creates a sense of ownership
 It helps people to get good quality services
 It promotes sustainability (e.g. infrastructures are used for a long time0
TOPIC 9 : PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE IN THE COMMUNIITY
Peaceful co-existence is living together in peace rather than in constant conflicts or hostility.
Peaceful co-existence leads to unity, harmony and eventually leads to development.

Factors influencing peaceful co-existence in the community
 Respect for each other – People in a community need to respect each other including
each other’s rights and freedoms. This helps to live together peacefully
 Fair distribution of resources – Resources such as fertiliser, relief items etc should be
distributed fairly without favouring anyone. This results in peaceful co-existence between
leaders and their subjects, subjects and subjects.
 Tolerance – People in a community belong to different political parties, religious groups,
interest etc. Tolerance is needed for the members to co-exist peacefully
 Promoting gender equity – men and women, boys and girls should be given equal
opportunities. Neither feel disadvantaged when this is done. This results in peaceful co-
existence
 Ability to discuss issues – where differences arise, people should call each other and
discuss. If it fails, a mediator should be called to assist. If the mediator fails the
discussions can be done in a court of law. This helps to resolve problems in the
community leading to peaceful co-existence
 Non-violent behaviour – When in a group, learn to give each other time to talk while
others are listening. Talking at the same time brings confusion. Violent behaviours at a
community level slows development as people are not united to do self-help projects
 Sharing – Natural resources should be shared equally among the members to promote
peace in the community. Members of the community should also share their personal
belongings to the needy
 Legitimacy leadership – a leader should have power and authority that is founded on the
acceptance of those over whom such powers and authority are exercised. This also leads to
peace in the community
Factors that affect relationships in the community
Relationships in the community include kinship, marriage, cultural etc. These relationships
can be destroyed by many factors such as dishonesty, discrimination, jealousy etc
 Dishonesty : When community leaders are not honest with their subjects on many issues it
may affect the way subjects relate with their leaders. In addition, if one is not honest to his
or her friend and likes to tell lies to shield themselves from what they do, it can also affect
the relationship
 Discrimination : Discrimination in the community is based on age, race, religion,
disability or sex. This also affects relationships in the community
 Jealousy : This happens when in a community one group feels it is less well than other
groups. It also arises when one group feels that the other group is favoured in terms of
resources and opportunities. This therefore leads to animosity between the groups
involved.
 Hatred : this is where there is a strong feeling of dislike. Friendships break due to hatred

 Lack of cooperation : When members in a relationship do not cooperate they quarrel and
consequently the relationship is destroyed. Members should therefore learn to cooperate
for the common good of their relationship
 Stealing : this involves taking somebody’s property without consent. This habit destroys
relationships
 Lack of sympathy: Members in a relationship need to understand and care for their
friend’s problems and sufferings. When a member does not show concern over a friend’s
problems the relationship gets affected
Factors that promote relationships in the community
 Co-operation – members in a community need to work together in different activities.

They also need to understand and appreciate each other’s role and responsibilities. This
helps to promote peace and build relationships
 Mutual trust – Members of a community need to trust each other . This helps to make
the relationship strong.
 Love – people in a community need to love and have deep affection for each other. They
also need to be kind, tolerant, selfless and accommodative to preserve community
relationships.
 Peaceful conflict resolution – Conflicts over land, marital disputes etc need to be
resolved peacefully. This helps to restore relationships and prevents conflicts from
happening again.
 Effective communication – many relationships in communities are destroyed by lack of
communication. Members need to communicate in a way that does not offend each other
in order to preserve the relationships
 Honesty – if members of the community are honest with each other they do not cheat each
other . This helps to establish mutual trust
 Hard working spirit – members in a community such as a family need to work hard. If
one member is not hard working (e.g. in the field) the other members are not happy .
 Respecting relationships – members in a community are related in one way or another.
Each member should know his or her boundaries to promote peace in the community.
 Teaching kindness by being kind – people with responsibilities in a community should
lead by example and everybody must follow suit. This promotes unity among the
members.
 Keeping communication open – Communication should be accompanied by feedback.
Avoid giving instructions where no feedback is allowed, e.g a teacher allowing students to
contribute and ask questions during lessons helps to clear misconceptions.

TOPIC 10 : MORAL AND VALUES
Morals
 are principles or standards of appropriate conduct and behaviour to the individual or the
society that the individual belongs to.
 are principles or ideas and beliefs concerning what is right and what is wrong
 are acceptable codes of conduct in any society
Values
 are beliefs and standards which one regards as being important

 are beliefs, principles or standards that influence behaviour
 Examples of values : Justice, fortitude, faithfulness, abstinence, empathy, fairness, love,
commitment, trustworthiness, respect, tolerance, co-operation etc
Sources of morals and values
The main sources of values and morals are :
 The family – children are taught to respect themselves and others, to co-operate, to be
obedient and honest etc
 The school – children are taught democratic values such as human rights, equality, rule of
law, right to life, respect of other people’s views etc
 The community – there are institutions that help to transform the children to be useful
citizens through socialisation. The institutions include:
 Religious institutions train children to have respect for others, charity, kindness,
faithfulness, mercifulness, integrity, Chastity, honesty, etc
 Traditional and cultural institutions such as traditional dance groups, chinamwali,
gule wamkulu train children about loyalty, hard work, togetherness, cooperation,
perseverance, etc
Importance of values
 They guide in determining how one acts upon available choices or opportunities
 People’s values determine their decisions and actions
 Values are also used to judge a situation as right or wrong
Personal, family and community morals and values
The following are some of the personal, family and community morals and values:
 Respect – It involves respect for oneself or others. If you respect oneself you are likely to
respect property as well
 Justice – it involves fairness when dealing with others. It also involves respecting other
people’s rights and giving them what they deserve

 Courage - This is when one is ready to face challenges and difficult times in order to
achieve something desirable
 Prudence - It means thinking carefully about consequences of an action before making a
decision or taking action in order to avoid unnecessary risks.
 Temperance - It involves self control and avoiding extremes of actions, thoughts and
feelings hence avoiding too much of everything
 Tolerance - Accepting other people’s view, opinions, beliefs that are different from others
 Responsibility - Being responsible means to be honest, reliable, trustworthy
 Co-operation - It means working with each other or helping each other for a particular
purpose e.g. doing community activities such as clearing paths
 Obedience - It is doing what you are told to do without raising unnecessary questions
 Discipline – It is doing things on our own without being supervised. It helps to develop
individual initiatives
 Generosity - It is the quality of being kind, helpful and unselfish. It is also giving more
than what is expected of you often without expecting anything in return
 Empathy - Ability to understand another person’s feelings or situations
 Fortitude - Ability to stick to one’s convictions or values by not being moved by peers
 Humility – It is thinking that other people are as important as you are
 Honest – ability to tell the truth, not to steal or cheat. It helps to stand for the truth
regardless of consequences
 Integrity – means being honest and having strong moral principles. Anyone with integrity
cannot be corrupted
Factors that erode Morals and Values
 Peer pressure – Due to peer pressure, young people smoke, steal, abuse drugs etc in order
to please their peers. In this way their morals and values are eroded
 Foreigners – having many foreigners in a community makes people to lose their morals
and values and start copying the values and morals of the foreigners. E.g. in Malawi
refugees from Burundi and Mozambique have influenced our way of life . Burundians are
good at business and value social gatherings
 Change in culture – people change their culture and start copying other peoples’ cultures.
This may erode their morals and values. E.g. Malawians have substituted natural
vegetables such as luni, bonongwe with cabbage and rape. However the natural vegetables
are more nutritious than the exotic vegetables
 Education – Education is making Malawians erode their morals and values e.g. educated
people discourage their children to go for initiation ceremonies as these ceremonies are
viewed as primitive. This leads to erosion of morals and values.
 Media – many people try to copy bad behaviours from television, newspapers, radio,
magazines and internet. Whatever is seen or heard is practiced. Thus morals and values
are eroded.

 Lack of respect for oneself and others – e.g. people vandalise electricity cables because
they do not respect themselves and other people’s right to benefit from those cables.
Morals and values are eroded by lack of respect.
 Drug and substance abuse – under the influence of drugs and substances such as alcohol
and marijuana, other people do immoral acts such as rape, theft and armed robberies. Drug
and substance abuse can therefore erode a community’s morals and values
 Poverty – due to poverty people resort to unauthorised ways of living leading to erosion
of morals and values
 Lack of parental guidance – Due to lack of parental guidance, young people engage in
prostitution, cheating in examinations and premarital sex. This undermines the values of
chastity and self-control.
Ways of promoting family and Community values
 Living together – if people of same culture live together at one place they maintain their
morals and values thereby promoting their morals and values e.g. at festivals showcasing
their dances helps to pass the dancing skills from one generation to another. This is made
possible because they stay together.
 Forming cultural groupings – e.g. Mulhako wa Alhomwe gather once a year at Chonde
in Mulanje where Lomwe food and traditional dances are appreciated
 Education – parents and guardians should train their children to uphold values and
morals. Once trained they are likely to maintain the morals and values to adulthood.
 Sensitizing communities – deliberate efforts must be made to sensitize members of the
community the importance of safeguarding and promoting morals and values. This
promotes sustenance of morals and values
 Practicing morals and values – leaders should encourage subjects to practice morals and
values when there are opportunities to do so. E.g. how kindness, cooperation, tolerance
can be practiced in their daily routines
 Encouraging right associations – young people should be encouraged to associate with
people of good morals and values. This helps to inculcate good morals and values in
young people.
 Positive rewards – Where the youth have displayed good morals and values they should
be praised and rewarded.
National and International values (root values)
Value Meaning Importance

 Fortitude  Is the ability to stick to one’s  People with it cannot be easily
convictions or values moved by emotions or appearances
 It describes courage shown by a
person who is suffering great pain
 Prudence  Is the ability to apply wisdom to  It helps people to foresee evil in the
practical matters actions of others or situations
 It helps a person to make critical
observations before taking action or

making a decision
 Honesty  Is the ability to tell the truth, not  It is a sign of righteousness
to steal or cheat  It helps a person to stand for the
 Is the uprightness of an individual truth
 Honest people are trustworthy and
reliable in any situation
 Integrity  It is being honest and having Anyone who adhere to this standard:
strong moral principles  Is sincere
 Cannot be easily bribed or
corrupted
 Render unselfish service.
TOPIC 11 : CULTURAL PRACTICES AND HIV AND AIDS
Culture is the skills or arts of a given group of people in a given period. It is also referred to
as the way of life.
Cultural practices are things that are practiced in a particular culture
Other cultural practices are good because they help to equip the members with life skills for
survival while others are bad because they help spread HIV and AIDS
Vulnerable people to HIV and AIDS
Women, widows, orphans, physically challenged people, albinos, sex workers and school
girls etc
Cultural practices that place vulnerable people at risk of contracting HIV and AIDS
 Widow inheritance (chokolo) – This is where a widow is inherited as a wife by the

brother or any other relative of her late husband. If the new husband or the widow is HIV+
the virus can be transmitted through sexual intercourse to the widow as well as to the new
husband and his wife respectively.
 Death cleansing (kulowakufa) – in this practice, the widow is expected to have sexual
intercourse with the late husband’s relative in order to cleanse the home in which death
occurred. If the man identified is HIV+ the virus can be transmitted to the widow and vice
versa through sexual intercourse. This practice is common in the Shire Valley and other
parts of Malawi.
 Polygamy (mitala) – this happens where a man marries more than one wife. If the man or
one of the wives is HIV+ then all the members in that circle would contract HIV through
sexual intercourse.
 Spouse swapping/sex orgies (chimwanamayi) – This is a practice where married men
swap or exchange their wives to have sexual intercourse with their friend’s wife. If one
person in the system is HIV+ the virus can be transmitted to all members of the group.

 Men’s preference for dry sex – in some communities there is a tendency where women
dry the vagina with a piece of cloth before sexual intercourse. This may sound good to
men but chances of bruises and cuts are high when a penis enters a dry vagina hence
increasing chances of transmitting HIV
 Kupimbira – It is a practice where girls as young as five years old are forced into sexual
relationships with older men or are married off to men by their parents in exchange for
money. The parents or relatives get the money in advance and offer their daughter without
her consent. This puts girls at risk of HIV. It is commonly practiced in northern Malawi.
 Initiation ceremonies – this is where young people are taught the customs and behaviours
of their community. After the initiation, a man has sexual intercourse with the newly
initiated girls as part of the initiation rite. Boys are also encouraged to have sex with older
women to prove their manhood. This places young people at a risk of HIV contraction.
 Moto – This practice happens when a house accidentally catches fire. A man is called to
have sexual intercourse with the woman whose house has caught fire to prevent the fire
from occurring again. This put the women at a risk of HIV
 Mbiligha (Hlazi) – a husband is given a young sister of his wife as a bonus or token of
gratitude. This also puts young girls at risk of HIV
 Beliefs about how to get cured of HIV – some people believe that sleeping with a baby
or a disabled person would rid them of the virus they previously had. This fuels spread of
HIV among the victims of such practices
Cultural practices that help to mitigate (reduce) the spread of HIV
 Abstinence – Schools, religious institutions, communities etc encourage young girls and
women to keep away from sexual activities. Another group that practices abstinence as an
HIV mitigation method is HIV+ people in order not to pass on the HIV.
 Delaying sexual debut – In other societies young girls are being encouraged not to have
sex for a specific period or until they get married. This helps to mitigate spread HIV
 Male circumcision – It has been proved that male circumcision reduces the problem of
HIV transmission from HIV+ females to HIV- males. Many countries are therefore
encouraging the practice of male circumcision as a method of mitigating the spread of
HIV. Circumcision targets young people ages 10 – 24, infants from birth to 8 weeks, adult
males ages 25-49.
 Observing chastity – In many societies young people are encouraged not to have sex with
anyone. Married adults are also encouraged to have sex with their spouses only. This
practice greatly helps to mitigate the spread of HIV among young people and adults
TOPIC 12 : SUPPORTING THE VULNERABLE
Vulnerable people are individuals who are under privileged and those who are exposed to
abuse and contract HIV and AIDS
These people depend on others and require support, favour and help to meet their needs.

Ways of supporting vulnerable people
 Setting up organisations – these are needed to support, protect and care for individuals
and families that are vulnerable.
 Sensitisation campaigns – there is need to carry out campaigns that sensitize vulnerable
people on the dangers of involving themselves in risky behaviours and cultural practices
that would put them at a risk of contracting HIV.
 Spiritual and moral support – they need to be provided with spiritual and moral support
for them to cope with their loss. E,g, widows, widowers, orphans. They also need to be
loved and respected.
 Community mobilisation – communities and well-wishers must take leading roles by
joining hands in protecting and caring for vulnerable people. They must be encouraged to
provide vulnerable people with resources such as food, shelter, clothes, money.
 Social and economic empowerment – they should be empowered to know their rights to
avoid abuse. They should also be encouraged to set up Income generating activities so
that they are financially independent.
 Education and training – they must be encouraged to acquire education and vocational
training for self-reliance.
 Counselling and guidance – this where the vulnerable people are able to understand
themselves and their problems in order to make meaningful and informed decisions. It
ensures vulnerable people handle their problems with understanding and maturity.
 Provision of life skills on HIV and AIDS prevention – vulnerable people such as
orphans and women should be trained how they can use life skills to prevent themselves
from contracting HIV and AIDS. Life skills such as abstinence, critical thinking, decision
making can help them to refrain from contracting HIV and AIDS
If you are abused, remember the following:
 You are not to blame, for being battered or mistreated

 You are not the cause of your partner’s abusive behaviour
 You deserve to be treated with respect
Steps to take in order to assist the abused individuals
 Recognise signs of abuse – The abused person may not be willing to start telling you
what has happened to her or him. It could be up to you to infer it (work it out). Some
signs of abuse include :
 Unexplained absence from school or work
 Leaving early or arriving late to school or work
 Tiredness
 Carelessness in his or her dressing
 Lack of focus
 Bruises or other injuries

 Listen to him or her – if the abused person is willing to open up to you about his or her
abuse, pay attention to his or her story. Do not judge him or her because doing so will
make him or her less likely to open up to you next time.
 Tell someone about the abuse – You need to tell someone that you and the victim can
trust. E.g. parent, teachers, head teacher, community leader, victim support unit at any
police station. This helps the abuser to be punished for the bad behaviour.
 Say something about the signs you have noticed –This should be done in a professional
and friendly manner and at a private place. This can help the abused person to be open and
comfortable with you and start revealing everything to you.
 Offer your help – The abused need your support e.g escorting the friend to report the
issue to authorities such as parents, head teacher or the police. Sometimes the abused may
not be willing to accept your assistance but do not give up. It may take some time for him
or her to accept so do not try to rush him or her.
Places where the abused individuals can report their cases
 Parents – if children are abused they could report to their parents. Reporting to parents is
good because we are assured of protection from such abuse next time
 Chiefs – if you are abused at a family level or by neighbours, you can go to your chief and
report.
 Head teacher – if learners are abused they can report to the head teachers for assistance.
If the head teacher is not assisting you do not hesitate to report to police. In addition, cases
of sexual harassment should also be reported to parents
 Victim Support Unit at Police Station – Officers at victim support unit are well trained
to handle issues professionally. So if you are ill-treated by your parents, guardians or
teachers go to the Police station
 Court – Officers at any court of law will help you on what to do with your complaint. Do
not be afraid, advice and guidance at the court is free of charge.
 Office of the ombudsman – the ombudsman has mandate to assist anyone wishing to
enforce his or her human rights. Malawi constitution gives the ombudsman power to
recommend punishment for anyone found to have violated human rights.
 Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) – MHRC investigates human rights
violations and make recommendations aimed at protecting human rights. MHRC also
offers its lawyers to help the abused people free of charge to get remedies from the court.
TOPIC 13 : SEX, SEXUALITY AND HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
Sexuality is total expression of who we are as human beings; male or female.
It is about many things including sex, sexual intercourse, emotions, feelings and attractions
you have towards other people, beliefs, physical appearance, desires, self-esteem, values,
likes, dislikes, behaviours, the ways one has been socialised and fantasies, receiving
affection, feeling valued and attractive, sharing thoughts and feelings, sexual health and well

being. Sexuality develops, changes with time and it is acquired from birth. It is part of a
person from birth to death
Components of Sexuality
These are sensuality, sexual intimacy, sexual identity, sexual health and reproduction,
sexualisation.
a) Sensuality
 Being aware of and feelings about your own body and those of others especially the
opposite sex
 It enables people feel good about what their bodies look like, feel like and can do,
b) Sexual intimacy
 The ability and need to be emotionally close to other people and have that closeness
returned.
 Sharing intimacy is what makes personal relationships rich
c) Sexual identity
It is understanding who one is in the sense of being male or female (the physical make up
and being aware of your sex). It encompasses:
 Gender identity – knowing whether you are male or female

 Gender roles – behaviours that are considered appropriate for males or females in a
particular culture
 Sexual orientation – knowing what type of sex one is attracted to e.g.
 Homosexual – being attracted to people of same sex
 Heterosexual – being attracted to people of opposite sex (this is the commonest
sexual orientation)
 Bisexual – being attracted to both sexes
d) Sexual health and reproduction
The person’s ability to reproduce and the behaviours and attributes that make sexual
relationships healthy. It covers:
 Pregnancy
 Sexual intercourse
 Feelings and attitudes
 Family planning
 Information on STIS and HIV prevention
 Facts about child health
 Fertility and infertility
e) Sexualisation

Using sex and sexuality to influence, control and manipulate other people e.g.
 To punish – sex becomes an expression of anger/revenge
 To win or return favours – sex is given as payment to or return a favour offered by
someone
 To control behaviour – e.g. getting pregnant so that you be given permission to marry
 To exploit selfishly – to use the other person for physical satisfaction without regard
for that person’s well being or without regard for the consequences
Sexualisation also includes sexual abuse and sexual harassment, flirting, seduction,
withholding sex from partner, selling products with sex message
Ways in which components of sexuality affect human behaviour
a) Sexual identity
 Influences people to perform duties and responsibilities in accordance with their sex.
E.g In Malawi females draw water, cook while males go fishing and dig graves
 Influences individuals to dress in ways that are appropriate to their sex e.g. males wear
trousers and shirts while females wear blouses, skirts, dresses.
 Influences the need to affiliate with other people either of the same sex, opposite sex or
both. To affiliate means to be with other people
b) Sexual and reproductive health
 Influences individuals to use contraceptives for birth control

 Influences individuals to seek information pertaining to their reproductive health
c) Sexualisation
 Influences seductive behaviours e.g. females put on mini skirts and use make ups to
seduce males
 Induces young people to seek information pertaining to sexual intercourse
 Influences young people to begin to use sexual intercourse as a weapon of physical
satisfaction without regard to the consequences
 Influences other people to use sexual intercourse as an expression of hostility, anger or
revenge
Challenges of sexuality among the teenagers
Some of the challenges of sexuality include:
 Becoming shy – after knowing that they are males and females and that they belong to a
specific group, shyness develops. E.g. 13 year old boys and girls cannot take a bath
together because they would feel shy of one another.
 Getting pre-occupied with thoughts about sexual attractiveness – adolescents spend a
lot of time thinking and talking about friends of opposite sex. This could result in wet
dreams in boys. These thoughts can also lead to loss of concentration in their activities.

 Wanting to be independent and free – adolescents do not want to be controlled by
parents or elders. If they succeed, they become uncontrollable
 Developing special interest in the opposite sex and possibly experiment with sex – this
happens with those who are fond of being with people of the opposite sex. E.g. a boy who
is fond of girls may agree with one of them to have an experience of what sex is all about.
This may result in unwanted pregnancy
 Unwanted pregnancy – when experimenting sex it could result into unwanted
pregnancies. In some cases the adolescents plan to go for abortion. Abortion has its own
complications.
 Abortion – Unplanned pregnancies lead to abortion. Abortion leads to loss of blood and
consequently death. It may also make an individual lose fertility and never have a child in
all their life.
 Drug and substance abuse – To remove shyness some think of taking drugs and
substances so that they can propose or chat with girls without shyness.
Skills to overcome the challenges of sexuality
If you use the following skills correctly, you can overcome the challenges of sexuality :
 Giving sufficient and correct information about sexuality – adolescents should be

given sufficient and correct information about sexuality for them to make informed
decisions on issues concerning sexuality. E.g. they should have knowledge of human
reproduction system and ways of having protected sex. This could reduce cases of
abortions among the youth.
 Properly guiding and counselling on sexuality issues – the youth should be guided and
counselled as well as checking their behaviours and controlling them from indulging into
serious problems such as contracting HIV/AIDS
 Decision making – the youth can survive peer pressure if they are equipped with decision
making skills
 Problem solving – problems need a person with sound mind and problem solving skills to
withstand pressure of problems. E.g. prostitution and stealing cannot solve problems
concerning money. The youth should think of better ways to find money such as doing
piece work or asking from parents
 Assertiveness – assertiveness is the art of showing strength and confidence in oneself. If
adolescents have this skill then they cannot be cheated easily by their fellow peers.
 Effective communication – parents, teachers, church elders should be free to share
information and experiences with adolescents concerning sex and sexuality. The youth
should also be allowed to ask questions so that they know the truth about the experiences
they undergo in their lives. This helps the youth to get correct information rather than
relying upon fellow peers.
 Interpersonal relationships – it is how people behave towards each other. Any friendship
has limits. Boys and girls should chat in public places and not lonely places. In addition,
friendships should be free of sexual harassment; whether physical or verbal

 Critical thinking – Before making any judgement a person should think twice. Questions
like is it profitable to do this? What will be my benefit? What will be the consequences of
this action? If answers to these questions are for the common good of your community,
then you can do it.
 Empathy –empathy is the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings. The
concern and love you show to the one in dilemma, comforts her and eventually takes your
advice.
 Other skills are – coping with emotions, peaceful conflict resolution, self control, self-
esteem, self-awareness, ability to ask questions and seek help and ability to take
responsibility
TOPIC 14 : ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND THE WORLD OF WORK
BUSINESS VALUES AND ETHICS
Business values are beliefs and attitudes you and your staff have in common in the
workplace
Business values are core principles or standards that guide the way a person does business
and the things that a business stands for.
Types of business values
Physical values Organisational values Psychological values

 Cleanliness  accountability  quality of products and
 Hard work  communications services
 Maximum utilisation of  cooperation  excellence performance
resources  discipline  customer delight
 Orderliness  efficiency  continuous improvement
 Punctuality  integration  innovation
 Regularity  standardisation  entrepreneurial spirit
 Reality  systemisation  creativity
 timeliness
Business ethics are the moral principles that govern the decisions and actions within a
business
Business ethics are principles and standards that determine acceptable conduct in business
organisations
The acceptability of behaviour in business is determined by customers, competitors,

interested groups, government regulators as well as the owner of the business. E.g. charging
reasonable interest is an example of business ethics; and the customers are the ones who can
appreciate that this company or bank charges low interest rates.

Business ethics that businesses follow
 Trustworthiness – a business must be trusted by its customers, clients, shareholders and

investors (if any) regardless of circumstances. E.g, a business can be trusted by its
customers by providing good quality products and charging fair prices on goods and
services.
 Respecting customers – existing and potential customers must be treated fairly and
honestly. E.g. existing customers should not be harassed to purchase a product while
potential customers should not be provided with misleading information and should not be
lied to.
 Respecting workers – Employees need to be respected and treated fairly. The business
should not violate employees’ basic rights.
 Community involvement – a business should remain involved in the issues and activities
of the community in which it is operating.
 Refraining from corrupt practices – a business must refrain from all kinds of bribery
such as bribery, fraud, kickbacks etc
 Refraining from using child labour – although a business is entitled to recruit employees
to work for it, it should refrain from using child labour e.g. not employing young persons
under the age of 14.
 Financial probity – a business must show integrity when dealing with money it generates.
Importance of business ethics
 Creating good business image – when a business follows good business ethics, people
see it in a positive way. This results in attracting more customers.
 Improving business awareness and recognition – many people know about the business
if it follows good business ethics. This results in people patronizing the business unlike a
business that lacks ethics.
 Building good relationships – a good business follows ethics such as honesty, fairness
and justice. This helps to develop good relationships with other businesses, customers and
the community at large.
Unethical behaviours in business
 Charging more interest on commodities to make more profits – in business profits

should be made at a good percentage. It is not fair to overcharge your goods for any
reason. Overcharging is unethical behaviour in business.
 Selling expired goods – Expired goods must be destroyed because it is dangerous to
consume them. Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) is responsible for dealing with any
person who sells expired goods.
 Selling substandard goods – It unethical in business to sell substandard goods and
services at a higher price. Once caught a person doing this can be punished.
 Giving false information on the commodities you are selling – What is written on the
wrappers of the goods should correspond with the contents inside. Other business people

pack things which are different from what is written on the pack e.g. cheating people that
they are selling fertiliser when it is sand. Once caught they face the law.
 Failure to take care of your commodities – in business, sellers have a responsibility of
taking care of their commodities to be best for consumption. E.g covering mandasi to
avoid flies and dust to land on them.
Corrupt practices in Business
Corruption in business means :
 wrong doing committed by a business, its owner, employees and clients.

 the misuse of entrusted power for personal or private gain
 an action of secretly providing a good or a service to a third party so that he or she can
influence certain actions which benefit the corrupt person
Forms of corruption in business
 Bribery – involves giving someone something of value in order to persuade him or her to
do a favour to the giver. E.g. members of staff of a quality assurance organisation
receiving money or other gifts from shop owners to allow them sell expired and
substandard products on the market
 Kickbacks – these are payments to a business by vendors in exchange for contracts that
overinflate the cost of the work performed at the expense of those receiving the services
and paying for the contract. E,g a businessman paying someone to arrange for the
business to be chosen to do an important job. Kickbacks result in substandard work.
 Embezzlement – it means taking and using money entrusted to you illegally for your
personal use. E.g. a bank teller who pockets deposits, a minibus conductor who under-
reports the day’s income to the minibus owner.
 Fraud – it is gaining money or financial benefits by trick or through lies. E.g. an
employee demanding re-imbursement for a non-existent travel, employee accepting
payment from customer without recording the sale.
 Extortion – an example in business is charging excess price on commodities rather than
the recommended prices
 Nepotism –it is the practice of favouring a group or person who is a relative when giving
promotions, jobs, raises etc to employees.
Factors that promote corruption in business
 Poverty (or low salaries) – officials who get lower wages which are not enough to
support their families will many times become corrupt in order to make up for the small
income.
 Lower levels of education – With lower levels of education workers do not know the
effects of some of their actions to the business’s financial stand. Secondly, it is easier to
conceal corrupt practices from the poorly educated public. Uneducated citizens are less
likely to be aware of corruption in business or how to stop it as a result corruption is able
to remain and spread.

 Lack of transparency and accountability – e.g. if junior workers in a company think
that the company has made a lot of profits by the end of the year yet managers are not
open enough to show how the company has performed, this could prompt other workers to
indulge in corrupt practices
 Greed – some people engage in corrupt practices in order to get extra money to support
extravagant and luxurious lifestyles. These people do not care the effects of corruption on
others.
 Non-exemplary behaviours from bosses – If Managers are known to be corrupt other
staff think such actions are acceptable. Therefore, Top business managers need to set good
examples to their subordinates.
 Desire to get rich quickly – many employees want to get rich quickly as a result they
engage in corrupt practices in order to achieve their goals.
 Low moral standards – people who lack moral values of hard work, honesty and
integrity are influenced by corrupt practices.
Consequences of corruption in business
 Loss of customers – customers lose trust in a corrupt business. They prefer to buy from a
rival business which is involved in honest dealings and is incorruptible. This may lead to
closure of business
 Closure of a business – Loss of customers lead to sales decline. This eventually leads to
loss in business and closure of the business
 Loss of resources – Resources such as money and other goods are lost through
embezzlement, fraud and other forms of corruption. This has an impact on the future of
the business.
 Inefficiencies – Managers and supervisors spend much time looking for ways to make
money through dishonest means instead of concentrating on their jobs. This leads to
inefficiencies in the way they perform their duties. This also weakens development of the
business.
 Loss of trust – shareholders, investors and customers often lose trust and confidence in a
business that is involved in corrupt practices, This may lead to the collapse of the business
as well.
 Arrest and imprisonment – people suspected of corruption can be arrested. If convicted,
they can be imprisoned and serve jail sentences
 Damaged business image – corruption can dent the image of the business organisation
concerned. When news about corruption business professionals breaks, customers lose
respect and trust. This makes the company to spend valuable time and resources to
monitor and reassure clients that the company is still viable.
 Discouragement of shareholders and investors – investors are not willing to do business
with companies and municipalities that are known for corruption. A company will have
hard time finding willing investors if it has a history of corruption within its ranks.
 Substandard goods, works and services – e.g. if Mr Phiri gives some money to the
hospital administrator to win a tender of supplying rice for patients, he will supply low

quality rice and charge as if the rice is of high quality. Therefore, substandard rice has
been offered because of corruption.
Corporate social responsibility
 It is the continuing commitment by a business or organisation to have ethically and

contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of its workforce,
their families as well as the local community and society at large
 It entails developing business with a positive relationship to the society
How a business can engage itself in social responsibility
 Support the welfare of the community in which the business is operating from.
 Provide social services to the community
 Provide other trainings to its employees on how they can improve their lives
 Train the community on how to operate small-scale businesses for their gains
 Initiate irrigation scheme projects where the community should learn new farming
methods.
 Donating money or other items to charities
 Serving the people who are normally discriminated against e.g. a bank giving a business
loan to a woman or member of a minority group such as those with disability
 Sponsoring social, cultural and sporting activities, e.g. mobile company sponsoring a
football or netball tournament
 Offering scholarships to needy students
 Promoting environmental conservation and management by supporting tree planting
Benefits of social responsibility to a business
 Improves customers’ attitude toward the business – customers are more likely to buy
from a business that supports and engages in activities that benefit the society.
 More people patronise the business – people are likely to patronise a business that
engages in activities that improve living conditions in the society. This is done as a token
of appreciation for the social responsibility it offers to the community. This, therefore,
increases business sales and profits.
 Assurance of media coverage – e.g. a business that sponsors netball or football
tournament obtains free media coverage through radio, television and newspapers. As a
result many people become aware of the business
 Retention of employees – many employees enjoy working for a business that engages in
activities aimed at improving the living standards of the people. Thus corporate social
responsibility helps to recruit and retain good quality employees thereby reducing costs
and disruption of recruitment and retraining.
 Hardworking spirit – employees of whom most are from the community have hard
working spirit since they know that their community benefits from the company.
 The business enjoys social support from the community – members of the community
cannot tolerate vandalism at the business place because they know that company

Life skills that can help to prevent corruption
 Assertiveness – Assertiveness is an ability to say no to things that are not morally right.
Assertiveness will help you not to engage in any type of corrupt practices and thereby
preventing you from arrest and imprisonment.
 Self-control – Self-control is the ability to resist doing something that your mind tells you
to do. It helps to avoid corrupt practices
 Self-Esteem – Self-esteem is how we value ourselves; it is how we perceive our value to
the world and how valuable we think we are to others either positively or negatively.
Developing positive self-esteem can help in resisting or fighting corruption.
 Critical thinking – thinking critically helps to analyse advantages and disadvantages of
every action and practice. We should consider the common good and not our selfishness.
Thus critical thinking helps to analyse effects of getting involved in corruption.
 Creative thinking – creativity involves coming up with new means or ways of survival
and fighting corruption. A person is therefore able to come up with clean and better ways
of earning a living. Creativity also helps to find a solution to the problem of corruption.
 Problem solving and decision making – problem solving involves taking positive action
once a problem arises. Decision making is the ability to make the right choices. Thus, with
problem solving and decision making skills you make a conscious decision not to engage
in corrupt practices.
 Interpersonal relationship skills – these skills are love, respect and effective
communication. These skills will help you to relate well with others and hence prevent
you from engaging in corruption
 Monitoring and reporting – the company should establish a clear and accessible system
for the reporting of any suspicious behaviour. This helps the individuals to report what
they think are suspicious activities at the work place.
UNIT 15 : MANAGING A BUSINESS VENTURE
A business person is someone who is engaged in buying and selling or in production of goods
and services in order to earn a profit.
Qualities of a successful business person
 Courtesy – A successful business person is courteous. This means he or she is polite with
his or her customers and employees in any personal or business deal. In this way, he or
she wins their trust and receive more customers.
 Hard work – he is industrious, persistent, dedicated and hard working. He or he has
ability to work for long hours. He or she ensures work is completed and does not like
wasting time
 Confidence – this quality helps the business person to work with great determination even
in hard circumstances. He or she should not be changed by comments from competitors or
shallow minded people who fear risks.

 Patience – a person who is patient meets many people and share ideas with them on how
to grow his or her business. Patience helps the business person to deal with problems that
he or she is facing.
 Honesty – a successful business person is honest and sincere in his or her dealings. There
is no fraud or deceit in the way the business is run.
 Ability to plan – he or she has an ability to plan and organise business affairs effectively.
He or she considers all available alternatives before making a decision. This helps to
make best decisions for the business.
 Desire for progress – he or she always desires to earn huge profits by expanding his or
her business activities. The desire for progress puts his or her business on the path of
progress and prosperity.
 Social responsibility – a successful business person provides quality products at low
prices to his or her customers. He or she does this because he or she believes that it is his
or her social responsibility to make reasonable charges on goods and services and make
marginal profits that would not make people to dig deeper into their pockets.
 Leadership – The workers and subordinates work whole heartedly because they see
leadership qualities in him or her.
 Foresightedness - he or she is careful about future expectations and has the ability to
foresee the future and not just what is today. He or she anticipates how the demands for
his or her goods or services will be in future and plans on how to meet such demand.
 Willingness to take moderate risks – if you do not take risks then you cannot make
profits e.g. a good businessperson will say I will buy a minibus and I will be successful
and make profits without looking at the risk of accidents
 Flexibility – he or she should be flexible to the demands of customers. e.g. if you are
running a shop and customers have asked you to repack commodities into small quantities
such as 1Kg sugar to be in 500g, you should listen and offer them those services
 Ability to identify and explore opportunities – a successful business person thinks of
new ways of investing and should try those new avenues e.g. if selling vegetables, he or
she can also sell tomatoes, groundnut flour, salt because in most cases those who buy
vegetables also look for tomatoes, salt, cooking oil etc
Financial Management
 It is the management of the finances of a business or organisation in order to achieve

financial objectives
 It is the ability to use, save and account for financial resources to achieve the objectives
you have set out for your business
Key issues in financial management
Some of the key issues include :
 Financial planning – Business management should see to it that enough funding is

available at the right time to meet the needs of the business. E.g. money should be readily
available to pay employees for several months in case the business is not making profits

 Financial control – it helps to ensure that the business is meeting its objectives. It
addresses questions such as : are assets being used efficiently? Are the business assets
secure? If the answers to these questions are negatives then an action should be taken.
 Financial decision making – This relates to investment, financing and dividends.
o Investments – investments must be financed in some way. This helps to boost the
operations of the business
o Financial decision – it involves how to use profits realised from the business which
should be retained rather than distributed to shareholders as dividends.
 Budget – it is a financial plan that gives some guidelines on how to spend or utilise
household income. It can also be a plan for future income and expenditure.
Factors to consider when budgeting
These vary from person to person because different people have different needs and wants.
Even their priorities are different. The following are some of the things to be considered
when budgeting :
 Know your needs and wants – Needs are things we cannot do without. E.g. Food, water,
shelter, fuel for cooking, medicine. As we are budgeting needs must be given priority as
compared to wants. Wants are things that would like to have but are not as important. E.g.
chocolates, alcohol, chips, soft drinks
 Monthly income – monthly income is one of the limiting factors on how much you should
budget. It is good to budget within your resources. Do not budget more than what you get
per month in order to avoid getting into big debts. However, a budget can be made with
the available financial resources or without available financial resources. When a budget is
made without available financial resources it is called anticipated income.
 Saving culture – this is the spirit of not spending everything we get but keeping a little
something for future use. Things that can be saved include money, food, land, water etc.
e.g. if you use K500 for buying a drink and a snack daily at school, you can use k300 and
save k200.
 Time – it is important to consider time because it specifies the actual period the budget
will cover. E.g it can be a budget for one week, one month, a year etc
 Prevailing costs – This is the current cost of each item under expenditure.
Importance of budgeting
 It gives authority to use money only on planned items

 It allows the budget not to overspend or under spend financial resources
 It gives a chance to the business owner to look for additional resources from elsewhere
e.g. lending institutions
 It gives a clear picture of how the business will spend money and other resources allocated
 It provides a means of measuring performance. A budget helps to show whether a business
is doing well or not.

Below is a sample of a business budget:
Income Amount (K)

Sales revenue
Loan
Other income
Total income
Expenses
Advertising
Deposits for utilities
Estimated taxes
Loan repayment
Office supplies
Salaries/wages
Vehicle expenses
Other expenses
Total Expenses
Example:
An entrepreneur, Mrs Nellie Chirwa, wants to set up a retail business. She gets a loan of
K830,000 from a Commercial bank to be used to buy a building worth K80,000, shop fitting
worth K20,000 and a delivery vehicle worth K120,000. Upon buying the above assets, she
needs to buy goods to stock her shop. She decides to use K530,000 for this purpose.
Income Amount (K)

Loan 830,000
Total income 830,000
Expenses
Building 80,000
Shop fittings 20,000
Delivery vehicle 120,000
Stock 530,000
Total expenses 750,000
Total income - total expenses 80,000
Cash flow
 It is a total amount of money one gets at a given period.

 It is total amount of money that is moving in (inflows) and out (outflows) of a business
over a certain period of time

Managing cash flow
 Increasing inflow – make sure money comes into the business rapidly in order to pay
suppliers and buy new stock. Inflow can be increased by :
o selling more goods and services
o reducing costs
o increasing selling price of goods or services
o taking a loan and selling an asset
 Decreasing outflow – there is need to control money going out of the business. Always
look for ways to reduce expenses because these have an impact on profit. This can be
done by :
o banking every coin
o making a budget
o withdrawing the needed money and leave the remainder at the bank
o avoid keeping cash at home to avoid spending it on unnecessary things.
How to manage stock
 Stock - the number of things kept ready to be sold or used. It also refers to commodities
that a business may buy to sell or to be used as raw materials.
 E.g Rab Processors manufactures commodities such as soap and chicken feeds. In this
case, soap and chicken feeds are examples of stock at Rab Processors.
 If stock is not managed well, profits are minimised. E.g. if you are a dealer of farm input
and fertiliser to farmers, you need to know how many bags to procure from suppliers
bearing in mind that you should not keep goods for a long period of time before selling
them. This helps to avoid paying a lot of money for storage in the warehouse and on
security and insurance. Stock should be kept enough for sell within a short period of time
and the next stock should be done in advance to avoid creating a vacuum space.
How to manage costs and profits
 Distinguishing costs from profits – profit is the money a business keeps after paying all
the expenses. Profits can be used to boost the same business, venture into another
business, sharing among shareholders and in case of sole trader it can be used for personal
things. Cost is the money that is used to pay for the delivery of goods and to pay for other
expenses
 Increasing profits while reducing costs – profits can be increased by increasing number
of customers, increasing volume of goods that customers buy and increasing sales prices.
Cutting costs is the easiest and quickest way of improving profitability of your business.
This can be done by sticking to the budget, reducing number of workers to reduce costs
(e.g. employing a salesperson who is driving alone thereby saving driver’s salary),
carefully checking invoices from suppliers for overcharging and negotiating discounts
whenever possible
 Classifying costs – a business has different costs e.g. paying for goods and paying for
rent. The following are the major costs involved in business :

o Fixed costs – these are costs you have to pay and they stay the same every month.
The first thing in budgeting is listing all your fixed costs then add them up. Eg rent,
wages and salaries, insurance, interest on loans etc
o Variable costs (changing costs) – these are expenditures that you pay every month
but they are not constant. These are also costs that change in proportion to the amount
of output produced. Write them down and find the totals. E.g. electricity, water,
telephone, cost of advertising, medicine, entertainment etc
o Total costs – This is the total cost of producing all output. It is calculated by adding
fixed costs to variable costs
Other terms
o Total income – this is the amount of money available to be spent each month. It
could be salaries of a husband and a wife
o Shortfall – this is when costs are bigger than the available money. Which means you
are spending more money than you have.
Procedures for registration of business for taxes
Any person who wants to do business is asked to go to Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) to
register for the business to pay taxes. MRA advises accordingly on all the taxes a business is
entitled to pay. If business owners do not do this, MRA penalise owners of the business to
pay more or even losing their licence to do business. The following procedure is used for
registering businesses that employ up to 50 workers.
 Name application – a name application has to be submitted to the Registrar General in
person or by completing a form and submitting it to the office
 Application for a certificate of incorporation – the business owner needs to apply for a
certificate of incorporation at the Registrar General’s office in the Ministry of Justice. It is
done by mail or in person
 Registering for income tax – the business has to be registered for income tax at MRA.
The business is then issued with income tax number
 Obtaining a business or company seal – making a seal may take up to a week
 Applying for a licence from the city council – the licences differ depending on the type
of business e.g. wholesaler must apply for a wholesaler’s licence, a retailer must apply for
a retailer’s licence. Other business activities have their own requirements
 Inspection of business premises – the business premises are inspected by fire,
environmental, health and hygiene inspectors
 Paying the requisite fee and obtaining the licence – on approval, the licence is issued in
a couple of days and sent to the business owner
 Application for a registration of the work place – business owner needs to apply for
registration of work place with the Department of Occupational Safety, Health and
Welfare in the Ministry of Labour
 Inspection by the Ministry of Labour – When the Department of Occupational Safety,
Health and Welfare inspect the premises and is satisfied with the conditions , they issue a

certificate of registration to the business. Otherwise, the business is advised on certain
measures to implement in order to improve working conditions
 Registering for PAYE and fringe benefits tax – the business must be registered for Pay
As You Earn (PAYE) tax. This is often done by mail.
Tax allowances upon starting a business

In some cases, government puts in place measures to attract foreign investors to come and
invest in the country. This could be done in many ways and one of them is by giving tax
allowances to new investors. The following are examples of tax allowances :
 Investment tax allowances – the government can allow all investors to enjoy some
privileges in paying taxes. E.g. by allowing investors to import heavy machines without
paying custom duty
 Initial tax allowance – the government can allow the first machines and raw materials of
a company to be imported without paying taxes. This attracts investors
 Annual tax allowance – government can give a grace period of one year or more for a
company before it starts paying taxes. This gives a chance to new businesses to settle
down
Types of Taxes paid in business ventures

 Business profit tax – business pays taxes on profits. In case of losses, the loss is carried
forward to be claimed when business makes a profit. In Malawi any business making at
least K108,000 profit annually is subjected to this tax
 Custom duty – these taxes are levied on imports (and sometimes on exports) by customs
authorities of a country to raise state revenue and to protect domestic industries from more
efficient competitors from abroad. This tax is paid at the border
 Passive income tax – it is tax imposed on income from payment on businesses such as
property, rents, bank interests, royalties, commissions etc
 Capital income tax – it is a tax charged on profits realised on the sale of non-inventory
asset that was purchased at a lower price. It does not include profits realised on sale of
personal and domestic assets
 Employment income tax – a business that has employees deduct employment tax
commonly called Pay as you earn from weekly or monthly payments of his or her
employees. The deducted amounts are remitted to MRA within prescribed period
 Provisional tax – it is estimated by the taxpayer at the beginning of the year of assessment
and is payable in quarterly instalments within 14 days after the end of each quarter of that
year of assessment
 Excise tax – it is charged on imports (import excise) and domestically produced goods
(domestic excise). Excise tax rates change from time to time . e,g. July 2011 to June 2012
the rates were as follows :

Products Excise duty rate
Spirits 150% of the cost of production
Bottled water 10% of the cost of production
Airtime 10% of the sales
 Withholding tax – it is an advance payment of income tax that is deducted from specified
payments. The person making the payment deducts the tax but he/she must be a registered
member with MRA to deduct withholding tax. Withholding tax rates range from 3% to
20%
 Turnover tax - it is tax charged on gross income from businesses and is levied at 2%
 Value Added Tax (VAT) – it is a tax on consumption expenditure that is levied on the
value added that has been created at various stages in the production and distribution
chain. It is collected by registered businesses that act as agents on behalf of government at
all points of production and distribution. These agents include manufacturers or
producers, wholesalers, retailers and service providers.
Financial institutions in Malawi

A Financial institution is an organisation or institution that deals with money. These
institutions provide services for the smooth running of the business and provide fertile
conditions for investments and savings. Financial institutions in Malawi include insurance
companies, banks (central bank and commercial bank), building societies, credit unions,
stock exchange, capital markets, micro financial institutions
1. Insurance companies – These provide insurance cover for property and people. They
undertake to provide a guarantee of compensation for specified loss, damage, illness, or
death in return for payment of a specified premium. Insurance is a risk transfer
mechanism. Examples of insurance companies in Malawi are : Old Mutual, National
Insurance Company of Malawi (NICO), Vanguard Insurance, Prime Insurance, Smile Life
etc
2. Central banks – There is only one Central Bank in Malawi and it is known as the Reserve
Bank of Malawi. Its function include :
 To issue legal tender currency in Malawi
 To act as banker and adviser to Government
 To maintain external reserves in order to safeguard the international value of Malawi
currency
 To promote sound financial structures in Malawi, including payment systems, clearing
systems and adequate financial services
 To supervise banks and other financial institutions in Malawi
 To act as a lender of last resort in Malawi
 To implement measures designed to influence the money supply and the availability of
credit, interest rates with view to promote economic growth, employment, stability in
prices, sustainable balance of payments position

 To promote development in Malawi.
3. Commercial banks
They are licenced financial institutions that provide payments and other financial services
such as account services, loans, overdraft, deposits, withdraw of cash etc. These include :
Standard Bank, FDH Bank, Ned bank, CDH Bank, Ecobank, FMB Bank, NBS Bank etc.
Their functions include :
 Payment services – commercial banks make payments on behalf of its customers. E.g.
if a current account holder has issued a cheque for a supplier, the bank pays cash to the
bearer of the cheque on behalf of their customer ,
 Providing opportunities for savings – commercial banks do this through offering
savings accounts, fixed deposits accounts, call accounts etc
 Providing advances – commercial banks provide advances in terms of loans to their
customers in general. They also offer overdrafts to current holders. Terms and
conditions of giving loans to customers differ between banks. However, all banks
charge interests on the money lent to people
 Facilitating international trade – commercial banks help their customers in making
electronic payments to the foreign companies. E.g when you buy a car through the
internet you can ask the bank to make a payment on your behalf.
 Other services : account status reports on your account balance, guarantee : banks can
assure other partners in business that you have a sound financial capacity
4. Building societies – these offer banking and mortgage lending. Mortgage lending means
providing loans to people for use to purchase or secure a property such as land and
building. Such loans are called mortgage loans. Example of building society in Malawi is
New Building Society
5. Credit unions – A credit union is a co-operative financial institution owned and

controlled by its members. They save money for their members, provide loans and offer
training to members so that they gain skills in book keeping, budgeting etc. Example of
credit union in Malawi is Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCO)
6. Stock exchange - it provides facilities for traders to buy and sell stocks and shares. A
stock exchange therefore has the important role of facilitating the buying and selling of big
businesses such as public companies. It also provides facilities for the payment of income
and dividends. E.g. Malawi Stock Exchange
7. Micro financial institutions – microfinance refers to provision of financial services to

lower income individuals, especially underprivileged such as the poor who are denied
access to formal financial system. In addition it includes savings, money transfers, micro
leasing and insurance services. These include :
 Micro credit – these offer short term loans to its customers with a repayment period of
up to 36 months e.g. Izwe, Blue Finance Company, Finance for International

Community Assistance (FINCA), Real People, Concern Universal Microfinance
Organisation (CUMO) and Green Wing Company
 Deposit Taking Micro-financing – In addition to offering short term loans, they open
savings accounts to customers. E.g. Opportunity Bank of Malawi. However, other
banks provide this service to small and medium enterprises through their micro-finance
windows. E.g. Malawi Savings Bank (MSB), New Building Society (NBS).
 Financial Savings and Credit Co-operatives – A Savings and Credit Co-operative
(SACCO) is owned, governed and managed by members. The members are those
people who have a common bond e.g. working for same employer, belonging to same
labour union. The members can decide how their money could be used for the benefit
of each other. SACCO products are :
o Shares – members contribute the capital of the business by buying the shares.
This makes the members to the owners of the co-operative
o Savings – members are encouraged to save money every month. The money can
be withdrawn on demand. Members agree on the minimum monthly
contributions for everyone. This helps all members to develop a saving culture
o Loans – Members are given loans at an interest. Different of loans given are :
 Emergency loans – they are short term quick loans to meet unforeseen
circumstances
 Loans – these are short term and long term. Members have to provide a
collateral for the loan. The amount of savings or shares at SACCO could
act as collateral
 Financial guidance and counselling – this service is offered to promote
self-reliance and financial independence. It helps members to manage their
personal finances
8. Capital markets – just like any market, it has buyers and sellers. The only difference is
on the products traded. Capital markets offer securities where companies can raise funds
to expand on their business or establish new ones by issuing securities owned by the
companies. Securities are financial instruments or legal documents signifying either an
ownership position in a company (e.g. shares) or a creditor relationship with a company or
government (e.g. treasury bills, stocks and bonds)
Roles of financial institutions

 Providing capital for business
 Facilitating the buying and selling of companies and other businesses
 Promoting investment in business
 Facilitating business growth by providing loans for businesses to expand their product
lines or increase their market share.
Financial literacy
 Financial literacy is the ability to understand how money works, how someone makes,
manages, invests and uses it to help others.

 The efforts made by financial institutions are of no use if the general public is not aware of
what is offered by the financial institutions
Importance of financial literacy

 Since most terms in financial world are technical, it helps the lay person to understand
financial terms in simple terms. E.g. budgeting, investments, financial goals, etc.
 It helps to understand key financial products that you need throughout your life. These
include savings and bank accounts
 It helps to respond competently to changes that affect your financial well-being. Thus you
are able to understand events like inflation, devaluation of currency, interest rates and
collapse of money markets
 It helps to make good financial decisions and choices since it provides you with useful
information on saving, spending and management of debt. Thus a person is able to make
decisions and choices to budget and save so that expenses and debts are controlled
throughout your life
 It helps to impart knowledge to the general public which motivate them to develop the
country
 It helps to reduce misunderstandings between service providers and the consumers
Ways of opening and using a personal bank account

 Approach any bank of your choice – the bank officers will explain to you the different
types of accounts and provide guidance on account opening.
 Decide on the type of bank account you want – when opening a bank account have a main
purpose which will dictate the type of account you should open
 Fill up bank account opening form – necessary details such as name, address, occupation
and other details must be filled as required. Specimen signatures will also be given on
specimen signature form. If two or more people open the account jointly, the form must be
signed jointly
 Submit bank account opening form and documents – the completely filled form must be
submitted to the banks together with necessary documents such as identification card,
reference letter, utility bill as proof of your residence
 Bank officer will verify your bank account opening form – the bank officer verifies the
account opening form if it has been filled in all aspects
 Deposit initial amount in the newly opened bank account – after all is done, an amount
should be deposited in the bank.
Functions of personal account

 Receiving monthly salary – people in employment can get their monthly salary through
their personal accounts. In the past when people received their salaries in cash on hand
they used to meet a lot of challenges
 Sending and getting money from friend and relatives – money can be sent by
depositing directly to a personal account. This is the most effective and efficient way of
sending money,

 Getting a loan from the bank – if you get your salary through a personal account it is
possible to get a loan from the bank where you hold the account
 Instrument of saving – personal account can be used to save some money. If a person
saves K5,000 every month, by the end of 2 years he or she will have K120,000. However,
people fail to save in personal account due to the freedom they have to go and withdraw
their money anytime they feel so. Could there be a solution to this?
Notes taken from :
 Arise with Life Skills Students’ Book 3 by Samuel Mandauka (2014)

 MSCE Life Skills : Success Criteria, revision notes and practical work by Aubrey
Chirwa (2017)

ESSAY WRITING
An essay is a short piece of writing on a particular topic or subject. Before you start writing
the essay, understand the question well.
Contents of an essay
 Title
 Introduction
 Body
 conclusion
1. Title or heading
 this is the frame from the question that you have been asked
 a good essay must have a title which is short and centralised and written in capital
letters
 a title if written in small letters must be underlined
 a title must not be a mere repetition of the question to be answered
 e.g. explain four groups of people that are vulnerable to HIV and AIDS
GROUPS OF PEOPLE THAT ARE VULNERABLE TO HIV and AIDS
Groups of people that are vulnerable to HIV and AIDS
2. Introduction
 the essay must be opened by an introduction which can be a definition of the key
words in the question and a simple statement of the objective (main purpose) of the
essay
 An introduction must be kept short (it should be one paragraph only)
 E.g. Vulnerable people are those who are often and easily abused, exploited or
taken advantage of by other people. These people are also at a risk of HIV
infections. This essay will explain four groups of people vulnerable to HIV and
AIDS .
 Or Vulnerable people are those who are often and easily abused, exploited or taken
advantage of by other people. These people are also at a risk of HIV infections.
This essay will explain four groups of people vulnerable to HIV and AIDS such as
women, widows, orphans and mobile business people.
3. Body
 Here is where you explain all the points you have been asked. Each paragraph
must contain one idea or point
 Once a point has been raised, it should be explained and an appropriate example
must be given to expound it
 Use short and clear sentences as long sentences may distort meaning

 Imagine that you are writing to a reader who is not knowledgeable about the topic
at hand. Be an expert of the topic
 Leave a line between paragraphs
 For proper boundaries of paragraphs use ‘signalling devices’. These are used for
logical and thorough flow of information
 Paragraph 1 – use firstly, to begin with, in the first place
 Paragraph 2 – use secondly, apart from point above, in the second place
 Paragraph 3 – use thirdly, in the third place, in addition to points above,
furthermore
 Paragraph 4 – Use finally, lastly (assuming paragraph 4 is the last one)
 e.g. The first group of people who are vulnerable to HIV are women. Women are
vulnerable to HIV and AIDS due to biological and social factors. For example,
cultural practices such as polygamy where a man marries more than one wife put
women at a risk. If the man or one of the wives is HIV+ the virus can be
transmitted to all the wives through sexual intercourse.
4. Conclusion
 Must be a short statement closing the discussion.

 Do not repeat the points raised in the body
 Use the following devices : In conclusion, In summary, To conclude, To sum up,
To summarise
 E.g. In conclusion, the essay has explained the four groups of people who are
vulnerable to HIV and AIDS
 Or In summary the essay has explained four groups of people who are vulnerable
to HIV and AIDS. These include women, orphans, widows and mobile business
people.
Note : do not use bullets, dots, colon, numbering, sub titles or sub headings

Form 3 Life Skills Notes

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Form 3 Life Skills Notes

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Form 3 Life Skills Notes

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

LIFE SKILLS NOTES

A.K. Ndacheredwa (Mrs) Page 0

Self Esteem is the belief and confidence you have on oneself

There are two types to Self-esteem:

 High/positive/healthy self esteem

Factors that may lead to low self esteem

c. Poor or bad or negative comments - negative remarks make one to be disappointed

Ways of building one’s self esteem

a. Avoid concentrating on past mistakes

 mistakes are learning opportunities

b. Developing positive thinking

c. Feeling of belonging to a family or community

A.K. Ndacheredwa (Mrs) Page 1

e. Having a sense of individual worthiness (appreciating yourself)

 positive comments help to build self esteem

g) discovering one’s strength and weakness

Our roles in society

 taking part in choosing leaders through voting

Importance of valuing one’s role in society

A.K. Ndacheredwa (Mrs) Page 2

TOPIC 2 : TIME MANAGEMENT

 it is fixing of priorities according to time

Time management comprises the following aspects:

 Allocation of time against activities

Effects of poor time management

1. Failure to achieve goals

3. Poor academic performance

 poor time management leads to :

A.K. Ndacheredwa (Mrs) Page 3

 mismanaging time leads to:

5. School drop out

 mismanaging time leads to poor performance in examinations

Importance of time management

1. it enables you to accomplish more activities

 one is able to stay focused on activities

2. it helps to make better decision regarding activities

 an individual has many activities to do in a days or any given period

 one cause of stress is the rush to keep with time

 time management helps to do more activities within a shorter period of time

5. it leads to a disciplined life

 good time management reduces procrastination (an act of postponing or delaying

A.K. Ndacheredwa (Mrs) Page 4

7. it leads to higher quality work

 work is not done in a haste or hurry

8. it involves someone to become more successful

WAYS OF MANAGING TIME

 Time is a non-renewable resource

Some of the ways that help to manage time are:

 Goals are targets one wants to achieve in a given period

 prioritizing means treating something as important than the others

3. listing things you need to do

A.K. Ndacheredwa (Mrs) Page 5

 you need time for fun, relaxation and rest

6. following our plans

 make sure to follow whatever you plan

7. do one thing at a time

Skills required for effective time management

 lack of proper management of time could result in waste of time

TOPIC 3 : CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH ADOLESCENCE