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Win for Pro-Lifers as Students Drive Off Contraceptive Advocates from Malawian School

High School students in Malawi. Credit: Human Life International (HLI) Malawi

Human Life International (HLI) Malawi, a leading Catholic pro-life entity in the Southeast African nation, has hailed students in the country for openly rejecting advances of an organization that sought to promote the use of contraceptives in their school.

Some time last month, members of Family Planning Association of Malawi (FPAM), a local affiliate of International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), are said to have showed up at Natola Secondary School in the Dowa District of Central Malawi, with an agenda that included instruction on how to use condoms and other forms of contraception to avoid pregnancies.

Angered by the visit, students at the school are said to have chased the officials of the contraceptive-promoting organization and burnt boxes of condoms that they came with.

Fr. Alpheus Zikomankhani, the Executive Director of Human Life International Malawi, explained in a report that was shared with ACI Africa on Friday, October 27 how Natola Secondary School had regularly welcomed visitors from life-advocating organizations such as Pro-Life Malawi.

When it came to the FPAM who visited the school on September 29, however, the students were not ready for a contraceptive talk. 

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Fr. Zikomankhani attributed the students’ gesture to the deep formation they had already received about the sanctity of life.

“Human Life International has visited Natola and was invited to do so again a few weeks before the students kicked the abortion promoters out of the classroom,” he said, and added, “We’ve been teaching them about chastity, along with the dangers of using contraception and the dangers of abortion.”  

The Catholic Priest recounted the visit of the FPAM, saying, “To the surprise of everybody, the students at Natola refused the abortion promoters sent to teach them and chased them away.”

He said that those who witnessed the incident were sure that it was due to the “good pro-life message” that HLI had been sharing with the students. 

“It is encouraging to hear that these students are embracing the culture of life,” Fr. Zikomankhani said, adding that a teacher at the Malawian school had noted the gains of pro-life teachings at the school.

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“The Natola teacher told me that since Human Life International first began visiting the school, none of the girls there have gotten pregnant, and that’s a fact he attributes to the pro-life education that Human Life International has been supplying,” the Catholic Priest said.

Malawi offers some of the world’s strongest protections for preborn babies, thus is a frequent target of global abortion promoters, including IPPF. 

In recent years, Malawi’s National Assembly has seen repeated attempts to force unrestricted abortion. 

With 98 percent of Malawians being religious, abortion has been a deeply divisive issue that is expected to raise its ugly head again in upcoming legislative sessions.

In the report shared with ACI Africa, HLI has expressed a commitment to be there in those legislative discussions “to fight on behalf of life.”

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“The worldwide pro-life authority will continue visiting schools like Natola Secondary School in Malawi to foster a culture of life and warn against the dangers being promoted and deceptions practiced by the global abortion lobby,” reads the HLI report.

HLI is a US-based authority on global life issues, including abortion, contraception, and end-of-life concerns.

The entity is engaged in providing aid, training, and advocacy around the world and is reportedly the largest global pro-life organization, active in more than 100 countries on six continents. 

Further, HLI provides resources and education on life issues from a Catholic perspective, while providing assistance around the globe, and prepares those training for and those active in ministry to address these matters in their vocation.

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.