Phalombe Youth Arms Organisation (PYAO)

PYAO is a youth-led organization that was initiated in late 2011 but officially established in January 2012. The process was initiated by youth leaders and young professionals and involved consultations with youths, students, vendors, young professionals, movements and other actors in youth work on issues affecting them and their role in addressing the identified problems. While consultations on youth issues and appropriate actions to address them formed a major part of the PYAO process during the initial period (February 2011 to January 2012), an engagement process with policy and decision makers other stakeholders in youth work was also rolled out. The PYAO emerged following growing concerns among youths over lack of an enabling and supportive environment for meaning youth participation in sustainable development and poor access of sexual reproductive health and rights despite the fact that youths constitute most proportion of the total population in Phalombe district. It was formed to provide support to youths around the district. The support is mainly demand driven and is provided in different areas of youth activities and interest. PYAO realizes that long term change among the youth cannot be realized without the involvement of strategic partners and major players and that is why it works with Government, state and non-state actors, traditional leaders as well as existing local governance structures and other participating structures as implementing partners at grassroots level.