On Thursday 8th May 2025 Concerned Youth Organization hosted NAYODE for a learning visit at CYO’s Head Office in Mpingwe, Blantyre. The main objective of the visit was to learn how CYO handles issues of Governance and Leadership, Program Design and Implementation, Capacity Building Approaches, Community Engagement and Outreach, and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL).

CYO shared lessons learnt from experience acquired in the course of running the institution and implementing programs and projects over the years. Among others, CYO highlighted the significance of having a strong governance structure, clear and realistic strategic plan, implementation model that aligns with strategic direction, instruments (policies, procedures and manuals) that guide implementation and a robust MEAL System for progress tracking and data driven decision making.

In her remarks, Thandie Howa, Programs Manager for NAYODE applauded CYO for hosting her team and opening up to share the knowledge adding that the visit has allowed them (the team) to gather invaluable insights which will help NAYODE in its Institution Capacity Development drive. Paul Chikondi Nguluwe, MEAL Manager for CYO expressed gratitude to NAYODE for choosing CYO as an institution to learn from pointing out that the gesture is an encouragement to CYO as it signifies that CYO’s efforts are being recognized. The two institutions agreed to continue with such a partnership for sustained cross-learning.

Both CYO and NAYODE are implementing partners under Youth Led Organizations project with financial support from Save the Children Malawi