As government, donor community, individuals, local and international organizations continue responding to the needs of people affected by Tropical Storm ANA induced-floods, Care Malawi and Standard Bank have partnered through donating assorted relief items to the affected.
Following the landfall of Tropical Storm ANA on 24 January 2022, CARE Malawi has been working with the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) in reaching out to the affected.
In order to effectively respond to the needs of the affected people, CARE Malawi said they partnered with Standard Bank which has provided an in-kind donation of food and non-food items.
The donated relief items, which are worth MK19.4 million, will be donated to Group Village Chapomoka, Traditional Authority (T/A) Ngabu in Chikwawa District.
Standard Bank handed over the relief items on Friday (18th March 2022) at Crossroads in Blantyre to government. The donated items will be dispatched and distributed by CARE Malawi.
In an interview, Standard Bank Head of Engineering, William Nuka said the donation is in particular for people from Chapomoka village having felt obliged to assist the affected to alleviate their suffering.
Nuka said the bank and members of staff across the country have put together the funds and that CARE advised them to reach out to people from Chapomoka having learnt that not much has been channeled towards that area.
“As a bank we survive because of customers who come from various parts of the country.
“We believe that Malawi is our home and we drive our goal making sure that we reach to the far end where help is needed hoping that the area will one day produce people that will serve this nation through Standard Bank.
In his speech, CARE Country Director, Amos Zaindi said the donation from Standard Bank is not just a mere support but part of the whole mechanism that CARE and its partners are delivering.
Zaindi said just for Storm ANA response, CARE and its funding partners, CARE USA, ECHO, USAID, have currently put together over $500,000 which is approximately MK410 million towards ANA response initiatives.
“Together with our partners, we will continue to engage DoDMA to advance these initiatives and contribute towards the efforts and strategies government is pushing forward,” said Zaindi.
Receiving the donation, Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs, Charles Kalemba thanked CARE Malawi and Standard Bank for the gesture.
Kalemba said Gombe has affected additional 15,000 households countrywide which means decommissioning of the camps will delay.
“Let individuals emulate the good gesture the two institutions have shown today because government still needs a lot of support so that all the affected people are reached out to and taken care of,” said Kalemba.
He then called upon Group Village Head (GVH)Chapomoka who was present to witness the handover ceremony and his people to use the donated items for their intended purpose saying selling donated items is a sign of non-appreciation of efforts various institutions are putting forward.
“I feel bad when I learn that some affected people are coaxed to sell the donated items. GVH Chapomoka please relay the message to people who will receive this donation not to sell these items because doing so will defeat the recovery process,” he said.
The assorted relief items include cooking oil, wrappers, blankets, maize flour, salt, soya pieces, sanitary pads, washing soap, hand sanitizers, paracetamol, likuni phala and plastic buckets.
