Goodwill ambassadors Joyce Banda, Bakili Muluzi hand over houses to Cyclone Freddy survivors in Mulanje

* JB pleased with how phase one construction of the houses has been administered in the area

* People living in villages also deserve better life and respect as anyone else living in cities or towns

By Innocent Chamtulo, MANA

Former Heads of State, Joyce Banda (JB) and Bakili Muluzi, who are Cyclone Freddy recovery Goodwill Ambassadors, on Friday handed over 10 climate change resilient houses to some of the tropical storms survivors in Mulanje.

The houses have been constructed at Ntambalika Village in the area of Traditional Authority Njema and an interview JB said she is pleased with how phase one construction of the houses has been administered in the area.

“People living in villages also deserve better life and respect as anyone else living in cities or towns, she said. “Therefore, it is against this background that we thought it wise to construct houses to those who have been traumatized by the Cyclone Freddy.”

His part, Muluzi said they are committed to build more houses, saying from January 2024, they expect to receive funding from other well-wishers to construct 1,000 houses.

Minister of Lands Deus Gumba said he is satisfied with the quality of the houses, adding that government is committed to work with the Goodwill Ambassadors, who have volunteered to support people in the country.

“As government, we are also committed to support them with various needs as they continue to support those who have been affected by various disasters in the country,” he said.

One of the beneficiaries, Pilirani Mwiva said since the onset of Cyclone Freddy, she has been staying at a camp with her family after their house was washed away by the cyclone, adding that the family is grateful for the new house donated to her.

“I am very thankful to our former Presidents Dr. Joyce Banda and Dr. Bakili Muluzi for the support they have been rendering to us all the time, and I urge them to continue supporting other people who are also in similar situation,” she said.

JB and Muluzi were appointed Goodwill Ambassadors by President Lazarus Chakwera to inspire the Cyclone Freddy recovery process under the banner, Tigwirane Manja campaign — that calls for all stakeholders to join hands in contributing towards assisting homeless survivors.

The Goodwill Ambassadors, who rolled out their campaigns in Phalombe where they have also handed over 17 houses at Mchenga Village, Traditional Authority (TA) Phweremwe.

Their project is being made possibly through support from UK-based Nigerian, Dozy Mmobuosi, who is providing K500 million for the construction of 45 houses in the district and accompanied Bakili Muluzi to the handover ceremony.

Muluzi disclosed that Mmobuosi has also committed to provide beds, mattresses and furniture for the households and also to bring solar electricity in the area.

Mmobuosi also pledged to bring back the economy of people of Mchenga Village by empowering women, saying he would discuss with some authorities in the district “on a sustainable way for them to have food all the time” — adding that he is committed to construct 131 houses for the affected people in the village.

Also targeted is construction of 30 houses in Ntchisi and both Joyce Banda and Muluzi applauded the private sector for its timely support towards survivors of Cyclone Freddy.

This was after the official construction launch of 59 houses for survivors in Chiradzulu on piece of land donated by Mikolongwe Veterinary Station and they asked other organisations to emulate good gesture from well-wishers as there are still many houses that need to be constructed.

During the event, Nyasa Group of Companies, Gift of the Givers, Red Cross and other stakeholders donated maize flour, tents, cooking oil and other assorted items.

Under the Tigwirane Manja initiative, many companies in the private and public sector, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders are responding to in building climate resilient houses and just two weeks ago, Chibuku Products Limited donated 200 bags of cement worth K3.5 million to Thyolo Central Constituency for the same cause.

This was a continuation of the support the country rendered since the country experienced disaster in March this year, such as roof iron sheets, food, kitchen utensils amongst others in most affected areas such as Zomba, Blantyre, Chikwawa and Mangochi.

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) also handed over four houses in Chiradzulu from the proceeds of the 2023 FAM Charity Shield match between Nyasa Big Bullets and Mighty Wanderers in April, sponsored by NBS Bank — as well as from the Flames Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Egypt which was played at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.

FAM introduced a Charity Shield in 2016 as kick off to the football season to act as the association’s corporate social responsibility program aimed at engaging, mobilising and inspiring football fans, stakeholders and the public towards a charitable cause of national significance.

As part of the package, FAM also presented K50,000 cash to each family and household items such as mattresses, blankets, sugar, bags of maize flour and salt worth K2 million.—Additional reporting by Maravi Express