* Our company is committed to giving back to the communities where we operate through various corporate social responsibility activities
* We are humbled to collaborate with Raising Malawi through the Ministry of Health on this project
* Because of the extraordinary opportunity for a better life that the hospital aspires to provide
By Victor Singano Jnr
As part of its corporate social responsibility, Portland Cement Malawi Limited has made a donation of 600 bags of cement worth K12 million which will go towards the expansion of the Mercy James Centre for Paediatric Surgery & Intensive Care at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital.
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The donation has come following the challenges of managing limited medical supplies storage that the facility has been facing which, among other things, contribute in affecting the efficiency of the hospital as it is currently operating on a general ward capacity of 50 beds, with two high density units and additional 14 beds on the mini high-density unit — which is not the efficient enough to cater for all the patients.
Speaking during the official handover ceremony of the event on Friday, Portland Cement Malawi Chief Executive Officer, Jianguo Liu said they believe that the donation will contribute to the expansion plan for the hospital to erect a two-storey building that will cater for a temperature controlled coldroom storage, kitchen as well as teaching rooms.
“Our company is committed to giving back to the communities where we operate through various corporate social responsibility activities,” he said. “Therefore, we are humbled to collaborate with Raising Malawi through the Ministry of Health on this project because of the extraordinary opportunity for a better life that the hospital aspires to provide.”
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In his remarks, Mercy James Centre’s lead surgeon, Professor Eric Borgstein described the donation as timely and crucial as it will play a significant role in the expanding of the facility in as far as providing for extra space for a temperature controlled storage which will also double as a waiting shelter for mother’s and doctors in training are concerned.
The special children’s hospital facility was built and equipped with support from the global music icon, Madonna and various international and local donors under the Raising Malawi banner as a gift to Malawi for providing her to adopt Mercy James.
Madonna, who first adopted Malawian, David Banda, opened the facility herself in 2017 — a ceremony that even former President Peter Mutharika graced.
