Our Aim Foundation (OAF), a non-governmental organisation, has played a crucial role in sensitising Mchinji, Malawi, on preventive measures against Covid-19. Through its sewing school at Tongozala Holistic Community Centre (THCC), in Mchinji, the organisation has embarked on sewing reusable masks made from local fabric, which are being freely distributed to community members.

The organisation also amplified the message of the good hygiene among the residents of Mchinji, regular hand washing, proper social distancing and the wearing of masks. For these efforts, the local leaders in the area of Traditional Authority Mkanda applauded the foundation.

The Group Village Head, Tongozala, said, ‘We are very happy with the initiative which Our Aim Foundation is doing here in Mchinji to help people prevent the outbreak of coronavirus disease, which is currently killing a lot of people across the world, including in some African countries. People of Mchinji district are at risk of [contract]ing Covid-19 [as] the district shares boundar[ies] with Zambia, which is one of the African countries that is currently struggling with the disease’.

The Chairman of OAF, Shobi Jiwa, said that his organisation is committed to assisting people in Mchinji to prevent Covid-19. ‘Coronavirus disease is [spreading] across the globe and many people are dying because of this disease. For this reason, as an organisation, we noted that Mchinji may be at risk of [contracting] the disease as the district shares boundar[ies] with one of the affected countries, Zambia. Hence we thought it wise to show our commitment to preventing this disease here in Mchinji by intensifying the initiative aimed at helping people to prevent coronavirus’, he said.

The Minister of Health, Jappie Mhango, stated that the government of Malawi has adopted various measures to help fight Covid-19, particularly the ramping up of Covid-19 testing capacity.

Source: Malawi News Agency

Photo source: Elvert Barnes