Guardians at Karonga District Hospital’s Guardian Shelter are under a trap of unhygienic conditions as the country draws close to rainy season due to lack of electricity at the facility.
A visit at the facility revealed that all the rooms, kitchen inclusive have no lighting and residents use light sourced from torches which is not reliable during evening and night hours. In an interview, one of the guardians at the facility, Mercy Mwalughali described the condition as critical saying it has potential of causing unhealthy conditions. “We are facing challenges of lack of electricity here, so when rains start it will be pathetic and it might cause water born related diseases to us and the patients we are helping too,” she said.
Concurring with Mwalughali, Elfrida Kapira said at night the situation is bad as there is a lot of uncleanliness. “Lack of electricity is really of much concern as without light, there is a lot of uncleanliness and there is also danger that thieves can take advantage of darkness to steal from us,” she said.
In a separate interview, Director of Health and Social Services, David Sibale, said the facility is out of the jurisdiction of the hospital hence the hospital is powerless and refered the reporter to the council.
On his part, Council Chairperson for Karonga District, Belliam Msukwa said he was not aware of the challenges but was quick to say the council will work towards solving the problem. “As a council we have not formally received a complaint, however since we have received it through the media, we will take action and work with concerned members towards solving the problem because it is very important during rainy season as it is dark and people can face difficulties in performing their normal duties,” he said.
Flames and Nyasa Big Bullets forward Chiukepo Msowoya has revealed plans to launch his charity foundation to help disadvantaged children.
Msowoya made the announcement on social media and confirmed to 247 Malawi that the charity will be unveiled soon but could not provide any further details.
“Almost 18.7% of Malawi’s children are orphans, thats an estimated 1.2 million children who have lost one or both parents.
For this reason i have decided not only to play football but also use my skill as a way of connecting needy people to those who can help orphans to achieve their goals.
For this reason i announce the Chiukepo Msowoya charity foundation,” reads the statement in part.
Chiukepo Msowoya became very popular in 2008 when he scored a goal in the stoppage time which gave the Flames a famous victory in the 2010 World and African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
In March last year, former Flames and Mighty Wanderers midfielder Joseph Kamwendo launched a football foundation with an aim of promoting football among the youth.
The Super League of Malawi has announced that voting for the players of the season by public and supporters will start on Monday and end on 10th November, 2021.
Members of the media, team captains and head coaches voted and indentified the top four players of the season.
The top four has been indentified and voting code has been assigned to each player to ease voting process.
Chimwemwe Idana: One of the contenders
The players are Bullets captain Chimwemwe Idana (CBB), Silver Strikers midfielder Blessings Tembo (SST), Vitumbiko Kumwenda from Mighty Wanderers (MVK) and Moyale Barracks’ Lloyd Njaliwa (MLN).
This year’s player of the season will walk away with a Mazda Demio worth MK3.5 million.
Meanwhile, Insurance Service provider UGI will offer a free comprehensive cover to the vehicle for one year.
Castel Malawi on Saturday officially launched its new brand of beer called Shandie at a Red Carpet event that took place at the Blantyre Sports Club in Blantyre.
Shandie is a lemon flavoured beer that has a 2.5 percent alcohol volume.
Speaking at the launch of the new beer, Castel Malawi managing director Herve Milhade thanked people who have been buying their products in the past two years when the company was on the verge of collapsing due to an adverse business environment.
Castel Malawi managing director Herve Milhade making a speech
The event was spiced up with performances by Nigerian singer FireBoy DML, Onesmus and other local musicians and DJs
People who patronised the launch received four bottles of Shandie and automatically entered into a promotion whose ultimate prize is a Nissan NP200 vehicle to be given out in December.
As a part of commemorating World Stroke day which falls on October 29 every year, a Blantyre-based non-governmental organization, Stroke Support Organization ( SSO) in collaboration with Malawi Stroke Unit ( MSU) on Saturday October 30, 2021organised a big walk from Kachere Rehabilitation Centre to Chichiri round-about in Blantyre,spreading messages on the signs and symptoms of stroke and the ways of minimizing its effects on affected persons.
Speaking during the function, the Executive Secretary for Stroke Support Organization George Chimatilo said Stroke Support Organisation is a new organisation that has been established in Malawi inorder to advance the lives people living in rural communities,who are suffering from stroke and those who are at high risk of being affected by the disease.
Chimatilo said, the organization is targeting these people since they are the ones who lack resources and assistance in as far as the stroke is concerned. He said, the main gender of the organization is to help the government know what problems are in the communities and also what the government can do based on the research the organization may get from both malawi and outside. ” The Stroke Support Organization is striving to make sure that those people living with stroke have resources and get medical assistance for stroke in time. Mostly, we are targeting those who live in rural area because they do not have enough resources for them to be rescued from the disease. We also want to let the government know what problems people in the communities face based on the research that we may get both here and outside the country”, said Chimatilo.
George Chimatilo
Responding to how the government is performing in fight against the stroke, Chimatilo sid the formation of their organization and the establishment of Malawi Stroke Unit at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital is an indication that the country is now doing enough in fight against the disease. ” We are now happy that the government has introduced Stroke Unit at Queens Elizabeth Central Hospital where those who are suffering from the disease can go and get medical help in time. The formation of our organization here in Malawi and the introduction of this Malawi Stroke Unit is a clear indication that Malawi has now taken new steps in fight against the disease”, He said.
In his words, a stroke patient Martin John Bisika recommended the Stroke Support Organization for its works in saving lives from the disease and called upon other organizations to emulate the same. ” As one of the stroke patients, I am glad that we now have this organization which is now saving the lives of many from stroke. Stroke is a very dangerous disease as it causes high number of deaths every year as well as slowing down the development of the country.
Let me also thank the government for establishing stroke unit which is now assisting people to get stroke treatment in time, this is an indication that now we are moving forward as a country”, said Bisika. Stroke is the second leading cause of death globally. It occurs when a blood vessel in the brain raptures and bleeds, or when there is a blockage in the blood supply to the brain. Lifestyle risk factors for stroke include being overweight or obesity , physical activity, tobacco use, stress and acohol abuse.
Media risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and a personal or family history or heart attach . Early signs and symptoms are facial dropping, and weakness and speech difficulties, among others. This year’s World Stroke Day was commemorated under the theme” Precious time”.
