Abida Mia set to mask up thousands of Malawians against Covid-19 for free after donating cow to ‘Feed the frontline’ initiative

Grieving deputy minister Abida Mia is set to make hundreds of thousands masks to be donated to Malawians across the country for fighting the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic.

Mia, who is currently mourning her husband, Mohamed Sidik Mia, who until his death was Minister of Transport and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) first deputy president and succumbed to Coronavirus, said in an interview: “From next week, I will embark on sourcing cloth materials, through one woman who I’ve recently been working with on charitable work, Della Chirombo Kulemeka.

“I am still in mourning period in line with Islamic funeral protocols, which dictates a 45 day period of grieving and morning a sign of respect and honour to the departed. Again, in the meantime I don’t have the energy so that is why I have delegated the task as this is very important and cannot wait.”

The deputy minister said after losing her beloved to the pandemic and with herself surviving from the jaws of death after a bout with the virus, she has taken it upon herself to help others in the fight against the  deadly pandemic.

“I would like to help Malawians in a little way I could so that, together we can win and triumph against Covid-19, and the best way is to follow the preventative measure one of which is to wear a mask and this why I would like to make washable masks and give them to the people who cannot afford them,” said Mia.

Mia said she owns a horde of sewing machines and she has a good number of tailors who will sew the masks as soon as possible to ensure that people get them quickly.

She said: “When the masks are ready, I will work with councillors of all political parties across the country so theycan help in distributing them to the people.

“If we can all observe the Covid preventative protocols as laid by our State President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera where people are asked to wash hands, wear a mask, keep the social distance and to stay home and to only go out when it is absolutely necessary.”

‘Feed the Frontline initiative’

Abida Mia last week joined a Blantyre-based couple Della and Andrew Kulemeka and their team on charity crusade in which they cook meals for frontline health workers in the country’s hospitals and health centres.

Della Kulemeka and her husband AJ came up with the initiative after visiting Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) with a sick family member and experienced first-hand what the frontline health workers were facing while looking after those infected with Coronavirus.

In a separate interview Della Kulemeka said: “What we saw at the hospital touched and melted our hearts. We saw the pain in the health workers’ eyes. They gave everything. They went for hours without eating and they didn’t even have the time to go out and fetch for food.”

“We felt sad for them and it hit us hard to think that there are some people out there who talk bad bad about these people who sacrifice everything to serve and save others made us do something to show our love and appreciation and therefore we decided that we will be cooking meals for them as a token of appreciation for the incredible work they are doing.”

AJ, on her part said:”Doctors, nurses, other medical stuff, healthcare carers, cleaners and other support stuff are risking everything others but who is there to help them? We thought we could do our part with this initiative and the response has been overwhelming and we would like all the people who are supporting us in this noble cause.”

Abida Mia donated a Brahaman cow and bags of rice to the Feed the Frontline initiative in order to help with the meals for the frontline health workers.

Della Kulemeka said they greatly appreciate the deputy minister’s act of benevolence and ‘good heart’ in donating rice and a cow for meals.

“When I got a phone call from honourable Abida Mia, who until that day, I didn’t know personally, and I froze when she told me that she was going to support the initiative.

“I cried knowing this is a person who is grieving but wants to help us help others. I have never known a kind person like honourable Abida Mia. She is an angel with a golden heart.”

Della said although she has never met the deputy minister in person, she feels very close to her.

“Honourable Abida Mia is cut from a different cloth of human beings. She is a true definition of a ‘good person and I pray that God must protect and bless her because she is a special person.”

It appears there is a mutual feeling for each other between the two women and on her part Abida Mia said:”Although I have never met Della but I trust her so much and that is why I joined her initiative and also delegated her to everything for me as regards sourcing raw materials for the masks. I love this woman and everything that she is doing.”

Della’s brother, Derrick Chirombo also donated a cow to the ‘Feed the Frontline’ initiative as a birthday gift to his sister’s 40th Birthday saying; “I love the woman you’ve become and our parents would be proud of you. I give this cow so it call help you accomplish your mission to help those who help others.”

President Chakwera gave Della and Andrew Kulemeka’s initiative a special mention in his nation’s national address for doing extremely well and an incredible commendable job in feeding the frontline healthcare foot-soldiers.

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