African Bible College alumni donate to Mzuzu Central Hospital: Benches for outpatients

Former students of Lilongwe-based African Bible College (ABC) on Thursday donated waiting benches for the Out Patients Department (OPD) at Mzuzu Central Hospital.

The alumni, who belong to a Class of 2005, organised themselves and it took them one and a half months to mobilise funds for that noble cause.

Boston Khonje, a Mzuzu-based alumnus who presented the benches at the hospital on behalf of the rest, told Nyasa Times that initially the idea was to buy trash bins at Bingu National Stadium (BNS) when it was turned into an isolation centre but as they were finalising mobilization of the funds, BNS was about to close as Covid-19 cases had decreased.

“Our colleague who is also a nurse at Kamuzu Central Hospital saw a need of trash bins at Bingu National Stadium. She asked if we could help. We agreed and started contributing money but when we had done this, BNS was about to close.

“She therefore asked the class to redirect the funds to any other hospital which may have a need. I suggested that we should buy big strong benches and donate them to Mzuzu Central Hospital OPD because whenever I went there, I found many patients standing on the queue or sitting on the floor as they waited for their turn to be attended to,” explained Khonje.

Class members tasked him to get quotations and did everything until he presented the donation.

“The class members trusted me and I am grateful to them,” said Khonje.

Director of Nursing at Mzuzu Central Hospital, Blair Sibale, thanked the ABC alumni for the kind gesture.

“Indeed due to the overwhelming number of patients at our Out Patients Department with few benches, some patients were standing or sitting on the floor while waiting to be attended.

“We don’t take this donation for granted. May God bless the ABC Class of 2005 for this kind gesture,” said Sibale.

Public Relations Officer for Mzuzu Central Hospital, Dr Arnold Kayira, also hailed the alumni for the initiative.

“These benches will go a long way in complementing the efforts the hospital through its management is applying to ensure that all patients in the OPD have somewhere to sit while waiting for medical attention,” remarked Kayira.

The general ABC alumni (not necessarily Class of 2005) also contributed over K1.5 million Kwacha towards the buying of cylinders and oxygen machines for central hospitals in Malawi. The money was handed over to Onjezani Kenani in response to a call by government to the general public to assist when the country was hard hit by the second wave of Covid-19.

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