Beautify Malawi Trust hands over musical instruments worth to six schools
First Lady Gertrude Mutharika on Saturday presented a donation of 400 pieces of musical instruments worth around K7.2 Million to six selected schools in the country from Chinese students.
The schools which were selected on their aptitude are Chancellor College, St Mary’s, Mary Mount, Marist and Lilongwe Girl’s Secondary School; where the presentation was made.
The donation has been presented through the Beautify Malawi (BEAM) Trust via the Chinese-Africa Business Council (CABC) following a visit the First Lady made to Beijing in 2016.
During the visit, the First Lady interacted with youths at the Affiliated High School of Peking University.
“I am happy that this visit was not in vain as it motivated and inspired these youth and other youths around China to mobilize resources to assist fellow youths in African countries, with a priority focus on Malawi.
“I wish to urge management of the six institutions to take good care of these delicate instruments and I urge Chancellor College to take a mentorship role on the use of these instruments,” said Mutharika.
The instruments include electronic pianos, drums, trumpets, tambourines and 24-hole harmonicas among others.
The first lady added that these instruments would help beautify these schools:
“At BEAM, we are not only focusing on cleanliness in our schools, hospitals, markets, streets and homes.
“We are also taking education as an important aspect for beautifying the minds of our youths. This is why BEAM has made education for girls a priority,” she said.
The donation was made under the Chinese youth driven initiative called Public Benefit International Challenge.
In this initiative, the youth in China are engaging various celebrities, including musicians, to raise funds to assist their fellow youths in Africa.
In his remarks, Chinese Ambassador to Malawi, Shi Ting Wang said with support from family, friends and the community, these Chinese students engaged in activities like video making, public speeches, and charity bazaar among others to fundraise for the instruments.
“The amount of money they raised might not be as big as the official government assistance.
“However it means a lot for the students. They even donated their pocket money or pin money to this program… I hope more Chinese youth do join us and help their peers in Malawi who are facing challenges,” said Wang.
Professor Richard Tambulasi, Principal at Chancellor College said the instruments would go a long way in alleviating the challenges faced in teaching materials.
He said the instruments would also improve the musical talents of the youths in the schools. According to him, this donation of the equipment has come at a right:
“This is the time Malawi is realizing the importance of music as a tool for developing this country. Music can be used in HIV and Aids awareness campaigns, environmental, education and other crosscutting national issues,” he said.
Present during the presentation was Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Bright Msaka, board member for BEAM, Dingiswayo Jere and Wang Xiaoyong who is the vice chairman and Secretary General for CABC, among others
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