FAM hands over 4 houses complete with household items to Cyclone Freddy survivors in Chiradzulu
Football Association of Malawi (FAM), in collaboration with NBS Bank and Malawi Red Cross Society, on Monday officially handed over four houses to families which were left homeless due to effects of Tropical Cyclone Freddy in March in Ntauchira Village in Chiradzulu District.
The houses were constructed at a cost of K23 million, which were proceeds from the football season opener, the FAM NBS Bank Charity Shield.
FAM, in partnership with NBS Bank, raised a total of K30.1 million in from the Charity Shield match between Nyasa Big Bullets and Mighty Wanderers in April this year as well as from the Flames Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Egypt which was played at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
At the handover ceremony at Masikini Village in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Likoswe, FAM president, Walter Nyamilandu Manda said he was very excited for fulfilling the pledge that the association made to the public and the affected families, saying they thought it wise to support the victims by ensuring that lives of the affected families is uplifted.
Nyamilandu said FAM understand the responsibility that the association has to the society by reaching out to needy people — whether soccer followers or not as they believe that football has power to change the nation.
He, therefore, applauded NBS Bank and Malawi Red Cross for building strong partnership with FAM, which he said has assisted to make all the initiatives successful.
“These families experienced a terrible period and they really needed our hands as Malawians to assist them. As the FA, we are very proud that we have managed to help them afford a smile although we understand that what we have provided to them is not enough to bring back their relatives who died during the tragedy but our plan was to ensure we give them a place like a house which we have just fulfilled,” Nyamilandu said.
On her part, NBS Bank’s deputy Chief Executive Officer, Temwani Simwaka said, as a ‘Caring Bank’ and a Malawian institution, they are overwhelmed for contributing to the life-changing initiative towards the affected families, saying the homes will make a huge difference to their lives.
“As a Bank, we always value every life because we rely on them as our clients,” she said. “So, as part of our corporate social responsibility, we decided to come in by partnering FAM with the aim of bringing a significant change to our friends and it is our hope that these houses will stand as a great starter for their lives.”
Malawi Red Cross Society acting Head of Disaster Management, Cecilia Banda hailed FAM and NBS for taking a step as one of the goodwill ambassadors in supporting the affected people, saying they institutions showed true love to the victims as they did not hesitate to mobilize funds after Red Cross called upon for support to all Malawians.
She further disclosed that the Malawi Red Cross Society had initially planned to construct 250 houses for the recovery of Tropical Cyclone Fredy survivors and that the building of the four houses by FAM and NBS Bank is a great contribution.
“These houses constructed by FAM will have a huge impact and it shows that we are moving forward to the plan we have because we are building houses in all the districts that were hit by the cyclone,” she said.
One of the beneficiaries, 40-year-old Margaret Makawa, who lost her husband during the tragedy, expressed her gratitude for the home saying the support has come at time when she had no place to live with her 5 children.
In his remarks, T/A Likoswe commended FAM and NBS for the houses which he said it will provide a comfort to the families.
As part of the package, FAM also presented K50,000 cash to each family and household items such as mattresses, blankets, sugar, bags of maize flour and salt worth K2 million.
In May this year, FAM and NBS Bank made a distribution of cash worth K5.5 million to former Flames legends and other football stakeholders who were affected by Cyclone Freddy.
In 2022, FAM, NBS Bank and Malawi Red Cross Society, delivered relief food items to Cyclone Ana flood victims in Chikwawa from the K10.3 million proceeds realised from the Charity Shield.
The food items, that included maize flour, nutritious beef soya pieces and ready-mix Likuni Phala with sugar, were distributed to 986 households that represented 4,930 people, who were in four relief camps.
The FAM Charity Shield was introduced in 2016 as the association’s corporate social responsibility program aimed at engaging, mobilising and inspiring football fans, stakeholders and the public towards a charitable cause of national significance.
The tournament kicks off the football season and since its inauguration, it has reached out to Malawi Blood Transfusion Services (2016); medical equipment for Kamuzu Central Hospital (2017); Braille embosser for Ekwendeni School for the Blind and various physiotherapy and medical equipment to Kachere Rehabilitation Centre (2018).
The 2019 edition reached out to people living with albinism under the theme ‘One Love – Stop the Killings’, which was through sponsorship from Ecobank — playing an advocacy role against all manner of barbaric acts targeting people living with albinism which reached crisis levels.
The proceeds of the Ecobank Charity Shield were used to procure a rescue vehicle which was donated to Association of People with Albinism in Malawi.
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