Malawi University students help flood victims

Students at Polytechnic a constituent college of the University of Malawi on Thursday abandoned classes for Mulanje district in southern Malawi where they distributed relief items worth about K2millon to people of Ntata Village who are affected by floods.

President of Polytechnic Students Union (PSU) Jaston Bulaula told Nyasa Times that the students thought it wise to head for Mulanje with the little they had because it is one of the areas neglected as far as relief food distribution exercise is concerned.

“You would realize that most of the media are covering floods victims in the Lower Shire and more funds donated are channelled towards there”.

He said they did not want to donate in Blantyre because the city mayor had already established the Floods Relief Mobilization initiative.

“So we felt that in Blantyre the Mayor’s funds would reach out to the suffering souls in the city and that why we targeted people who have not received any aid ever since the floods occurred,” he said.

The PSU’s Vice president Timothy Phillip Chembe said the victims were identified thorough Mulanje District Commissioner in collaboration with traditional leaders.

“The DC and traditional leaders helped us to identify the victims so before we left for the mission the victims were already organized at a school so that they should receive the donation,” said Chembe.

He said items donated include, bags of maize flour, beans, sugar, salt, cooking oil, plastic buckets, water guard and cloths.

Chembe went biblical in asking other well-wishers to follow their example.

“We need to have a heart of giving because I recall the Bible says ‘it’s more blessed to give than to receive’. If everyone wants to receive who will be giving? So when you understand the blessing of giving is when you will start giving,” he said.

However, Bulaula said they students intends to donate the few items they have remained with to other needy flood victims, probably in Blantyre.