NGO hails Mary Chilima for supporting Malawi children with brain development challenges

Vice-President Saulos Chilima’s wife Mary Chilima has been commended by Full Armour Children’s Centre for drumming up financial support towards rehabilitation of children with brain development challenges.

A statement made available to Nyasa Times by the local non-governmental organisation (NGO) issued by its board chairperson Mara Kumbweza Banda said Madam Chilima demonstrated commitment when she attended their fundraising event last weekend for sustainable income initiatives for affected mothers.

At the event, Chilima donated MK500,000.00 and bought the materials made by Full Armour women at the price of MK100,000.00.

The NGO provides children with Cerebral Palsy or brain injury – a congenital disorder of movement, muscle tone or posture due to abnormal brain development – with nutrition and physiotherapy at SOS Children’s Clinic in Lilongwe

Banda said the vision of Full Armour Children’s Centre is to ensure that all children with brain injury have the opportunity to live the best life possible and relieve the pressure on the parents and guardians caring for these children.

She said: “We provide training in bakery business so the funds we will raise today will go towards giving a start-up capital to the women who will run a bakery business of their own to support the brain injury child in their household as well as their families.

“In the long run we intend to train the mothers in other areas of interest such as tailoring, this will help the mothers to concentrate on supporting the children as they tend to lose a lot of time in looking for food, this is also the reason why most of these children stay locked up in their homes.”

Banda asked Chilima and Minister of Gender to initiate research on the situation of children with brain injury in Malawi so that the research may generate evidence that will influence policy direction on the same.

She also noted that since the inception of Full Armour Children’s Centre, they have discovered that there is a large number of women who suffer silently due to having a member of the family who has a brain injury.

On her part, Chilima said she is touched with state of affairs of children with brain injury and it is high time the country started helping such children and their mothers because they are facing a lot of problems.

“It is true that not many of these children are accorded on equal opportunity as the other children in Malawi, as alluded myths on condition of brain injury are very rife. In many cases where communities have a child with brain injury the child is kept under lock and key and people only get to know of the child catastrophe occurs in household. So, as a country we need to come together and take responsibility of these children with brain injury by helping them with the resources they lack on daily basis,” said Chilima.

Chilima commended the work of Full Armour Children’s Centre for taking a step to come up with programs that will support children with brain injuries.

“I would like to commend Full Armour Children’s Centre for initiating a program that will empower mothers and free them from staying away from their homes for a long time, will they fetch their needs. I would like to encourage other groups and Organizations to follow the same route in supporting vulnerable communities. I therefore plead with other stakeholders International or local, NGO’s, the private sector, Civil Society Organizations and other people of goodwill to come forward and support the good cause,” said Chilima.

Madame Chilima also asked the management of Full Armour Children’s Centre to be very transparent and accountable on any resources that come their way because doing that will give confidence to people who may help to do more.

Minister of Gender, Children, Social Welfare and Rural Development Patricia Kaliati said children with cerebral palsy require special care and nutrition.

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