Malawi Relief Fund-UK Donates 30 Wheelchairs to Six District Hospitals

Having been touched by patients’ mobility challenges being faced by hospitals in the Eastern Region of the country, Islamic charitable organization, Malawi Relief Fund-UK has donated 30 wheelchairs to six of them.

Since Zomba Central Hospital receives patients from all districts in the Eastern Region as a referral, it has received 10 wheelchairs with four each going to Mulanje, Phalombe, Machinga, Balaka and Mangochi district hospitals.

Speaking during the handover ceremony on Tuesday, Zomba Central Hospital’s director, Dr. Saulos Nyirenda said the donation has come at the right time as all the recipient hospitals were in dire need of the wheelchairs.

MRF-UK’s Bakili (left) presents the wheelchairs to Dr. Saulos Nyirenda

Dr. Nyirenda said most of the wheelchairs they had were old and not usable thus the new wheelchairs will help ease their patients’ mobility challenges.

He applauded Malawi Relief Fund-UK for their kind support and urged other well-wishers to emulate this gesture by visiting the Eastern Region hospitals to assess other challenges they may deem fit to bail out.

Malawi Relief Fund-UK project officer, Munirah Abdullah Bakali said they made visits to the hospitals to assess the areas they might assist and chose wheelchairs at the liaison and agreement with the hospital authorities.

Bakali urged the hospital authorities to take good care of the wheelchairs so that they serve longer for the benefit of the patients.

Malawi Relief Fund UK is implementing various developmental projects in Malawi and in March, it donated a washing machine with a 8.0kg washing capacity to Chiradzulu District Hospital’s laundry room — whose five machines and a dyer had broken down.

MRF-UK also initiated the repairing process of the mortuary’s cold room at the hospital.

Chiradzulu is one of MRF-UK’s catchment areas where they assist vulnerable people that include building houses for the poor as well as the vulnerable, paying bursary for needy students, drilling boreholes and providing food relief in times of disasters.

In December last year, it distributed relief items to over 300 families in Mangochi District that were affected by strong winds due to heavy rains that wreaked havoc in three areas — Makawa, Lutende and Chiponde — rendering hundreds of families helpless.

MRF UK distributed food parcels containing maize flour, rice, beans, Likuni Phala, salt, sugar as well as plastic sheeting roll items.

The low cost houses are provided in Machinga, Phalombe and Chiradzulu and just last year they managed to hand over over 500 houses.

Other projects MRF-UK initiated since its establishment include agriculture, housing, bicycle ambulance and water provision though drilling of boreholes.

It also provides gift of sight, winterwarmth, orphanage, empowering youth and women through vocational skills, fish boats and meat distribution.

In 2019, it also partnered with Malawi Special Olympics in a programme which is reaching out to primary schools that enroll special needs learners to facilitate health screening exercises.

Malawi Special Olympics reaches out to schools in more than 24 districts in Malawi in conjunction with Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare.

In 2018, MRF-UK partnered with Islamic Zakaat Fund by investing over K900 million over a period of 4 years to provide financial support for 224 underprivileged Malawian students to complete higher tertiary education in various universities and colleges across the country.

MRF-UK also funds Shukran Orphan Care Centre in Zomba.