Blantyre, Malawi … Malawi recently celebrated NGO Day. It is a day for the country to recognize and commemorate the achievements Non-Governmental Organizations are contributing to changing the lives of Malawi’s citizens. The event was hosted by the country’s President, Lazarus Chakwera*, at the Sanjika Presidential Palace in Blantyre. One hundred and twenty-five organization were invited to attend, with Action for Progress chosen to attend for the first time. Action for Progress is the Malawi governed organization that distributes and oversees incoming supplies from the Malawi Project.
Of the 125 organizations that number was reduced to ten who were selected to make presentations to the President and Cabinet Ministers. Action for Progress was included in this elite number, and was given the opportunity to present, first-hand, the various programs being carried out to assist the people of Malawi.
Wilson Tembo, Executive Director for Action for Progress, made the presentation to the President about how AfP receives medical supplies and equipment and distributes them to hospitals nationwide free of charge. Next, he explained how AfP, and its supporters, delivers food and food assistance programs to Malawi villages, and how these programs help Malawi farmers raise and store sufficient food to last the entire year. Next, he turned his attention to the mobility program, a major way to assist the people of Malawi. Mr. Tembo briefed the President, “Mr. President, today we want to introduce to you the Disability Program. This program supports people with physical challenges with mobility units so that they can move around. Here, we have these units, which we giveprimarily to school children so they can go to school, and to women who can use them to start small businesses for sustainability,” he noted.
Wilson continued, “Over, 3,000 Malawians are now able to move around with the aid of these units. Action for Progress continues to support people of Malawi through mutual agreements with government departments such as Malawi Council for Disability Affairs and Ministry of Health. Each day more people are being identified and supported across the Country to benefit from Action’s interventions.”
Picture: On the left is the President of Malawi, Lazarus Chakwera. On the right is Wilson Tembo, Executive Director for Action for Progress.
- Lazarus Chakwera, a Malawi church leader, stepped into the office of President of the Republic of Malawi, on June 28, 2020, after winning a democratically conducted election earlier in the year.