As part of celebrating 175 years of existence, Old Mutual Malawi has donated MK2 million to children in Neno district through Save the Children.

This was disclosed during a media briefing held on Friday, May 15, 2020 at Old Mutual Malawi head office in Blantyre.

In his speech Old Mutual Life Insurance Company Managing Director Roy Punungwe said the Company values Children as future customers and the company decided to celebrate with them in a special way.

According to “17 May each year is the day that Old Mutual staff across all our operations look forward to. We gather together with pomp in celebration and sing Happy birthday Old Mutual.

Bearing in mind the challenging COVID -19 Pandemic environment we are in, we believe we still have “a reason” to celebrate our experience, understanding and wisdom on our 175th Birthday which coincidentally falls on 17/5 (Seventieth May 2020),” said Punungwe.

He added: As a result, Old Mutual Management and Staff, recognizing the responsibility that we have towards the community in this period of Covid-19 pandemic, have decided to celebrate the remarkable 175 years in a responsible way by donating MK2.0 Million to Save the Children as a contribution towards the COVID-19 emergency response for Malawi initiative.

“We trust this amount will assist to meet part of the initiative which we are happy to be associated with as they directly impact children; our future customer.”

According to Punungwe, the donation is one of the many initiatives and engagements Old Mutual is undertaking in celebrating 175 years of existence as a responsible business in Malawi.

“This donation follows The Old Mutual Blantyre Foundation Trust’s pledge worth MK29.1 Million as part of the private sector response and will benefit various hospitals nationwide and Free Life Cover to the Malawi’s Front liners n fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic worth MK305.0 Million of premium,” he added.

On her part, Save the Children Country Director Kim Koch hailed Old Mutual for the timely donation, saying the donation will go a long way in assisting Children who have been heavily affected by Coronavirus pandemic in the country.

“The Children are out of school due to COVID-19 pandemic and this means the learners are losing a lot so this donation will act as a relief to Children. We say thank you to Old Mutual,” said Koch.

Concurring with Koch’s remarks, CASDO Executive Director David Chidakwa said applauded Old Mutual for choosing Children from Neno out of over 28 districts in the country.

Chidakwa hinted that the donation will not only benefit Children from Neno only but also from surrounding districts.

Old Mutual was founded by John Fairbairn as a mutual insurance company in 1845 under the name of The Mutual Life Assurance Society of the Cape of Good Hope. In 1970 Old Mutual acquired a major shareholding in the newly formed Mutual & Federal and in 1973 acquired shareholdings in Nedcor Bank. In 1999 the company listed on the London, Johannesburg, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Namibian Stock Exchanges.