NICE Trust Acting District Civic Education Officer for Mzimba Moses Manda made the remarks when the organization trained its volunteers at Enfeni in the area of Senior Chief Mabulabo on COVID-19 prevention measures.

Manda said with government contemplating fully reopening all schools, it is imperative that communities have knowledge on the pandemic so that they impart the necessary information regarding the pandemic to their school-going children.

“Our volunteers are the first contact points in communities. We decided to equip them with knowledge on COVID-19 prevention so that they are able to promote the preventive measures in the areas they are coming from,” said Manda.                         “

He said the volunteers are also being urged to ensure that all girls who fell pregnant during the induced recess to return to school.

The training also has a component where volunteers are drilled in skills on how to come up with simple masks.

Mzimba District Health Promotion Officer Ellings Nyirenda hailed the trust for venturing into the rural areas with the prevention messages saying government alone cannot do enough due to financial constraints.

“These trainings are crucial as they also help in clearing myths and disinformation regarding the pandemic among communities,” said Nyirenda.

One of the volunteers Sarah Ngoma says they will now manage to reach out to other folks in their communities through briefings at area and village development committees to ensure that messages trickle down to remotest areas.

“We appreciate what NICE has done as a lot of people in the villages had a lot of unanswered questions regarding the pandemic. Now we know what it is, how its spread and above all how we can prevent it.”

The trust has close to 700 volunteers across the district.