By Chisomo Phiri
As one way of fighting against COVID-19 pandemic, a Mzuzu-based organization, Citizen Impact organization ( CIO) has left no stone unturned as on Saturday visited Kang’ona area in Luwinga township to distribute facemasks under the organization’s COVID-19 youth response programme.
The organization embarked on a such Initiative after observing that many people in the city had no face masks due to lack of money for buying the masks hence putting them on a high risk of contracting the virus as well as not abide to the government’s regulations for everyone to wear a mask when going to the public places.
However, the organization formed up a group called COVID-19 Youth response, responsible for face masks distribution.
Speaking during the mask distribution at at Kang’ona area, one of the areas where the initiative is being carried out, the Director for Citizen Impact Organization ( CIO), Chimenechi Banda said the initiative has been targeted to reach out many areas within northern region so as many in region should have access to masks and be safe from COVID-19.
“Our target is to reach out and distribute facemasks to all areas in the city of Mzuzu and the whole northern region at large. What all we want is to make sure that no one has been left behind. Everyone should have a facemask and be safe from COVID-19 which has hit hard the country”, said Banda.
” We have started this Initiative and we promise to accomplish and satisfy everyone. People should expect a lot from us during this pandemic where things are tough to be done, we promise to offer them best services in this hard time”, She promised.
In her remarks when receiving the facemasks, one of the beneficiaries who is also the neighborhood chairperson for Kang’ona area, Lucy Nthala thanked CIO Management for the initiative saying the facemasks will going to help many people who were at high risk of contracting the virus before.
” This is a very impressive initiative as now many people are going to be protected from contracting the virus. With these masks, we will now be able to move everywhere as you know that being caught moving without wearing a facemask is a crime following the regulations the government put in place. We thank CIO for the wonderful initiative and we beg for the continuation”, Thanked Nthala.
So far, CIO has distributed 400 facemasks to Kang’ona area in Luwinga, 500 to patemanga area in Ngolongo and 500 to Thandaza primary school in Mzuzu respectively. The organisatil received 4000 masks from Mask-up Malawi an initiative established to distribute facemasks to organizations for them to distribute to people in the communities.
