Vice-President Saulos Chilima has appealed to Rotary Clubs in the country to lend a hand in the response to the food shortages which are expected to affect about eight million Malawians.
Speaking at the induction dinner of the new Rotary Club of Bwaila in Lilongwe on Friday, Chilima lauded the works of Rotary Clubs in Malawi, specifically spearheading the eradication of polio through Malawi Against Polio (MAP) project.
He said the good works of Rotary Clubs had expanded to assisting rural people to set up small-scale businesses, but also the health sector by inviting Indian doctors to conduct operations for free and setting up Beit Cure Hospital and currently renovating Mbabvi Health Centre in Lilongwe.
“As Minister responsible for Disaster Management Affairs, I do recall that as Rotarians, you donated various relief items to victims of flood disaster. We hope this year you will do the same as we respond to the looming hunger crisis which is as a result of the 2015 flood disaster and the dry spell that followed,” Chilima, who is an honorary Rotarian said.
Addressing the incoming president of Bwaila, Alex Adam, Chilima asked him to be in the group that works hard not the group that takes credit for the hard work.
He said: “There are less people in the latter group.”
The outgoing president of Rotary Club of Bwaila, Patrick Mhango, who is executive director of Press Trust, leaves behind an increased membership from 18 when he became president to 38, among them 11 women.
During his leadership, the club conducted a career fair and distributed portable lap desks to various schools as well as distributing various medical items to Christian Health Association of Malawi hospitals.
The 10th president of Rotary Club of Bwaila, Adam, takes on the challenge of growing the club membership and retention of the new members.
“I will now just not bring on new members, but also mentor them. We will have to learn from young members and change how we conduct our meetings. Fun should be at the core of our activities,” Adam said.
Bwaila belongs to District 9210 of Rotary International.
