Josiah-Banda bails out Malawi Paralympics

Malawi Paralympics will send disabled athletes to the International Paralympics Games in London in July as the Central Region Football League (CRFL) chairperson Dean Josiah-Banda has given them K120 000 towards the processing of the athletes’ passports.

Paralympics president Juma Mkandawire and Josiah-Banda confirmed the donation on Sunday. The athletes are expected to start camp training on May 19.

Malawi Paralympics initially planned to start residential camp for the athletes soon after selecting them during this year’s Under-20 Presidential Paralympics Championships at Kamuzu Institute for Sports in Lilongwe in March, but were let down by the passport hitches.

“We approached several companies, organisations and individuals, but it is only Mr. Josiah-Banda who has helped us. We are thankful to his kind gesture. But we still ask for financial and material support from other well-wishers to make our London trip a great success,” said Mkandawire.

Josiah-Banda, who is patron for Super League outfit Epac FC and vice-chairperson for Civo United, said he decided to make the donation to set a good example to others in terms of supporting minority sports.

“It is a pity that sometimes we tend to forget that sports is not only football, but some minority sports as well that can put our country on the international map. Recently, we saw minority sports personalities such as swimmers and Special Olympics athletes bringing home medals, but we always tend to ignore them in terms of support,” he said.

The Paralympics athletes set to go into camp are Witness Asima, Kingsley Muhara, Gift Macheso, Wilson Isaac, Tiaonere Banda and Racheal Kaunda who are partially blind and completely blind runners Isaac Banda and Chisomo Germani.