The afternoon of Saturday, September 12 2015, was a wonderful moment of smiles, beautiful singing and speeches full of hope for the children of Mkope School for the Blind, in Traditional Authority (T/A) Nankumba in Mangochi District.
The 40 pupils at the school, in the company of their head teacher, special teachers and the Anglican priest in charge at Mkope Parish had a pleasant surprise of donations of various sanitation items, courtesy of Candlex Malawi Limited, presented by over 60 delegates from the 2015 Chartered Institute of Marketers (CIM) Conference that took place from Thursday September 10 2015.
This was the first of the two donations that the marketers made on this afternoon as they proceeded to Mangochi District Hospital and made another donation of similar items, courtesy of Candlex as well, to all the 360 plus patients in the hospital, visiting as it were bed by bed and cheering the sick.
These series of donations came at the very end of a great marketer’s conference that attracted a super charged lineup of speakers led by the Vice-President Saulos Chilima, Michael Jackson (aka another Michael Jackson) and Maurice Newa all the way from Airtel Nigeria where he is chief commercial officer.
It felt most satisfying and fulfilling to be part of not only this great conference and networking opportunity of marketers but also to see that marketers were taking the leadership role of showing that charity and a sense of community care and the need to invest in uplifting our fellow citizens that are in need.
Marketers demonstrated that the call and sense of social responsibility is not only something they engage and believe in when they are working for their employers but something that is truly embedded and is coming from the bottom of their hearts.
The visit to the school for the blind was the most poignant with the beautiful singing of the pupils, the hearty words of the caregivers, teachers and the leadership and priest in charge as well as the intelligent questions and inquisitions of the blind pupils and overwhelmed by this brilliance and beauty that defied the visual challenges of the pupils, the marketers spontaneously went into a giving mode and mobilised K52 000 which they donated towards meeting some of the needs of the school.
On Monday, September 14 2015, urged by the memories of the plight of the school and specifically a case where three pupils that passed their examinations from Mkope School for the Blind and selected to go to Lisumbwi Secondary School were still marooned at home for lack of K32 000 fees per term, the marketers mobilised over K800 000 in pledges towards the cause.
The CIM 2015 Conference delegates were motivated into a life of doing, action and taking charge of matters in their midst courtesy of the strong inspiration from the learning and sharing that they imbibed during the three days of intense learning, inspiration and motivation.
One feels that this is ample proof that there is enough within Malawians to do great things for Malawians and all that Malawians need is for each and everyone to inspire their peers, neighbours and everyone around them and believe that Malawians for Malawi is the way.
