Ministers cheer hero Rumphi girl, pledge support
Minister of Homeland Security Nicholas Dausi and his Transport and Public Works counterpart Jappie Mhango yesterday visited 12-year-old Thank Kondowe at Rumphi District Hospital where she continues to recuperate.
Thank heroically saved her three-year-old sister Joyce, during last Saturday’s rainstorms at Tcharo in Rumphi, which left three people dead, five missing and nine injured.
Among those missing are Thank’s sister Stargate, 10, and their mother, Joyce Nyachingati Nyirenda.
Dausi said government was devastated with the Tcharo incident, and that it sympathises with the victims and their families.
“We will provide the people of Tcharo with the Decent and Affordable Housing Programme so that people are able to build houses that are resilient.
“Government is formulating a policy that will help people to move away from areas that are prone to floods so that we avoid these occurrences. I know these are natural occurrences, but we would want to avoid them as much as possible,” he said.
Dausi also assured of continued search of the five missing people.
On his part, Mhango urged the medical personnel to continue providing Thank and other victims the much needed support.
Rumphi district health officer Steven Macheso said the conditions of the victims were improving.
The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) has already provided relief items to victims at Tcharo and provided K50 000 to each injured person.
It also consoled bereaved families with K150 000 each.
Last Saturday, there was heavy downfall in the hills of Mphompha and the stream that flows into Lake Malawi was flooded.
It led into a landslide that fell some houses and other structures like churches and business places. The floods also ravaged classroom blocks at Msuku Primary School and caused damage to teaching and learning materials.
