By Brighton Thengoliweta Chimsinde 

Mchinji, January 9, Mana: Mchinji District Rehabilitation Officer for Malawi Council for Disability Affairs (MACODA) Master Chingson Kachule has appealed to non-governmental organizations and well-wishers to provide wheelchairs for children with physical disabilities in the district to help in their education.

Kachule made the appeal on Thursday when MACODA district office in collaboration with Malawi Against Physical Disabilities (MAP) distributed five wheelchairs to children with physical disabilities.

“The office mobilized the wheelchairs for children from our local working partner, World Vision Malawi (WVM) but they are not enough considering the district population of children which is over 2500 children with physical disabilities. We are appealing for additional support to meet the demand,” Kachule said.

MACODA thanked WVM for helping with the wheelchairs and appealed to other non-governmental organizations and well-wishers to emulate gestures displayed by World Vision Malawi.

Jacqueline Sipuliyano Banda, a widow and mother to Esther George thanked MACODA for the initiative and for considering their children to be on the recipient's list.

“We felt lucky that our children are receiving wheelchairs today. Some of the children are over 10 years old but they have been denied access to education due to lack of mobility facilities.

“Receiving the chairs will help our children who have never gone to school to enrol and start going to school because the chairs will ease mobility,” Banda said. 

MAP Regional Supervisor and Physiotherapist Petros Chiyombo advised parents to take care of the wheelchairs.

"I urge the parents to ensure that children attend classes for them to be productive citizens in the future," he said.