By Maryam Mtengulah

Blantyre, August 29, MANA: Women’s Legal Resources Centre (WOLREC) donated assorted items worth K22.5 million through Cure Gender Based Violence project to Tropical Clone Freddy survivors and community based service providers at Bwanasompho and Chigonawaya villages, Traditional Authority (TA) Kuntaja area in Blantyre on Monday.

Donating the items, among them 50 push bicycles, 100 cellphones, 1,000 fuel briquettes, 348 energy-saving stoves, and 1,000 solar lamps, WOLREC Project Officer, Ernest Mujavo said the project is being implemented with funding from United Nations (UN) Women.

 “We are implementing a project known called Cure Gender-Based Violence (GBV). We are dealing with GBV by distributing risk reduction kits and household supplies.

“The solar lamps, stoves, and fuel briquettes have been donated to the actual survivors of the cyclone whereas bicycles and phones have been given to service providers including the Village Civil Protection Committee (VCPC), Community Victim Support Unit (CVSU) structures and the police to registered GBV cases to relevant stakeholders,” said Mujavo.

He added that WOLREC is sensitising communities how to identify and register GBV and to refer GBV cases to law enforcing agents and other partners in the gender sector.

Mujawo said he was hopeful that the community sensitisation will help to empower community members to fully deal with GBV in TA Kuntaja’s area.

Receiving the items, TA Kuntaja, thanked WOLREC for the donation, stating that the items will help the Tropical Cyclone Freddy survivors to cope with life following the devastation.

He also expressed optimism that the donated items will help the community based service providers to deal with cases of GBV which have been occurring among his subjects.

TA Kuntaja therefore urged the recipients to ensure that all the donated items are cared for and used for intended purposes.

One of the beneficiaries, Layiteni William said was grateful to receive the items, adding that the donation came at the right time when the survivors were in dire need of such assistance. Mana/mm/ewc/scm