Every Malawian should help the hungry—Bushiri

Prophet Shepherd Bushiri of the Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) says it is the responsibility of every Malawian to help the 2.8 million people facing hunger in the country as government alone cannot reach out to them.

Speaking in an interview in Zomba on the sidelines of a donation of maize to about 3 000 households from 18 villages in the area of Traditional Authority Chikowi, the South Africa-based Bushiri said it is important for people to understand that there are some things that government cannot do singlehandedly and the fight against hunger is one of them.

“As Prophet Bushiri, I understand the responsibilities of the citizen. As Malawians, we are supposed to work with the government of the day to help the needy. I, being a religious and Christian leader, I am an example to my community and what I am doing here is what I preach in the church. This should serve as a message to everyone that let us do this work, let us help the needy and those who are suffering,” he said.

Bushiri, who was also previously involved in similar charity works last month, said this time around he is also set to extend the help to the Central and Northern regions, adding that he has pumped about K85 million in the exercise.

Group village head (GVH) Kaselema said the maize donation is timely as people in his area have been suffering for some time because last season’s harvest was poor.

A beneficiary, Chifundo Khobili from Chiwamba Village in group village head Kaselema, said the problem of hunger is serious in her community and it is affecting both children and adults as they are failing to go to school and fields respectively. n