NPL’s Mercy Malikwa wins disability award
Nation Publications Limited (NPL) journalist Mercy Malikwa has emerged winner of the Disability Journalist of the Year Award for 2016 in the print media.
The awards were given out on Tuesday in Lilongwe during a media conference on disability and the elderly at Bingu International Convention Centre.
Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, in conjunction with the Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi (Fedoma), organised the conference.
Malikwa, a news analyst at NPL based in Blantyre, was awarded for consistency in her writing on people with disabilities.
Fedoma executive director Action Amos said of her: “For her to win the award, we looked at the clarity, impact and balance of the stories carried and this particular journalist ticked all those boxes in her writing.
“And on the impact part, there is one article she recently did about a person with albinism which wowed not only us here, but was also a reference point at the recent disability conference in Geneva.”
The story was about the personal and career success of a person with albinism despite stigma, discrimination and persecution.
Speaking in an interview, Malikwa said the recognition has given her the zeal to do more in promoting disability rights in the country.
“But it’s never a one man’s show. Actually, I owe the award to the entire publication. NPL has displayed over the years that it excels at team work and I have since benefitted from that team spirit. I hope this inspires a lot others, too.”
Times Media Group emerged the best media house on disability reporting while Patrick Tawakali from the State broadcaster Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) came top in television reporting.
Malikwa becomes the second NPL journalist to scoop a media award in a week after Garry Chirwa was voted the best print media journalist in the just-ended maiden Airtel Top 8 Football Bonanza.
