Fun, music at Zokonda Amayi annual banquet
It was all fun, music and interaction when women from all walks of life came together on Friday for a night of fun and dining at the Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe for the annual Zokonda Amai Macheza.
DJs and live performances kept the women dancing and having fun throughout the night.
The event was graced by Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare Patricia Kaliati.
The women danced, dined and some had a chance to send some shout outs to their loved ones just as they do on the Zokonda Amayi radio programme, a one-hour long programme that runs from Monday to Friday on the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Radio One.
In his address, MBC director general George Kasakula said the programme empowers women and provides a platform for networking and sharing ideas that can help improve their livelihoods.
“Among other things, the Zokonda Amayi Macheza has brought lasting relationships among women. It has impacted on people’s lives through different kinds of development projects through the Zokonda Amayi Clubs and many women are learning new ideas which are helping to lift their lives through the clubs,” he said.
This year, the event was held under the theme Amayi Mu Nyengo ya Covid-19 loosely translated to mean eomen in times of Covid-19.
Kasakula has since challenged the women to play a role in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, arguing that they are often the most affected in such pandemics.
On his part, MBC board chairperson Reverend Vasco Kachipapa said when women are fully empowered and engaged, the society benefits.
He said: “By fully empowering and engaging women, it is possible to take on the enormous national challenges of the day and achieve more.
“The Zokonda Amayi women are doing a lot of things in their communities, such as promoting girls education by paying school fees, providing school needs such as books and uniforms, community transformation, including drilling boreholes to provide clean water, building houses for the needy, and taking care of the elderly and less privileged to mention a few.”
In her address, Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare Principal Secretary Roselyn Makhumula said she was amazed with how the programme has generated clubs that compete in innovative projects within their communities.
On her part, Kaliati encouraged the women to find solutions to social problems such as gender-based violence (GBV), teenage pregnancies and child marriages besides the things they do in their clubs.
Zokonda Amayi is, apart from a greetings’ radio programme, a platform where women interact with one another and debate on topical issues affecting their lives; and spiced up with tips on business, health, cookery, and finance, among others.
Musicians Atoht Manje and Clara Ngulube entertained the ladies with live performances.
