‘Help teachers affected by Cyclone Freddy’

Teachers affected by Tropical Cyclone Freddy in Nsanje District have asked for well-wishers to help them recover from the disaster.

Nsanje District Teachers Union of malawi Chapter representative Jussa Mintrozo said this on Tuesday at Mpatsa Primary School after presenting a donation to 73 primary school teachers who were affected by Tropical Cyclone Freddy.

He said: “Tropical Cyclone Freddy has not spared teachers, but it is painful to see that no teacher in the district received donations as it is happening with community members.

“We ask government and other donors to consider affected teachers because their salary is not enough to recover from their loss.”

One of beneficiaries, Ireen Kanaventi, a teacher at Mpepe Primary School in Senior Chief Tengani, said she lost everything during the disaster.

“I thank TUM for the support because I cannot afford to replace everything using my salary,” he said.

Another teacher, Andsen Andsen from Mchere Primary School in Mchere Zone in Traditional Authority Ngabu in the district, asked government to construct teachers’ houses.

“The teachers who were affected are those renting houses in communities,” he said.

Nsanje district chief education officer MacShades Dakamau thanked TUM for the support.

On his part, TUM programmes manager Pilirani Kamaliza asked the district council to de-sludge toilets in schools where survivors were seeking refuge.

Nsanje has 104 primary schools and 80 schools were affected. The district also reported that the cyclone affected 80 primary and secondary school teachers.

TUM is implementing the response through their component of solidarity to 250 affected teachers in Nsanje, Mulanje, Blantyre and Chiradzulu district, courtesy of TUM secretariat and Education International.

The relief items included maize flour and cooking oil.