Persons with albinism need help to recover from cyclone’

Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) says persons with albinism were affected by Cyclone Freddy can recover successfully from the trauma caused by the disaster if supported with relevant materials.

CCJP Zomba District projects officer Charles Alumando said this on Friday when the institution with support from the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund distributed food items to persons with albinism from traditional authorities (T/As) Mwambo and Chikowi in the district.

He said most persons with albinism are struggling to recover because when the cyclone hit, they sought shelter in ther relatives homes as the conditions in most evacuation camps were not conducive for their settlement.

“The goal is to ensure that persons with albinism are not left behind in the recovery process,” he said.

One of the survivors from T/A Mwambo Harold Mateyu, whose house was destroyed by the cyclone, said together with his wife and children, they are still being accommodated in his mother’s house.

He said before the cyclone, he was running small-scale businesses and doing piecework that were earning him an income to feed his family.

“We are in a destitute situation now,” he said.

On his part, Mwambo Village Civil Protection Committee chairperson Maximus Makanda said apart from relief items, persons with albinism should also be provided with farm inputs to invest in winter cropping.

Group village head Kazembe II from T/A Chikowi said most of the persons with albinism are in dire need of houses.

The donated items included maize flour, cooking oil, salt and soya pieces targeting 140 persons with albinism from Zomba and Machinga districts