Businessperson Triephornia Bender has faulted Mai Mbambande Foundation for not publicly acknowledging a K2.5 million donation which she made to the foundation over two weeks ago.
In a Facebook post, the businessperson said she sent K2.5 million after Mai Mbambande had appealed for donations to raise K800,000 and was wondering why the organization was still appealing for more donations in order to raise the same K800,000 this week.
Mai Mbambande is an elderly home based in Lilongwe which hosts elderly men and women, providing them food, accommodation and other basic necessities.
The organization which is run by 23-year-old Deborah Mbale is building an elderly home consisting of hostels and an office. For the project, the organization usually appeals for assistance from the public through its Facebook Page.
In October, Mai Mbambande asked for assistance saying it was raising K800,000 for roofing of its project.
On November 1, Mpinganjira responded to the appeal by sending K2.5 million through a bank account provided.
A scan of Facebook Page posts show that Mai Mbambande did not acknowledge the receipt of the money.
On November 6, Mbale informed followers of Mai Mbambande that she had lost her mother who was buried on 8 November, according to posts on the page.
“The past 7 days have been the hardest days of my life and that of my family. Losing our greatest pillar and our best friend has been a blow to us and has not been easy,” she wrote on 13 November.
On 15 November, Mai Mbambande published a post saying it had managed to put trusses on the roof and was remaining with purchasing iron sheets
“The total amount we are looking is K800,000 (for Iron sheets and labour),” the organization said.
The organization followed that with another post saying it had managed to raise K400,000 towards the roofing of the elderly home office.
“Our target is K800,000 for us to be able to buy iron sheets. We are remaining with K400,000 to be able to do this,” reads the post.
The continued appeal for assistance for the roofing project surprised Mpinganjira who asked if Mai Mbambande received the donation she made.
”May someone please tag Mai Mbambande , I am failing to tag her . I just wanted to know if she received 2.5million Kwacha which I sent her on 1st November —for her Elderly house building project ——she was looking for 800,000 to complete it. If she didn’t receive, maybe she can check with her bank,” said Mpinganjira yesterday.
When one commenter said Mbale had posted that she raised K400,00 out of K800,000, Mpinganjira said: “That’s what I am wondering. She still asking for money maybe she didn’t receive.”
In a video posted on the page on Friday, Mbale said she received the K2.5 million on 1 November and the message she received did not indicate the name of the sender.
“We did not know who had sent the money so we could not have publicly acknowledged the receipt of the money.
“However, we used the money to install trusses, windows and door frames on our office building and I have the quotations,” said Mbale, adding that she only knew that the money came from Triephornia following her Facebook post on Friday morning.
She added that at the time she received the money, she was in hospital with her mother who died on November 6 and was buried two days later.
“I have been going through a hard time since my mother’s death and I have not been working as usual so it was difficult for me to follow up on the donation,” said Mbale.
On the continued appeal for donation, Mbale explained that the project is being implemented in phases and when she is making an appeal for money, it does not mean that the amount is for everything required at the project.
“We used the money for other things on the project while the K800,000 I was appealing for was for roofing,” she said.
She further said that she had spoken with Triephornia and has sorted out the matter.
Mbale, however, expressed concern that people have been contacting her and her relatives, accusing Mbale of using the K2.5 million donation for her personal needs, something which she said is not true.
Meanwhile, in another post today, Triephornia Bender has suggested that Mbale should have posted a simple message on her platform expressing gratitude after receiving help from anonymous people.
“You can share your appreciation for their support and let others know that your problem has been resolved.
“However, if you continuously ask for the same help after receiving assistance, people may start to wonder why you are repeatedly seeking help for the same issue that has been solved.
“All you can do is to acknowledge the receipt publicly. It will not only reassure the donor that their gesture was received but also encourage future acts of kindness within our community,” she said.
