Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) in the Diocese of Zomba donated food and non-food items to the elderly at Namalaka Village, Senior Chief Chikowi’s area in Zomba, with support from Act Ubumbano of the Republic of South Africa.
CCJP Assistant Project Officer Rhoda Ng’ambi said the organisation felt it had an obligation to respond to the plight of the elderly, observing they lack most necessities.
She further observed that the elderly are vulnerable because they have limited capacity to provide for themselves to sustain their livelihood.
The CCJP donated maize flour, sugar, cooking oil, soya pieces and soap to the elderly persons at Namalaka Village.
Ng”ambi said CCJP will continue to provide support to the elderly in various ways and has called on organisations to assist the elderly who need necessities such as soap and bedding.
She appealed to the elderly persons not to lose hope but to put God first because He cares.
“It’s just unfortunate that most of the elderly persons are discriminated against and are denied care and support. The elderly face a lot of problems to the extent that some of them sleep on empty stomachs,” Ng”ambi added.
Representative of the elderly, Dyton Chimela, who is also a person with a disability, hailed the CCJP for the timely donation, saying most of the elderly spend days without food.
He, therefore, asked the government, humanitarian agencies and other organisations to emulate CCJP’s gesture by donating to the elderly.
