Chakwera inaugurates 2022 MACOHA Flag Week

He said that this year's Flag Week is yet another opportunity for the country to stand in solidarity with people with disabilities and provide full support as a means of empowering them.

Malawi: President Lazarus Chakwera today presided over the inauguration of the 2022 Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA) Flag Week, with the theme 'Vocational Skills Acquisition: A Means of Empowering Persons with Disabilities,' and purchased a flag for MK2 million at his residence, Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe.

He said that this year's Flag Week is yet another opportunity for the country to stand in solidarity with people with disabilities and provide full support as a means of empowering them.

Chakwera stated that the theme is well-aligned with the Malawi 2063 Vision, which aspires to use human capital development as an enabling vehicle for job creation, giving all citizens the opportunity to become self-sufficient.

He said "We cannot leave persons with disabilities behind, nor respond to their desire to contribute to Malawi's development as an afterthought. No! Doing so would defeat the very idea of making our nation's development and wealth inclusive.

The true spirit of our national vision demands that persons with disabilities be given an integral place in all aspects of our development as a nation, whether it be in the design or in the delivery of that development.”

Agnes Mkusankhoma, Deputy Minister of Gender, Community Development, and Social Welfare, stated that people with disabilities can fully participate in the country's social and economic development if they are given the opportunity and adequate resources.

In his remarks, Dr. Chiwoza Bandawe, the board chairperson for MACOHA, stated that their goal for this year's Flag Week is to raise MK60 million, the majority of which will go to vocational skills and a large portion of which will be used to purchase business start-up tools for 60 people with disabilities in Karonga district who have already been trained.

"We've trained a lot of people, but they don't have any starter kits. We'd like to have starter kits for talloiling, carpentry, and welding, to name a few "He stated.

"Vocational skills are very important for everyone, but especially for people with disabilities, because they empower and enable them to be independent, and it gives them dignity because they don't beg or ask for anything, but they can contribute to the development of their community and country."

This year's Flag Week aims to raise awareness among stakeholders, including the general public, about the importance of each of us playing our part in levelling the playing field and equalising opportunities for people with disabilities.

MACOHA was established by an Act of Parliament, the Handicapped Persons Act of 1971 Cap 33:02, to enable them to actively participate in socioeconomic development activities for their communities and country.