Insurance giant United General Insurance (UGI) Friday donated K10 million to the University of Malawi (UNIMA) and its constituent colleges to help in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Presenting the donation in Blantyre, UGI Chief Executive Officer Bywell Blair Chiwoni said since the first registered case of the novel coronavirus in the country in April 2020, most of the sectors including the education sector have been affected hence their support to UNIMA.
“One of the sectors that has been heavily affected is the education sector. Learning is no longer the same as education institutions are being forced to adopt innovative ways of teaching. UGI would like to ensure that learning continues even as we go through these unprecedented times. We are hopeful that if we play our role, we will be helping in strengthening the different initiatives that learning institutions are implementing to make the institutions sustainable and safer,” said Chiwoni.
He commended UNIMA council for the leadership and decisive action during ‘this difficult time’.
“UNIMA has been our client for over two decades and this means they are no longer a client but part of our family as such charity must begin at home! UGI will continue to stand side-by-side with UNIMA as it faces this great challenge.”
“The challenge we face today requires continued cooperation not only between our two institutions, but with the government, the donor community, the business community, civil society, and the Malawian citizenry,” said Chiwoni.
Receiving the donation on behalf of UNIMA acting Vice Chancellor Prof Al Mtenje, Polytechnic Acting Principal Dr. Nancy Chitera thanked UGI for the donation saying it will go a long way in fighting against the pandemic.
“We are so grateful for this donation from UGI. The University cannot stop but to continue for the development of human capital for the nation. The most important thing that we need to look at is how we protect both the 12,000 students and more than 1,000 academic and non-academic staff from being infected with the virus as we do this noble duty. Universities cannot be closed forever; at the same time, we need to stay safe so that we maintain the high calibre of staff that the University has in health condition,” said Chitera.
She said as a result of the pandemic, the University has introduced measures of combating the disease some of which are the emergency remote learning to reduce face-to-face contacts and decongest the campuses but noted that it is expensive.
“During this time of great uncertainty, UNIMA family has been comforted, encouraged, and humbled by your generosity and support. This is a remarkable gesture and The University is very grateful and let me assure you that it will go a long way in protecting the spread of this virus,” said Chitera.
