KARONGA-(MaraviPost)-There was drama at Zindi Evacuation Camp in the area area of traditional authority (T/A) Kalonga in Karonga district on Tuesday after the Salvation Army and the Malawi Redcross Society collided at the camp with their relief items for the flood victims.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, a team of Salvation Army led by their Chief Secretary, Lieutenant Cornel Alfred Banda and the district’s programs manager, Matthews Tulombolombo stormed the camp with various relief items like bags of maize, beans and cooking oil worth millions of kwachas.
According to acting senior group village head (SGVH) Zindi, the camp has over 400 households who are affected by heavy floods which occurred on 2nd March that led to destruction of their houses and food items.
SGVH Zindi expressed gratitude towards the religious institution for the kitchen nd gesture showcased to his subjects who were hit by the floods and pleaded for the beneficiaries to make good use of the relief items by desisting from selling them.
The Salvation Army distributed at least two tins of maize, two liters of cooking oil and five kilograms of beans to each the 400 households at the evacuation camp.
“Let me urge you all that these food staff’s are not for sale because you have received them for free hence they are for your family’s consumption,” Said Banda.
However, while in the process of distribution of the relief food items, a team of Redcross suddenly also arrived at the camp with about twelve bales of chipeloni blankets and cooking pots to distribute to the 400 victims.
After noticing that the Salvation Army had too many bags of maize, beans and cooking oil that would take about two hours to distribute to the victims, the Malawi Redcross through their public relations officer, Felix Washoni asked the Salvation Army to interrupt their distribution exercise.
Washoni there asked Salvation Army to give them time to distribute their few blankets and pots to the victims that they should leave the place in good time a scenario.
This angered Tulombolombo of the Salvation Army who furiously refused to bow to their plea.
“This is not a competition, it is a charity work and you have found us at the camp distributing our items so why can’t you just wait for us to finish our already started work? What you are doing is a clear indication that you are proud of yourself,” said the seemingly angry Tulombolombo.
Tulombolombo further came to a resolution that he put on hold the distribution exercise until the next day to pave way for their counterparts.
The situation that angered the beneficiaries who in turn opted for the food items to the empty Redcross pots and blankets.
Speaking to one of the victims (name withheld), said, “we better receive the food items first than blankets because we have nothing to eat so for us to wait until tomorrow (Wednesday) will not be good for us because we have already starved enough, it is better than the Redcross should wait until we are done receiving the food.”
“We are disappointed in the Salvation Army for negative conduct towards us, we did not expect you to behave that way because we would have just combined our items and distribute them together,” Said Redcross PRO Washoni in anger.
Although the did not hold water as the salvation army vehemently refused which eventually made the beneficiaries to concentrate on the distribution of the food items by the religious institution turning their heads against the Redcross.
