Story Workshop embarks on COVID- 19 awareness campaign

The Story Workshop has embarked on COVID- 19 awareness campaign in Mzimba North in a bid to change people’s behaviour and increase their knowledge on the novel pandemic.

The Story Workshop will conduct the campaign in traditional authorities Mtwalo and Mpherembe in the district with support from United Nations International Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF).

The organisation is expected to invest K45 million for the campaign in seven districts in Malawi including Mzimba, Phalombe, Nsanje and Ntchisi among others.

Briefing the District Executive Committee (DEC) in Mzuzu on Wednesday, Story Workshop Project Officer, Dennis Sintchaya, said the campaign that will run for two months from August to September 2020, aims at changing people’s attitude as regards the Coronavirus.

“The essence of the campaign is for people to adopt COVID-19 precautionary measures.

“We would like people within the two targeted areas in Mzimba to understand that COVID -19 is real and that some people have died of the disease while others have been infected or affected,’’ Sintchaya said.

He said as a strategy, the organisation will be working with drama artists who will be disseminating information about the pandemic.

“Each artist will be visiting a household taking into account the set up prevention measures,” he said.

Sintchaya further said 10 teachers in each T.A. will be trained on the same and later will be required to reach out to learners in their respective homes with hygiene messages.

The messages will be regular hand washing with soap and observing social/physical distance among other practices, to avoid contracting the virus.
He added the approach will provide an opportunity to clear misconceptions, rumours and myths surrounding the pandemic through the provision of correct information.

COVID- 19 programs will also be broadcast on three national radio and television stations of Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), Zodiak and Times as well as some community radio stations such as Voice of Livingstonia, to ensure wider coverage with the messages.

In his remarks, District Medical Officer for Mzimba North Health Office, Shadreck Ngwira commended the Story Workshop for complementing government efforts in providing COVID-19 awareness to masses.

Ngwira, therefore, asked other organisations to emulate the gesture as spearheaded by the Story Workshop to contain the Coronavirus in different areas in Mzimba and the country as a whole.