MRCS takes Covid-19 messages to communities through cinema

Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS) Saturday disseminated Covid-19 messages through Cinema to communities in Salima as cases continue to rise in the country.

Speaking after the sessions which took place in some of the markets in the district, Health Projects Coordinator for MRCS, Leonard Maganga said the dissemination of Covid-19 messages to the communities was just one of the interventions the society has embarked on so as to keep the nation aware of the disease.

“We have embarked into a number of interventions made to contribute to message dissemination of Covid-19 pandemic. As you are aware the cases continue to rise every day and we deliberately targeted some of the districts where such is the case so that we have combined efforts with what we are already doing,” he said.

Maganga said the Cinema intervention was meant to follow mobile groups like vendors in market places whom he said are rarely home and miss the messages that are being transmitted through other means.

“We are following people in the mobile markets and we thought we could embark on this mobile cinema so as to reach them with such messages,” he said.

Maganga said apart from Salima, the society have already sensitized people in Lilongwe and Blantyre and are yet to visit Mzimba.

“We only have one truck, the target was the districts where cases are going up day by day and through this initiative, we hope we are going to reach out to many people as you have seen that the response from people was good,” the Projects Coordinator said.

The MRSC is engaged indoor to door visits disseminating Covid-19 messages through its volunteers, promoting hand washing habit in markets as well as supporting prisons, district hospitals and other institutions with hand washing buckets and soap so as to prevent further spread of the disease according to Maganga.

A vendor at Thavite Trading Centre, Fyson Chipwete commended MRCS for the initiative saying it would help to reach out to many people with Covid-19 prevention messages.
During the cinema sessions, MRCS distributed hand washing soap to viewers who answered correctly questions to do with Covid-19.