STORY: China offers free medical services, donation to orphanage in Malawi
DATELINE: June 9, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:47
LOCATION: Lilongwe
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the ceremony
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): MONICA CHAKWERA, Malawian First Lady
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MONICA CHAKWERA, Malawian First Lady
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): LONG ZHOU, Chinese Ambassador to Malawi

STORYLINE:

Chinese Ambassador to Malawi Long Zhou on Wednesday brought free medical services and donation to children at Home of Hope Orphanage in Mchinji, western Malawi, on the occasion of this year's International Children's Day.

Malawian First Lady Monica Chakwera expressed her gratitude and said Malawians need to find ways of reaching out to the children who need support.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): MONICA CHAKWERA, Malawian First Lady
"We cherish this event and to us this is something we can do annually. As Malawians, we need to find ways of reaching out to the children who need our support."   

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MONICA CHAKWERA, Malawian first lady
"This is a special event to everyone, especially our children because the Chinese embassy has come with doctors who will treat them of different ailments and donate several items to the orphanage. The government of Malawi appreciates these efforts. I do believe that the government cannot do all the programs alone, and this is where partners are key to complement national programs, like this one at Home of Hope."   

Long described the event as another good example of the collaboration between China and Malawi.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): LONG ZHOU, Chinese Ambassador to Malawi
"We very much appreciate the first lady's dedication to the cause of children's welfare. We have some joint projects, some collaboration to help more girls in education."

He said that since 2008, China has sent 10 batches of medical teams to Malawi, with a total of more than 170 members, and that the current 10th batch will be providing free medical examinations and services for the children with proficiency and superb skills.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Lilongwe.
(XHTV)