Sometimes we think friends are only those we have grown up with, gone to the same school with, neighbours and those we frequently associate with. We tend to forget those that we may not know personally, but play a role in different sectors of our lives on a day to day basis. Those are also our friends.
In every business, customers define who the organization are, where they have come from and where they are headed to. It is safe to say such a relationship should be mutual. It is for this reason that Ecobank set aside the 5th of October as a day they give back to the community in what is known as the Ecobank Day. The Pan-African bank have used this day to conduct different awareness initiatives as well as make donations to different sectors of society.
The 2019 Ecobank Day was no different. Under the theme ‘take a step against non-communicable diseases’, different groupings gathered at College of Medicine Sports Complex to join Ecobank together and College of Medicine in creating awareness as well as finding new ways of combating non-communicable diseases.
Non-communicable diseases comprise of cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. According to a report by World Health Organization (WHO), Non-communicable diseases kill 41 million people each year, an equivalent of 71% of all deaths globally each year. The fact that they mostly affect low and middle income countries makes Malawi a concern.
Judging from the speeches delivered by the bank’s Managing Director Charles Asiedu, College of Medicine Principal Dr. Mwapatsa Mipando, Doctors and other practitioners, one tone sounded the loudest, ‘we have to adopt a healthy lifestyle so that we can contribute to our families, our societies and our country’.
Crowds were inspired as they watched a large multitude under the guidance of the Malawi Prisons Band march from College of Medicine to Chichiri roundabout and back. Similarly, hearts were moved when the Pan-African bank issued 6 million kwacha to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), a donation that will go a long way in helping patients at the facility.
The eleven lines feel as much as corporations are there for dealing with customers on that mutual economically empowering perspective, it is more incredible when they come along to unite with the community in implementing something of a good cause, which is, in this case encouraging people to adopt healthy lifestyles and get regular check-ups. It is what makes us human after all, the spirit of togetherness.
As Martin Luther King Jnr. said ‘Somewhere along the way, we must learn that there is nothing greater than to do something for others’. Nothing gives Warthogs Inc. pride than being part of initiatives that are aimed towards a common good…. thus today we applaud Ecobank, ‘A friend, A banker and an Advocate of good health’.
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