President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera’s led Operation Tigwirane Manja was widely thought to be an intenal lobbying for more helping hands from Malawians, but the Tanzanian government appears to have understood the initiative as they are tirelessly coming with assistance.

The Tanzanian government has been a constant present in Malawi since the tragic Cyclone Freddy befell the country. A week ago they sent two helicopters to help reach out to the hard to get areas.

When the Tanzanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Tax had an audience with President Chakwera at Kamuzu Palace earlier this week she indicated that the Tanzanian government was preparing to dispatch a 30 truckload of good items and other supplies to Malawi to assist the disaster affected people, we never expected that the trucks will be in the country this soon.

Today, Saturday March 25, the Tanzanian government lived to its word when the Tanzanian High Commissioner to Malawi Humphrey Polepole handed over relief items to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nancy Tembo at Chichiri MDF camp in Blantyre.

Some of the items include 6,000 blankets, 31 family tents, 195 tonnes of maize flour and 59 field combat engineers

This is perhaps a practical example of what it means to be a friend in need.