Preparations for the 2023 Umtheto Cultural Festival Celebrations have received a K500, 000 boost, thanks to the generosity of Chibuku Products Limited (CPL).
CPL handed over the donation on Monday, 7th August, 2023. The festival will be held at Hora in Mzimba District from Wednesday, 9th August to Saturday, 12th August, 2023.
Making the donation at the company’s regional offices in Mzuzu, the Operations Manager for the Northern Region, Patrick Dzanja said the company knows the importance of such cultural events, hence the donation.
“Being a Malawian company, we recognize the importance of giving back to our customers, and this is one way of giving back to the community we are operating within” Said Dzanja.
He further said just as the country’s leadership and the company’s management is promoting unity among Malawians of different cultural, religious, and traditional values, the saw it worthy to contribute something towards the event that promotes cultural values among the Ngoni people of Mzimba and unity among all Malawians.
In his remarks, Vice Chairperson for Mzimba Heritage Association, Timothy Soko hailed the gesture by Chibuku Products Limited towards the Umthetho festival for this year, adding that the company has been among many longtime partners since the year 2008 when the annual Umthetho celebrations started.
Soko further told the media in an interview that it is very important for Malawians to be promoting various cultural values which are legally accepted by the country’s laws.
“Losing cultural values is losing one’s identity. Any tribe must follow its traditions and be recognized by what they stand for as a cultural grouping, as Ngoni of Mzimba, we always make sure that through Umthetho annual event, people are able to know us as the Ngoni of Mzimba”. Added Soko.
Chibuku Products Limited has also been a Government partner during the recent devastation by Cyclone Freddy through donation of various items including construction of houses for some survivors of the catastrophe.
