THE Lord Provost was joined by her three-year-old granddaughter for a special mission of mercy.

Sadie Docherty and Grace were at at the City Property depot in Glentannar Road yesterday to wave off a container of aid for Milawi.

It was the 39th container the Lord Provost and her office has sponsored for the African country over the past 12 years after the council developed links with the area.

The Lord Provost's links with Malawi stretch back to 2005 when part of the proceeds of the Lord Provost's annual Burns Supper went to help Malawi, and have done so every year since.

The total raised is more than £365,000.

Projects the Lord Provost and her international office have been involved in include upgrading a medical centre, the construction of an HIV/Aids clinic and a prosthetics and orthotics clinic.

In addition, they have provided more than 2,300 items of medical equipment, more than 6,300 boxes of medical supplies, more than 1,600 desktop and 61 laptop computers and associated IT and office equipment.

And, since 2004, Glasgow City Council has sent hundreds of employees and school kids to Malawi to help with special projects.

In 2014, the Malawi Leaders of Learning project was set up to share knowledge and improve education of children in the country's capital of Blantyre.

Mrs Docherty visited Malawi herself in 2014, where she saw youth centres, an infants' home, schools and clinics which the city council helped build.

She said she was pleased to see the real difference the work that the council, and its partners, was having on the ground.

She visited Bangwe youth centre, in Blantyre, and described it as "encouraging and inspiring."

She added: "I could see what we are doing is making life better for the young people in Malawi, especially girls.

"T project really impressed me because it is really empowering and raising aspirations, particularly for young women. Centres like that, and the Thyolo youth centre, which I also toured, are the gold standard for others that have been set up."

A team of workers from City Building (Glasgow) LLP previously travelled to Malawi to carry out critical improvements on a medical centre.

The City Building team worked with Glasgow City Council and Access LLP, and built a new kitchen and toilet at the medical centre, as well as a new dental suite, pharmacy and laboratory. In addition, all the centre's rooms were decorated and re-floored.

The team also built short stay accommodation, a breakout area for parents and children, an outdoor play area and a ramp to ensure the facility is accessible.