MALAWIANS have paid tribute to Glasgow's "generosity" after receiving vital medical and computer supplies from the city.

Lord Provost Sadie Docherty met with Monica Dzonzi, manager of the Bangwe Youth Centre in Blantyre, Malawi, who thanked her for the support.

Dozens of computers, funded by the Lord Provost's Burns Supper this year, have been handed over to the youth centre.

Locals are also given training on how to use and fix the equipment.

The Lord Provost said: "The local government there request things that they would like. We're not going in and giving them stuff they won't use.

"We never send anything that someone has not specifically asked for."

"The training is really important, it means they then have the skills to fix computers.

"It's a very important part of it for me. While it's charity of a sort, it has an end result in that Malawians are being trained to do something."

The Lord Provost will visit the African country later this year to mark the tenth anniversary of Glasgow's relationship with the country.

She will visit various projects which have been helped by Glasgow City Council over the years, including newly-built HIV, maternity and prosthetics clinics.

Since 2004, Glasgow has sent hundreds of boxes of medical supplies and IT equipment to the country.

hannah.rodger@ eveningtimes.co.uk