Blantyre-based actress Mercy Malinga was vibrant in her artistic exploits but now has a problem with eye sight which is threatening her career.
Despite engaging herself in trades such as events planning and online business, among others, to make ends meet, acting has been her main source of income but, since last year, Malinga has been grounded.
Malinga’s passion for art, particularly acting, has seen her working with a number of players over the years before making another huge step to work with Neptune Productions Inc which in collaboration with Times Group has been airing productions on Times Television including Spouses and Workmates.
Working fulltime for Neptune Productions Inc saw her playing a huge role in the production of Spouses and Workmates including acting.
And for those who have followed the soapie, the name Malinga is not that new, she has shown her acting prowess in one of the roles until last year when she experienced an eye sight problem.
And since last year after the eye problem developed, Malinga has not been part of Spouses and Workmates.
Since last year when the eye problem was diagnosed, Malinga has been to different hospitals but the healing process has been slow.
Today, she does not see clearly but there is an improvement from last year when she could not do things on her own.
“Last year the situation was worse, I could not do things on my own. I needed help in everything because I could not see but now there is an improvement,” Malinga said.
But how did the eye problem start?
“It was in March last year when I started seeing things like fog. In fact before that in February when I was in Chigumula I used to see with difficulty but things turned worse in March,” she said.
It was later on that she decided to go to the hospital to have her eyes checked at the Eye Sight and was told that she needed glasses in that she had a problem of short sight.
“I could not manage glasses then but with the help of a friend I got the glasses and could see clearly but later I also started experiencing difficulties,” Malinga said.
She said it was hard for her to work in that she was struggling to see things clearly and that she recalls that during one of the shootings, she found it hard to proceed with the work.
“It was after we had done shooting on April 25 last year that I decided to go back to the hospital for consultation.
The medical personnel did their work and gave me medication which they said would have side effects and that I will have problems seeing for three weeks and then everything would be back to normal,” Malinga explained.
But after three weeks, she never gain her sight and that the problem persisted such that she had to go to the hospital again for more consultations before she was told to go for other tests which turned out to be negative.
In December last year she was referred to Nkhoma Hospital in Lilongwe where she had further scans and she was given more medication.
“There have been more processes but I have remained strong. It has been hard really especially where you have been used to working hard and now you cannot,” she said.
Malinga said she has not given up and believes she will get better but is looking for more support.
“If I can have a chance of going outside the country and seek more medical attention then the better. I cannot do it on my own because I do not have money,” the actress said.
Malinga said at the moment because she has no work, she has to struggle to pay rentals and also get money to buy food and other necessities to sustain her home.
“I am not working at the moment and I am doing nothing. I would like to thank all well-wishers who after they learnt of my problem have been raising funds assisting me. And for those who would still want to assist me they are welcome,” she said.
Malinga said, despite having the sight challenge, she still has the energy and that with assistance she can be able to work.
“I do not want to stay like this, I want to work and make money and sustain myself as I used to do and for those who would want to utilise my services in event planning, wedding planning and even doing programmes on television and radio I can manage,” she said.
The former Chombe Tea employee who worked as a receptionist before moving to stores, warehouse and later accounts, said she misses acting at the moment, having been away since last year.
Before moving to acting in soapies, Malinga has also had stints on stage as well as working in other promotional projects with companies such as EXP.
It is painful for her that she no longer can move around as she used to as she spends much of her time at home, which turns out to be boring, but she is hoping for something better.
