Donations Bring Relief to Climate Disaster-Stricken Malawi Community
Traditional Authority Mtumbwinda appealed for more assistance, saying the 240 households were "just a small number" of those needing help after the compounded disasters.
MACHINGA, Malawi - Two organizations provided emergency food aid worth K10 million this week to families in a rural community devastated by consecutive years of climate disasters, offering temporary reprieve as they work to build longer-term resilience, writes Winston Mwale.
On Wednesday, the Mlato Foundation and its local partner Foyode donated maize, soya pieces and other supplies to 240 households in Traditional Authority Mtumbwinda's area of Machinga District.
The area was affected by Cyclone Freddy in 2023 and a prolonged dry spell in 2024, causing residents to lose their livelihoods.
"People in the community depend on rain-fed agriculture as a source of income. They grow rice and maize...These two disasters have pushed a lot of families into poverty," said Jenipher Changwanda, Acting Executive Director of Mlato Foundation.
She said the donation would "ease some of the problems that the community is facing due to the climate change aftermath" as the organizations work on strategies to help them adapt.
Mphatso Kapito, Foyode's Executive Director, painted a dire picture - people living in cramped shelters, lack of privacy fueling marital conflicts, men abandoning families they cannot provide for.
"Most people do not have food in their households making them food insecure...People are sleeping on empty stomachs," he said.
Dodma representative Justice Mzumara thanked the groups for the "timely support" and advised beneficiaries against selling the aid.
Traditional Authority Mtumbwinda appealed for more assistance, saying the 240 households were "just a small number" of those needing help after the compounded disasters.
The donations provide urgent relief.
But Changwanda said sustained efforts are needed, including distributing drought-resistant seeds and developing irrigation to "empower the community with climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies."