Malawi Charity Aids Caregivers With Farm Supplies Amid High Prices
Beneficiary and grandmother Coster Nyirongo thanked the foundation for answering her prayers after she exhausted income sources.
MZIMBA, Malawi— A philanthropic group led by an American donated bags of fertilizer to dozens of unpaid community health workers in northern Malawi this week, aiming to ease the burden of rising agricultural input costs, writes Soyapi Jalanthowa.
Country director Dinary Kankhuni said Linda Ward Foundation International distributed 80 50-kilogram bags of fertilizer Thursday to help sustain the volunteer caregivers and their families working in villages around Kamteteka as Malawi copes with food security challenges.
“After noting that they have challenges buying fertiliser, we decided to bail them out by distributing the inputs so that they are able at least to grow food crops to cater for their families,” Kankhuni announced during a small gathering of recipients.
Foundation executive director Linda Ward said they plan to reach more elderly residents struggling amid skyrocketing fertilizer prices that shot up in the landlocked southern African nation this year after global supply shocks.
Beneficiary and grandmother Coster Nyirongo thanked the foundation for answering her prayers after she exhausted income sources.
“I was wondering where I would find fertiliser to grow maize, but now that God has answered my plea through the foundation, I am very happy,” she said.
Group Village Headman Wajingo Theu welcomed the intervention but implored the charity to extend relief more broadly across Mzimba, given how widely families are feeling the economic pinch.
The nutrition assistance project falls under the purview of the Linda Ward Foundation's efforts to bolster youth, women’s groups, and other development initiatives.