Kuchene Women Forum has disbursed K45 million to 405 food-insecure households in Nsanje District to enable them to buy food during the lean season.
Speaking on Tuesday during a pay parade at Chiphwembwe in Traditional Authority (T/A) Malemia, the organisation’s executive director Mary Namalomba said they noted that some people were sleeping on empty stomachs due to severe hunger in the district.
She said: “The beneficiaries include people affected by Cyclone Freddy and dry spells. These people have nothing to eat. That is why with support from our partner ActionAid Malawi we raised K45 million for the initiative.
“Today we are reaching out to 405 people and out of that figure, 85 are the elderly, 121 vulnerable women, 140 sponsored children and 40 men from T/As Malemia, Ngabu and Mbenje. Each of them has received K100 000.”
Nsanje district commissioner Dominic Mwandira thanked Kuchene Women Forum and ActionAid Malawi for supporting people with money to buy food.
He urged other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to emulate the example set by the two NGOs, saying Cyclone Freddy and dry spells badly affected crop production in the district.
One of the beneficiaries, Rose Mzamva from Chiphwembwe Village in T/A Malemia, said she will use the money to buy two bags of maize.
“My family had no food. I was surviving on tubers,” she said.
Another beneficiary Peter Mfundisi from Tizora Village in T/A Mbenje said he was failing to generate money to buy food.
He said: “Maize is available on the market, but we canot afford it due to exorbitant prices. The money we received is enough for two bags,” he said.
The 2024 Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee report shows that at least 5.7 million Malawians will be food-insecure during the lean season
