Cyclone survivors hail WFP food assistance initiative
Cyclone Freddy survivors in Chikwawa District have commended World Food Programme (WFP) for providing them with food.
One of the survivors Flonesi James, speaking on Friday at Gonda Primary School during distribution of take-home rations to 255 affected families in Traditional Authority (T/A) Ngabu, said they could have been starving without the support.
“We are not worried about food as WFP ensures we have enough. Without this, we could have been struggling because our crop fields were washed away by floods,” she said.
Eluby Everson of Mgwama Village said the initiative supports development of their children.
She said: “The nutritious corn soya blend meal has been key to the health of our children and keeps them in schools.
“Despite losing our food, they still eat all six food groups courtesy of the initiative.”
WFP country director Paul Turnbull in an interview said they strive to ensure that food needs of the survivors are being met.
He said: “We implement home-grown school meals project in 199 schools that benefit 212 000 learners across the country.
“But these take-home rations are for learners in the affected areas to take the food home for parents to prepare and feed entire families before they come to school. This is meant to keep children in school and for affected households to have food.”
Turnbull said they are committed to saving and changing lives of the survivors.
The United Nations agency that fights hunger is implementing the three-month intervention with support from the European Union.
