Disaster response for vulnerable communities

It is Friday afternoon. People have converged at Traditional Authority (T/A) Chikumbu’s court in Mulanje District.

They are 1 150 elderly persons and those with disabilities affected by  Tropical Storm Ana. They were identified to receive a once-off cash relief of K28 000 from the Malawi Network of Older Persons Organisation (Manepo).

Among the beneficiaries is Lawrence Nasiyaya, 64, from Chinomba Village in T/A Chikumbu whose house and crop fields were damaged by the storm which affected 18 224 households in the district.

“My house was destroyed by the storm. The wind blew off the roof.  My maize crops were also affected and there is nothing left in my garden,” he says.

Nasiyaya says the money he received will go a long way in solving the problems of food and shelter which have been bothering him since he met his fate.

“I thank God for this opportunity to be among the elderly receiving this money. I will buy a bag of maize as well as poles to thatch my house whose roof was blown off by the winds during the tropical storm,” says Nasiyaya.

Another beneficiary, Tereza Mitambo from Sekeya Village who cannot remember her age, says she is seeking shelter at her child’s house because she does not have any.

“This situation is not pleasant because an elderly person like me deserves to be in her house, not sleeping in her children’s house. I need some privacy,” she says.

Manepo executive director Andrew Kavala says they want to address the needs of the most vulnerable in T/As  Chikumbu, Juma and Mthiramanja through cash transfers to support them with food and shelter as well as  water, sanitation and hygiene (Wash).

He says: “We conducted a household vulnerability survey of those identified in conjunction with the district council using the Manepo questionnaire specifically designed for emergency assessment.

“This was done to ensure there was transparency in the selection of recipients.”

Kavala says Manepo sourced funds from Help Age International to enable the organisation reach out to the two categories of the society. However, the director observes that from the 1 150 relief aid beneficiaries, 788 are older people and 362 are people with disabilities.

Kavala urges the beneficiaries to spend the funds on priority needs like shelter rehabilitation and buy materials towards Wash.

Mulanje district relief and rehabilitation officer Mariah Joseph says it is important for partners to come and help in the recovery process for people whose houses were destroyed, especially the elderly and people with disabilities.

He says: “In this case, for people whose houses were destroyed, they need support to build resilient housesthose that are resilient and stand against storms.

“Such houses need a lot of building materials and for an elderly person, it is difficult.

“In an event that stakeholders intervene, they will have improved houses for the elderly.”

He, however, suggests that there is need to support the elderly and people with disabilities with model houses in their communities.

“Having such houses will mean that even local communities and brick layers would want to adopt the design when implementing construction projects. In the end, our communities will have strong houses that withstand harsh weather conditions,” says Joseph.

He calls on different partners to continue providing support to people affected by the recent cyclones, not only in Mulanje, but other areas as well.

Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) public relations officer Chipiliro Khamula says tropical storm Ana affected 995 000 people and 190 000 sought refuge in 178 camps established in 13 of the 19 affected councils.

He says: “In fact, most of the people who were affected by Tropical Storm Ana are the same who were affected by Troipical Storm Gombe. I am proud that Dodma provided timely support delivered to the affected populations through their respective district councils, including the vulnerable.

“Much as priority is given to vulnerable groups, providing relief assistance specifically to vulnerable groups and leaving out others would be discriminatory.”