New homes excite flood survivors

Each rainy season, fear grips people living in flood-prone parts of the Shire Valley hit hard by Cyclone Ana and Gombe early this year.

Every year, they lose lives, property and hope due to severe flooding and drought that have become more frequent and devastating due to climate change.

On the policymaking table, a consensus is emerging that government and its partners cannot continue spending resources responding to disasters.

This dials up calls for lasting solutions, including homes that can withstand recurrent flooding.

Meanwhile, Gift of the Givers Foundation is constructing 95 houses for survivors of cyclones Idai, Ana and Gombe.

Hamilton Fryton of Traditional Authority (T/A) Mankhuwira in Chikwawa commends the charity for giving him a resilient home to replace his grass-thatched house destroyed by Idai three years ago.

He narrates: “In March 2019, relentless rains started falling at noon. By midnight, the whole village was flooded and houses collapsed.

“We fled to a congested camp where we spent months. Life in the overcrowded setting was not easy. We had nothing except the clothes we were wearing, so we became dependent on handouts.”

The father of seven lost five goats, 15 chickens and seven ducks in the tragedy.

He mainly survived on piecework in neighbouring fields and homes as relief items were scanty.

In January this year, the family was among nearly a million people affected by Ana.

“This worsened hunger and poverty as we were struggling to recover from the blow caused by Idai,” he laments.

Letasi Langton, 55, was saved by her children.

The woman with visual impairment counts herself lucky to have escaped danger before the torrents birthed floods.

“I was almost swept away by floods, but my children were close. They rescue me in time,” she recounts.

Langton thanks Gift of the Givers for building a house for her.

“For me, rebuilding has been long and costly. I am blind and my husband is too old to build one,” she explains.

Group village head Likinala says the housing project is timely as many survivors are grappling to rebuild.

The traditional leader says Gift of the Givers was among the first humanitarian organisations to come to the aid of the village.

However, he appealed for food aid as many people face hunger after losing their crops to Cyclone Ana.

“Many households need support till they can fend for themselves,” Likinala says.

Gift of the Givers has constructed 95 houses for the most vulnerable households.

Its country manager Sherifa Mia says: “As a disaster response organisation, we look at how we can help affected communities become resilient and this includes strong and decent houses.

“These houses are constructed to withstand heavy winds and flooding, two of the natural disasters that affect homes in Malawi.”

Apart from constructing model houses for disaster-prone areas, Gift of the Givers has delivered food aid and other relief items worth K278.7 million to 12 700 affected families in 12 districts.

“This year, we rehabilitated five irrigation schemes damaged by floods, provided portable solar pumps, trained 800 farmers and distributed farm inputs to 5,400 farmers,” Mia explains.

The charity also repaired 52 boreholes, drilled 14 more and fitted two with solar-powered pumps.

Besides, 10 schools in Mwanza and Chikwawa got 60 toilets and 20 change rooms.

Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) spokesperson Chipiliro Khamula commended Gift of the Givers for swiftly responding to different disasters.

Dodma has developed a national multi-hazard contingency plan in readiness for possible disasters.

“We have stockpiled relief items in strategic warehouses in Ntcheu, Lilongwe and Blantyre to ensure timely dispatch to the affected population.

“Apart from having three warehouses that stock relief items, the department has coordinated the establishment of a humanitarian staging area at Bangula in Nsanje to fast-track response to disasters in the Lower Shire.”

The essentials prepositioned at Bangula in the worst-prone valley include search-and-rescue equipment such as boats and relief items.

According to Khamula, Dodma also has standby arrangements for rapid deployment of search-and-rescue teams comprising soldiers, police officers, Marine Department officials and Malawi Red Cross Society crews if the need arises.