Oxfam America tours flood victims

A delegation of Oxfam officials from the United States of America yesterday visited flood victims in Phalombe District to assess the impact of the disaster.

The team included donors who came to see for themselves how their financial contributions are supporting people affected by Cyclone Idai that hit Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi this year.

While visiting three places in Phalombe, the American delegation saw the interventions Oxfam Malawi has been implementing in helping flood victims rebuild their lives. The interventions include the donation of seeds to the victims to grow vegetables, beans and sweet potatoes.

In addition, Oxfam Malawi drilled 40 boreholes to mitigate sanitation challenges people experienced after the floods.

Speaking to the media after the visit, a donor from Oxfam America, Jim Kraft, said he was impressed by the work Oxfam Malawi is doing in supporting flood victims to recover from their loss.

“As a donor who has contributed to Oxfam for 20 years, I wanted to see how that money has been making a difference in the people we target for support. Most amazingly, I am moved by the resilience of people who were hit by the disaster in this country,” he said.

In her remarks, Oxfam Malawi country director Lingalireni Mihowa thanked the American team for their visit, saying this will motivate them to fundraise more to assist the victims get back on their feet.

“Their coming will help raise more funds for our brothers and sisters here at home. We are now looking forward to donating farm inputs to people to prepare for the new growing season around October and November,” she said.

Phalombe South legislator Mary Livunza Mpanga hailed Oxfam for the interventions in the area, saying they have put some households on the path to recovery.

“This visit by Oxfam together with their interventions is well appreciated and I want to assure the victims that government, through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma), will continue to support them in a number of ways,” she said.

So far, Oxfam has reached out to close to 200,000 people affected by floods in the country.

This year, about 800 000 Malawians were affected by heavy rains, especially in March.