Greetings from Malawi

It was back on January 31 that we were first approached by Word Renew about supporting a project that was under consideration for Malawi. If it materialized, it would be our first International Relief Manager (IRM) assignment since completing training and joining the team in early 2020. It would also be the first new IRM assignment for World Renew since the Covid-19 pandemic was declared, and almost all international travel was suspended in March, 2020. Knowing very little about the location or the project – but anxious to finally get out into the field - we eagerly agreed.

We received word on February 16 that the project was moving forward, and also got our first glimpse of what it might look like. There had been tremendous devastation in South East Africa from a number of successive cyclones and tropical storms that had made landfall starting in January – destroying villages, wiping out crops and livestock, cutting the power supply, and washing away roads and bridges leaving many locations completely inaccessible. Here is an excerpt from the project proposal that provides a brief overview of the situation:

Since early 2022, Malawi has been hit by repeated tropical storms including the devastating Cyclone Ana. ... Cyclone Ana hit in January 24th, Cyclone Batsirai in early February and Cyclone Gombe in mid-March, Cyclone Ana has had the worst impact in comparison to previous years of cyclones… An estimated 221,127 households, totalling 994,967 people were affected with 32,935 households (153,000 individuals) being displaced … As at 30 January, heavy rainfall and floods following Tropical Cyclone Ana had damaged about 34,000 hectares of cropland.. On 26th January 2022 the State President, declared a State of National Disaster following the Cyclone Ana.

The scale of the disaster and the impact on those affected is overwhelming – and the need for a response was urgent. It’s quite amazing how quickly World Renew was able to respond. We were on our way to Malawi by March 9 – and much pre-work had already been completed by the World Renew team before we arrived.

The long journey to Malawi started with a stopover in Toronto – where we were able to visit World Renew’s Canadian headquarters in Burlington, and to personally meet many of the staff members that we had previously only met via Zoom. We completed a pre-trip briefing there, and received some very welcome advice from the veterans in the room.

The next day we departed Toronto on the 13 hour flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where we changed planes and continued on to Ndola, Zambia, and then finally on to Blantyre, Malawi. We were able to rest in Blantyre for a few days, adjusting to the 40 degree temperature swing and the 9 hour time zone change, before meeting up with our World Renew colleagues who were travelling in from Nairobi, Kenya and Lilongwe, Malawi.

From Blantyre we travelled to Chikwawa, one of the hardest hit areas, and the place we would call home for the next 3 ½ months. The next 5 days were spent in a series of meetings – in displacement camps where we met with the people and their leaders whose villages and belongings had been destroyed, with various government officials, with other NGOs active in the area, and with our local partner in this project – Eagles Relief and Development Programme. The intent was to get a good idea as to the most urgent needs, to identify what responses were already underway or planned, where the gaps existed, and to ensure an aligned approach with all other organizations.

We had an opportunity to tour some of the destroyed villages, and to really understand the devastation the storms had caused. We saw the harsh living conditions people were facing in the camps, and the very limited food and other provisions they have access to.

Most lost everything in the floods – escaping the rapidly rising waters with only what they could carry in their arms. Yet through that all, there is a remarkable courage, strength, and even joy in the people we’ve met. It’s quite amazing to see. Malawi is known as the warm heart of Africa – and that comes through continuously in all our interactions with them – despite this being the most difficult of conditions.

What a privilege to be able to observe the World Renew team in action - Matilda Okech, Disaster Response Manager - East and Southern Africa , David Kangangi, Project Coordinator, and Faye Yu, Malawi Senior Program Consultant. They worked tirelessly through that first week – consolidating all the information received through all the meetings – and working through the night to draft a project proposal and secure the approvals needed to start our work here. We will be working on a food distribution program in 3 different camps, benefitting 1,500 households, for a 3 month period.

Planning is now well underway, with the first distribution planned for the 3rd week in April. There is a long list of to do items that will need to be taken care of before then, including further coordination with various stakeholders, creation and training of committees within each of the camps to support the project, community awareness activities, and procurement and shipping. We will provide more information as to how things are progressing in our next update. Stay tuned….

Pam & Henry

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