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March 31, 2023
Sylvester made it back safely from Blantyre (most of the bridges are washed out). “We delivered 675 kgs of corn flour (27bgs of 25), 100 pieces of blankets, 100 pieces of plastic sheets, 25 packs (sanitary pads) 50 plates and 32 buckets.” Sylvester delivered his official report (see below) on his team’s efforts to the District Council and confirm that the Lihaka group had been transitioned to a DoDMA relief partner. We will continue to follow the relief efforts and advise on our next steps.
Official Report March 30, 2023
Update
The number of people stranded on the hilltop has been reduced to 390. The other half found a place to stay with family and friends, and were able to be evacuated.
The remaining 390 people still have no place to go.
Sylvester is off to Blantyre to pick up essential food and supplies for our stranded families.
Once he has delivered this load, we plan to transition the 390 people over to a relief organization such as Oxfam.
Following this, we will start planning our next stage of support. We will provide biochar training sessions for families who are getting back to their land. We will still need help in assisting some families with their transition back home.
Update March 23
From Sylvester, our Warm Heart Country manager in Malawi:
“Hello family, today we managed to deliver 35 bags of 10kgs maize flour, 10 bags of 50 kgs Maize, salt, 3 cartons of soap, 2 bags Top Soy (relish) of 50 pieces each, 1 bag salt of 10 kgs, and 2 bags beans of 50kgs each.” We bought food in Phalombe. We met the representative of the camp including committee, they signed in the delivery note form confirming their receipt.
We crossed the river to reach the other side of the river bank where families are stranded and taking refuge in a school house.”
The situation there remains dire.
Sister Miriam Paulette, our Warm Heart Strategic Advisor, & Liaison in Malawi reported:
“No group has reached these groups apart from the Warm Heart team that’s why they were complaining that they have been sidelined just because the roads to their camps are impassable.”
In total, the people that we are feeding are those 776 who got stuck at Makuwa but now are camping at Lihaka. From this number, there are about 390 people that are in dire need,
Our friends and biochar partners in Malawi are working on helping the families in the area that have been devastated by Cyclone Freddy. Sylvester, one of our Country Managers writes:
March 18, 2023
Hello family, today we are spending a night at Migowi trading center. We didn’t manage to evacuate people from Makuwa to Matawa school because we arrived late due to bad roads but also local leaders from Makuwa school asked to meet us first before evacuating people.
Our initial plan was to move people to Migowi, but upon reaching Migowi, we found that Migowi is 20 kilometers away from where people of Makuwa were expected to dock their boats.
Instead, we traveled by motorcycle to meet two local leaders, representatives of Makuwa Camp together with local leaders from Matawa primary school where some other homeless people are camping there.
After discussions, the two sides agreed that only those that are in critical need should be allowed to relocate because the place is already occupied with others.
We learned that Makuwa school is one of camps that is overcrowded. Besides, the camp is not accessible by road. The one that used to be a road is now a big river.
As we were waiting for the representatives from Makuwa school, chiefs at Matawa asked us to check also another nearby camp sitting at the edge of a mountain. I could not imagine sailing on a river that used to be a road.
Water has overflowed everywhere. We passed maize and tobacco fields, they were all smelling badly as the crops are rotting in water.
Tomorrow, we are expected to start evacuating people from Makuwa.
