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Edward reports on an impending crisis which threatens the existence of the Street Kids feeding centre in Lilongwe.

SALT gives regular financial support, but does not actively run the feeding centre in Lilongwe. They do an amazing work feeding street kids and other very vulnerable people who would otherwise starve.

Please remember this situation in prayer.

Transcript

Greetings to all of you friends and partners of Divine Touch Youth Foundation in Malawi, where we feed the children – those that are street kids, the mammas that goes around in town begging and those that are vulnerable. So our main aim is that we always do this in order to show them the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, we got this is an opportunity that as we are feeding them, we should also be preaching the Word of God to them. Mchesi has been an area where a lot of prostitution drug addicts and a lot of alcoholism has been taking place.

I would like to appreciate the kind gesture that SALT has been doing. SALT has been blessing us  a lot, have been sending us funds that have been helping us in many ways to keep this running. So, we’d like to thank you all the members of SALT, wherever you are it’s been a privilege that we have you as partners as friends

We just have finished the feeding – all these few people you can see them around means that you are finishing the feeding

We have got a need this year. We’ve got a challenge. We always have got corn but as I’m talking right now, the corn that we had last year is the one that we are finishing this month, that will mean we will not have any corn any more.

So looking at how much corn we normally use five hundred bags and that caters for the whole year and those who normally purchase them for us they told us that they have been having difficulties to have funds that they can be able to buy corn as well as beans that can cater for the whole year

So we are saying this so that you can take note of and you can be praying for us because we know that if we don’t have corn this year, then that will mean that the feeding center needs to be shut off, and that will mean that all the people we’ve been helping and feeding and people have been preaching to they will never have any chance to come and get food here.

But that will mean that they will starve because whatever meal they get here whether once a day, it helps them. It sustains them.

God bless you.

Take note that we always appreciate. Thank you so much. We wish you all the best. Thank you for.

One year on, team members share their thoughts on the challenges and opportunities of Cyclone Freddy.

Recorded in October 2023

Transcript:

After the Cyclone Freddy happened we visited so many camps preaching the gospel and giving out some flour as a relief measure

So that has also been an eye opening to me as regards to the problems that people face when it comes to disasters like this

Initially the work started with would I say it immediate response relief. So distributing food to the camps. And with that distribution also sharing the gospel with people. But in the recent months it’s been more about rebuilding the houses of some whose homes fell during the storm.

From the time that we met with the problem of the cyclone Freddy we started to visiting in to the different camps and also we share the food and right now we are rebuilding the houses for the few families and we are already finishing nine houses

The great part of Cyclone Freddy is that we were able to visit as many people and preach the gospel in an environment where the hearts are so ready to receive the gospel in the camps that we’ve been trying to visit we are the only organization that has been able to make an impact both spiritual and physical

We’ve been able to go there and preach the gospel on a weekly basis some organizations just visited the camps once and gave them like five kgs of maize

Very encouraging because when the brothers and sisters from other countries when they listen the problem here in Malawi they take part to help us

So this is [a] very [great] encouragement And I pray for the sisters and brothers who will take the part to help us here in Malawi

And also I ask them to continue to help us because we have still a problem here

It’s been a good opportunity to share the love of Christ in a practical way. We’ve gotten to know some people that we wouldn’t know otherwise. The situation is not over and we’re in for a really bad couple of months because of the destruction of crops from the cyclone.

And the needs aren’t going away. They’re just getting more and more. So pray for wisdom discernment and kind hearts. Caring hearts.

Because it can be overwhelming.

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Food Insecurity has improved only marginally after Cyclone Freddy. Many areas, especially in the Southern Region, remain in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and remaining official maize reserves are only enough to feed 200,000 households for 1 month, according to official estimates.

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Introduction

In March, Cyclone Freddy wreaked havoc in Malawi, causing immense destruction and loss of life. With a total death toll of over 1000 and over 1,000,000 people displaced, the impact of the disaster was heart-wrenching. The storm destroyed thousands of hectares of mature maize, leaving communities vulnerable to hunger and economic challenges. In the face of this catastrophe, SALT tried to respond with compassion, wisdom and determination. The Lord enabled us to provide emergency aid to over 1000 people from around 10 villages.

The Lord’s people responded generously . We want to update you on our ongoing relief efforts and how we plan to continue helping those affected by Cyclone Freddy.

Immediate Relief Efforts

In the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Freddy, our team visited numerous evacuation camps, like the one at Lisao. We distributed much-needed emergency aid to the affected communities. The aid included plastic sheeting for emergency shelter, 13,500 kgs of maize flour, approximately 670 kgs of beans, and 2300 soap tablets. While we were able to provide assistance to those in need, we faced challenges as most of the evacuation camps were in school buildings, which were disbanded later, forcing people back to their villages, often with no choice but to rely on already impoverished relatives.

Assisting Vulnerable Individuals

Recognizing the plight of vulnerable people, such as widows or those caring for orphans, we aim to construct 15 new houses, as we are able. Additionally, we plan to assist in repairing numerous other houses for vulnerable individuals in the affected villages. However, the serious economic difficulties in the country, including scarcity and soaring prices of cement and shortages of fuel, have posed significant challenges to our efforts. Nevertheless, we remain committed to providing safe and secure housing for those who need it most.

Buying maize for later in the year
House construction at Pa Mchenga.JPG

Preparing for the Future

To improve long-term food security for our community, we have taken the initiative to purchase a reserve of over 12 tons of maize. We will distribute this later in the year to alleviate hunger. Moreover, we are determined to enhance our ability to respond effectively to emergencies like Cyclone Freddy in the future. With some of the funds donated, we plan to invest in an irrigation system on several acres of farmland adjacent to our site. We hope this project will significantly improve our capacity to support the needs of the community during times of crisis.

Impacting Lives with the Gospel

Our aim is always to keep the Gospel “front and centre”. Through all our interventions, we have had the privilege of sharing the Gospel with those we have assisted. This has had a profound impact on the affected communities. One heartwarming message of gratitude that we received reads,

“we want to thank you for the help you have given without respect of religion… the people are very grateful because you have helped more than all the other help we received and also because of the Good News which you sowed.”

The opportunity to bring comfort and the hope of the Gospel through actions and words has been the greatest blessing during this difficult time.

Conclusion

We continue to rebuild and provide assistance in the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy. We are deeply committed to supporting the affected communities in our vicinity. We trust that our relief efforts, though challenging, have been a testament to the power of compassion, generosity, and faith. We thank all our supporters and donors who have made this possible. With your continued support, we aim to bring lasting change and resilience to the lives of those affected by the cyclone. Together, we can rebuild hope, one step at a time.

Tropical Cyclone Freddy claimed the lives of thousands, while hundreds of thousands more have been displaced by the flood and mudslides. SALT is working to relieve need and share the Gospel among a few of them in the Zomba and Chiradzulu districts. We shot this video during our visit to Lisao Camp, approximately 10 days after the cyclone struck.

It seems like every day we hear fresh stories of desperation. We thank the Lord for moving his people to give so that we are able to respond to some of those most in need.

You can read here about SALT’s interim incident response plan.

Reliefweb report: https://reliefweb.int/report/mozambique/southern-africa-tropical-cyclone-freddy-flash-update-no-7-14-march-2023

As heavy rain continues to fall, the situation continues to develop. It’s still too early to say what the scale of the disaster is – but it is a disaster! The death toll from Cyclone Freddy Malawi has already exceeded 100, and some people have been in touch to ask what they can do as part of the relief effort.

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Cyclone Freddy’s position & predicted path on 7 March

Tropical Cyclone Freddy has already caused serious disruption and some loss of life as it passed over Madagascar and Mozambique.

After heading back to the Indian Ocean, Freddy has again begun to track towards the coast on a path which would take it to Malawi by this coming weekend.

Many families are still affected by last year’s Cyclone Ana. Please pray that the many tens (hundreds?) of thousands of people very vulnerable to serious weather-problems will be spared further hardship. Pray too that these difficulties may be used by the Lord to create increased opportunities for the Gospel.

Click here to see the latest position of Tropical Cyclone Freddy

Wati asks: Please continue to pray for Malawi’s economic situation and for food availability. Prices have been rising steeply, with higher than normal prices for maize and various other items.

Please pray for people’s preservation and that the Lord will draw people to Himself.

Note: Over the past week, we have been buying maize from local villagers. This puts desperately needed cash into the local economy, and also enables us to run some of our local feeding programmes. Maize is presently 75-100% more expensive than at the corresponding time last year, mainly due to much lower supply, as well as the inflationary effects of the recent currency devaluation.

According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, the cyclone earlier this year, and the poor maize harvest means that significant parts of the Southern / Central Regions are already “In Crisis” or “Stressed”, with the harvest only 1-2 months past. The outlook for the remainder of this year is not good. We intend to purchase some 15-20 Tonnes maize over the next few weeks in anticipation of difficult months ahead.

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