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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The temporary camp at Lisao is home to 433 displaced survivors of the devastating mudslides and floods that swept so many to their death.
The partially decomposed body of one sister in the Lord was buried where she was found, some 15 Km from her home.
The camp has been mostly cut off and has received only one supply of food in the past 10 days – enough to last a 2 or 3 days at most.
Harold made a difficult, exploratory journey on motorcycle today to assess the needs there. The people are
hungry and afraid of a possibility of an outbreak of malaria, living as they are in open school classrooms with no mosquito nets.
We have an early meeting tomorrow with the local village chiefs in our area to discuss how we can help there, and then Harold and I are going to try to get through with supplies in the afternoon if the road is passable. Please pray that it will stay dry overnight and that my ageing Land Cruiser (which has given so much trouble of late) will rise to the challenge.
Above all, pray that the Lord will overrule in these dreadful circumstances to bring glory to his Name, and blessing to the lost.
Please pray for those affected by Cyclone Freddy. Brother Goodson reports that the roof of his own sister’s house was blown away yesterday. This morning, the homes of a sister at Saidi and the carpenter who works on site there, have suffered partial collapse.
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
We are delighted to update you on progress with our plans to ship Prison & Pupil packs from N America.
During his recent visit to Ontario, Stephen was able to revive earlier discussions with ACCTS which had stalled due to the pandemic.
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.
We all continue to be moved by the needless loss of life and terrible humanitarian crisis occurring in Ukraine. We give thanks for faithful believers ministering to those in need.
However, we ought not to forget the untold millions of the world’s poor who are born into insufferable hardship. They live every day of their lives in hopeless despondency.
What a blessing to be back with the brothers and sisters in Malawi!
I arrived in time to join the monthly get together of workers at Goodson’s house at the Saidi project site. It’s a joy to see how well the team is gelling. It’s obvious that the Lord of the Harvest has brought His labourers together in His harvest field.
