ADRA Malawi donates to Nsanje flood victims

By Elias Banda

ADRA Malawi has donated food items worth K1.5 million ($8, 982) as a response to floods that hit Nsanje District in the lower shire valley.
In January, 448 households in Nsanje were displaced and crops destroyed due to heavy floods,  making people vulnerable to starvation and water borne diseases.
The Nsanje District Commissioner (DC) Rodney Simwaka was quoted in the local press as saying that flooding originated from Shire, Nyamalikombe and Thanguzi rivers, heavily hitting Bangula and Phokela areas where 323 houses were destroyed and 125 other houses partially submerged.
He said people whose houses were damaged sought refuge in classrooms, a situation that affected the education systems as some schools risked being closed.
The DC also disclosed that 550 toilets were washed away, posing a health risk and he called for emergency health facilities to dispel chances of a possible cholera outbreak.
ADRA Malawi joined other none governmental organizations responding to the disaster by donating 3 tones of Likuni Phala (soy flour) and 10,000 kilograms of maize. The donation was done on April 15, 2012  in Traditional Authority Mlolo, one of the affected areas along the Shire East Bank.  
Speaking in an interview, ADRA Finance Director Elijah Menyere said the donation was a direct response to those affected due to flooding.