ADRA Malawi, SDA Church responds to flood situation

             By Elias Banda

ADRA Malawi and the Seventh –Day Adventist Church have provided relief items to 2,599 flood victims in some of the affected districts of Machinga, Phalombe and Mulanje. 

SDA Church members during relief distribution

The response came after heavy rains and severe flooding mid-January,  left about 200 people dead and more than 135000 displaced in 15 of the 28 districts of Malawi.
The victims, whose houses had collapsed, received safety kits which composed of buckets, plates, pots, cups, mosquito nets, plastic sheets, water treatment chemicals, basins, spoons and blankets.
Before the distribution exercise commenced, the ADRA Malawi Emergency Team verified names of the victims and visited their homes and most of them were found in churches and schools, where they sought shelter after their houses had collapsed.  The distribution operation was jointly done by ADRA Malawi staff and Adventist men, women and youths from local churches.
In Machinga, ADRA Malawi distributed relief items to 450 households in traditional authorities of; Kawinga, Mlomba and Liwonde, with support from Denmark. According to the Disaster Impact Report released earlier by the District Assistant Disaster Risk Management Officer, 29, 651 houses had collapsed in Machinga due to heavy rains and vicious winds. The report further indicated that the victims were desperately in need of food, shelter, plastic sheets and beddings.

ADRA Malawi staff and church members sorting out relief items before distribution

The Disaster Impact Assessment Report for Phalombe indicated that 34, 589 had collapsed, forcing the victims to seek shelter in school and church buildings. ADRA Malawi, with support from ADRA Afro, the Adventist Church, and ADRA International responded to the situation by providing relief items to 340 households in Traditional Authority Jenala in the district.
In Mulanje, the distribution operation was hampered by heavy rains that caused some roads leading to the distributions points to be impassable. A truck carrying relief items got stuck in the mud on

A woman feeling relieved after receiving her share

February 18 for several hours before it was pulled out near Saalam Village, where 123 flood victims were expected to receive relief items. The situation also caused delays in the delivery of relief items to Naluso and Mimosa in the district. In Mulanje, ADRA Malawi has distributed relief items to 1, 809 households with support from Sweden. According to the Preliminary Disaster Report released by the District Commissioner, flooding and heavy winds left 18 people dead and 250 seriously injured. The report further indicated that 12 500 houses had collapsed.
One of the victims, Mili Bilali 78 of Saalam Village sustained a fractured leg after his house fell on him at night and was pulled from the ruble after he shouted for help. Bilali was overwhelmed with joy after receiving relief items and thanked ADRA Malawi and the donors for the timely assistance.
Another victim, Elida Selemani 80 of John Village whose house collapsed while she was sleeping, expressed her joy by dancing before the chanting crowd when she got her share of relief items. “I’m doing this to show you that you have made my day, and I ask God to bless the hands that have made this donation” she said in Chichewa.