As many of you know, it’s been an incredibly difficult few months for millions of people in Malawi. Following last year’s floods, droughts and late rains, the failed harvest left many thousands on the brink of starvation.
Thankfully, due to your generous support we were able to step in and help. Through our Outreach programme, we identified 190 families to whom Open Arms children have been returned, who we felt would benefit from an emergency food parcel. We are delighted to report that the final families selected to receive this additional food have now taken delivery of the supplies through wave two of our distribution.
Once all the families that needed help had been reached, we found that there was sufficient maize, Likuni Phala (nutritious porridge) and beans left over to support a further 25 families in the Blantyre region, so we looked into how we could ensure these reached the most deserving people in its neighbouring communities.
The Malawian volunteer-based initiative, GEMO (Genesis Manja Othandiza) provides Day Care, including nursery education and a nutritious meal, to approximately 100 orphaned children, funded through local industry.
We have long admired the work they do, supporting families in Blantyre’s densely populated townships, so we approached them to see if our surplus provisions could help.
Fatima, their founder, was immediately able to identify 10 of their poorest children who needed support. One of them, a boy named Mphatso Charlie, is pictured here with his Grandfather. Unbelievably, this grandfather is responsible for 11 orphaned grandchildren, as well as looking after his wife who is partially disabled from a stroke.
They are not able to afford to buy more than 3kg of maize at a time, so he gratefully received the 25kg maize, 20kg Likuni and 10 kg beans that was allocated to him.
The remaining 15 parcels will be distributed through Makokezi School to orphans who receive complimentary places there, so we are confident they will make a difference to those most in need.
As Malawi faced its worst food crisis in a decade, we were grateful that Open Arms was in a position to stretch its arms that little bit further on this occasion to support our neighbours most in need, all of which was only possible thanks to the commitment of our wonderful supporters.
The year ahead is expected to bring further food shortages in Malawi, with poor rains in early 2016 resulting in yet another low yield of maize. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has extended its relief operation in Malawi by an additional month, throughout April, after the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) reported that annual harvests will be delayed by El Niño-related drought across southern Africa. The WFP estimates that 16% of Malawi’s population will experience acute food insecurity this year.
We will continue to monitor our returned children through our Outreach programme and evaluate whether further assistance may be needed over the coming months.
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