Karonga Diocese CADECOM conducts Relief Distribution to 100 families in Response to 2024 Floods
On the 15th of March, 2024 in a heartening response to the recurring floods that have devastated communities in Kafikisira Village in the area of T/A Kyungu, the Karonga Diocese CADECOM carried out a relief distribution exercise at Kafisikisira Health Clinic aiming to provide essential aid and support to those hardest hit by the natural disaster.
The event was graced with the presence of the Vicar General Monsignor Lorent Dziko who during the event advised the people in the area to be more prepared for flooding incidents as the area is prone to flooding and also encouraged the people to find higher grounds to settle and build resilient housing structures in order to prevent being affected by such incidents. He stressed the need for recipients to use the relief for their households and avoid selling off relief items as is the case in some instances when people have received relief.
Also speaking during the event, Development Desk officer for Karonga Diocese Mr. Franklin Msiska echoed the Vicar General’s words on the misappropriation of relief and said that the church was also affected by the flooding as her congregants were among those that were affected by the flooding.
“The Karonga Diocese should be appreciated for it’s continuous efforts whenever a crisis has hit the district as the diocese is one of the stakeholders that is actively involved in implementation of various relief projects such as the recent Food Crisis Project which saw 607 beneficiaries receiving MK100,000 each” said Humphrey Magalasi a representative of the Karonga District Council who was present at the distribution exercise.
The relief distribution exercise was made possible with funding amounting to Fourteen Million Kwacha (MK14,000,000) from Trocaire through the Episcopal Conference of Malawi. Each relief package was made up of a 25kg bag of maize flour, 2 kg beans, 2 litres cooking oil, 1 kg iodised salt, 20litre hand washing bucket, 2 tablets of washing soap, 2 bottles of waterguard, 2 mosquito repellent, 2 boxes of matches and for learners in the area ; 4 note books, 2 ball pens and 1pencil. From the funds, Ten Million Kwacha (MK10,000,000) was used to purchase relief items, the remainder is being used for sensitization campaigns on flood awareness and logistics .
Local residents have welcomed the aid with open arms and a sense of renewed hope. “It’s a relief to know that we’re not facing this alone,” shared Jessie Ngwira (54) of Kafikisira Village T/A Kyungu who’s family of six(6) lost all their food and other household items during the flooding on February 24th.
By Noel Chatepa