Page 28 - Presbyterian Connection, Spring 2020

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Cyclone Idai: One Year Later
PRESBYTERIAN
SPRING 2020
presbyterian.ca
Connection
Community members gather around a well in order to access clean drinking water. CREDIT: ACT ALLIANCE.
By Stephanie Chunoo, PWS&D Communications
“The water was everywhere, it was above knee-high, and it stayed for one week,” remembered Margaret Chidothi, as the one-year anniversary of Cyclone Idai approaches. During the deadly storm, Margaret and her family of six lost their home and entire livelihood. The cyclone washed away her maize, pigeon peas and sorghum just a month before harvest.
In the aftermath of the storm, it was extremely difficult for Marga- ret and her husband to find work to
Growing
Better
Together
By Emma Clarke, PWS&D Communications
In Haiti, where farming is a mainstay of the economy, chronic extreme weather exacerbated by climate change has locked many families into cycles of food insecurity. A staggering 49 per cent of people are undernour- ished—that’s every second person.
Lucsius is one such farmer fac- ing these challenges. Unsure of how to adapt his agricultural practices to help his crops survive, he used to ex- perience months or even seasons of inconsistent yields.
Yet, standing in his vibrant gar- den of legumes, cassava, cabbage, peppers, carrots, beans, potatoes and bananas, his eyes were wide in fascination as he described how a
ject came. It really helped our family.”
One year later...
Many families like Margaret’s are still recovering a year after Cyclone Idai made landfall. Working through coa- litions like Canadian Foodgrains Bank and ACT Alliance, PWS&D has provid- ed emergency food assistance, shel- ter, and water and sanitation services.
In southern Malawi, through the Mulanje Mission Hospital, PWS&D helped rebuild 525 latrines that had been damaged by the storm. Addi- tionally, two homes where orphaned children and their caregivers live were rebuilt.
But recovery after disaster is a long-term process. While immediate projects helped bridge the gap, need
still remains. One year later, many people continue to face the long-term effects of the cyclone.
Families were a month away from harvesting their crops when Idai struck, causing most to lose their entire crop and seeds. While the first round of food assistance provided seeds, they will not be ready to har- vest for another few months.
Consequently, PWS&D is continu- ing to provide assistance to combat food insecurity caused by the flood- ing. Families in Malawi are receiving monthly cash allowances which en- able them to purchase the food they need at local markets, also helping to boost the local economy. Female- headed households, families with or- phans and people with special needs,
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provide for their family. With the little they were able to find, it was almost impossible to feed their entire family. In fact, food was often so scarce that Margaret would have to ration the meals for the adults so that the kids would be able to eat more than one meal a day.
The lack of food made it challeng- ing for Margaret to find the energy she needed to rebuild her life. “When it’s only one or two times a day, it’s hard to be productive. I felt it in my knees that I was weak,” she shared.
In response, PWS&D, with sup- port from Canadian Foodgrains Bank, provided emergency food assistance to families like Margaret’s. Her family received a monthly package consist- ing of maize flour, beans and oil, as well as a nutrient-fortified cereal for her children.
The food packages meant that Margaret’s family was able to eat more than once a day—something they hadn’t been able to do since Idai struck. “When we eat three times a day, we have more energy, we wake up with enough energy to go to the gardens and do work.” An encour- aged Margaret is starting to rebuild her life: “We are really happy the pro-
Margaret Chidothi and her family stand in front of their home with a portion of their monthly food package. CREDIT: CANADIAN FOODGRAINS BANK/SHAYLYN MCMAHON.
as well as those living with HIV have been given priority.
In Mozambique, PWS&D is helping to provide water, sanitation and hy- giene facilities through ACT Alliance. When Idai hit, it collapsed latrines and destroyed drinking water stations, leaving many people without access to clean drinking water or toilets and vulnerable to waterborne illnesses. This project provides water purifica- tion services, sanitary napkins for women and diapers for children, and promotes proper hygiene.
Thank you!
Thanks to the generosity of Pres- byterians across Canada, almost $160,000 was raised to help those affected by the cyclone. After being multiplied up to four times through government matching, these funds allowed PWS&D to provide over $800,000 wor th of assistance. With- out your suppor t, families like Mar- garet’s would not have the resources or energy to star t rebuilding their lives. Because of your compassion, families in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe are star ting to slowly re- cover and return to their normal lives.
PWS&D is a member of Canadian Foodgrains Bank, a partnership of 15 churches and church agencies work- ing together to end global hunger. Foodgrains Bank projects are under- taken with support from the Govern- ment of Canada.
Foodgrains Bank—tremendously ex- tending the impact of the work.
Benefiting almost 20,000 peo- ple over three years, the project embraces local, farmer-owned co- operatives in Haiti. Farmers receive training in soil conservation, fertility management and diversity of pro- duction, which helps increase yields and resilience to disasters.
The community of support also means more financial freedom: us- ing their new savings or low-interest loans from the group, farmers make purchases to improve their farms and support their families’ food, edu- cation and health needs.
Involvement in the farmers’ groups has allowed Lucsius to pay his chil- dren’s school fees, look after medical bills and build a latrine so that his loved ones can have a healthier future—all things he wouldn’t have dreamed possible. Now a mentor to others as the president of his farmers’ group, Lucsius is excited to keep growing the groups which he considers “of great importance to the community.”
*PWS&D is a member of Canadian Foodgrains Bank, a partnership of 15 churches and church agencies work- ing together to end global hunger.
Lucsius and other farmers in Haiti are helping each other prosper in PWS&D–supported farmers’ groups. PHOTO CREDIT: MCC/CFGB
PWS&D–supported project helped transform life for him and other farm- ers in his community: “Through a participatory strategy which encour- ages farmers to come together,” he
reflected, “it is possible to produce better to be able to feed our families.” For the last seven years, this 59-year-old husband and father of three has joined with others in his
town to participate in a PWS&D project implemented by Partnership for Local Development, a Haitian organization. PWS&D resources are multiplied three times at Canadian