By Wanangwa Tembo

Kasungu, August 14, Mana: Kasungu based non-governmental organization, K2 Tigwiranemanja Aids Support Organization (K2 TASO) on Tuesday distributed maize and soybean to 210 families affected by hunger at Kapyanga in Traditional Authority Wimbe in the district.

Director for the organization Peter Minjale said people of Kapyanga have been heavily affected by hunger owing to erratic rainfall pattern experienced in the 2023/24 growing season.

"We are an organization that promotes livelihood security in communities ensuring that people have access to clean water, good nutrition, income, education and a general good environment.

"This nutritional support we have provided today is part of our wide range of social support that we provide to communities especially to vulnerable families," Minjale said.

He said the organization has so far secured about K50 million from Bridges To Malawi, a charity organization based in the United States of America, which will be used to purchase relief items for vulnerable families.

People living with HIV/Aids, the elderly, persons with disabilities, community based child care centres, care givers and groups involved in land conservation activities were some of the recipients of the 5.3 tonnes consignment valued at K7 million with each household receiving 25 kilogrammes.

Group Village Headman Kapyanga said his area is one of the most hit by hunger pointing out that most families have been without food since April.

"We have had a very bad rainfall season, one of the shortest in many years. Fields dried up before the crops were ready for harvesting, a development that left many of us without food.

"Rivers are dry such that we are not doing any irrigation farming meaning that we will remain without food until the next harvest in March or April," Kapyanga said.

While thanking K2 TASO for the donation, the traditional leader asked government to come in quickly with more relief maize in the area.

Kasungu is one of the 23 districts which President Lazarus Chakwera declared a state of disaster in March this year following the devastating effects of El Nino weather phenomenon which affected about 750 000 hectares of maize representing 44.3 per cent of crop area countrywide.

With an estimated two million farming households affected, at least 600 000 metric tonnes are required to plug food deficits this year.