By Alice Ndunya

Machinga, April 4, Mana:  World Relief Malawi has distributed assorted food items to people in Machinga, among them those with disabilities, following the El Niño-induced drought that left them with low crop yield or no food to survive on.

An estimated 360 people from female-headed households, people with disabilities and the youths who had low crop yield, each received items that included a 50-kilogramme bag of maize flour, 1 litre of cooking oil, salt and beans.

To this effect, World Relief Malawi urged the affected households in the district that benefited from the relief food distribution programme to adopt interventions that should build their resilience to climate change effects that in turn affect crop production. 

Speaking at Traditional Authority Nkoola in the district on Thursday, World Relief Malawi, Country Director, Matilda Chirwa, said the food distribution was done to help the affected households that had no means to fend for themselves.

“We felt the need to source funds to intervene and support households that are struggling to provide food for their families,” she added.

Chirwa disclosed that the food distribution programme is expected to run from April to May 2025 and will later be followed by mixed cropping and irrigation farming from June.

She expressed hope that after June, going forward, most of the families will go for irrigation farming to ensure food sufficiency.

“We want to make a sound impact for these households. This is why we plan to start these interventions instead of just giving them handouts.

“We know handouts may not sustain them in the long run,” the World Relief Malawi Country Director added.

Being a 27-year-old single mother with disability, Stella Wisick said parenthood had not been easy on her part, saying she could neither farm nor do any income-generating activities that could keep her family going.

“We have lived for some days without food, and no assistance came on our way, and this has been difficult for us. I cannot do much considering my condition, such that my family mostly suffers in agony,” she said.

However, her face brightened up as she received the relief food items with much assurance of a meal on her table.

“I am thankful to World Relief for coming to my rescue in this time of need; the help is timely,” she added.

In his remarks, Disaster and Risk Management Officer for Machinga District Council, Shepherd Jere, commended World Relief Malawi for responding to the government’s appeal for relief food assistance to families in need.

 “The council is grateful to World Relief Malawi for providing food assistance and for coming up with sustainable ways to ensure families have enough food. We also encourage other organizations to do the same as the government cannot manage to reach all the affected areas with relief food,” he added.

World Relief Malawi provides relief food items on top of supporting other interventions, such as irrigation farming and the provision of drought-resistant crops to farmers in many parts of the country.