By Robert Nayeja

Nsanje, January 14, Mana: Communities in Nsanje have expressed hope with the Zurich Project being implemented by Concern Worldwide for providing tangible solutions to the problems affecting the community in disaster risk management in the district.

Malemia Area Disaster Risk Management Committee Chairperson Arnold Ben made the remarks on Tuesday during a joint monitoring visit on projects implemented under Zurich Project.

Ben said the project is producing fruits as witnessed by tangible developments happening in the district.

“They provided communities with banana suckers and people are able to get money from banana sales. They have also provided resources to the communities for the construction of dykes and water way,” added Ben.

Ben said for a long time organizations have been providing software programmes and handouts only which could not provide solutions to the challenges communities are facing in disaster management.

He, therefore, hailed Concern Worldwide for providing resources that respond to the needs of the community in disaster management.

Ben said the organization has also encouraged decentralization as communities are empowered to take a leading role in implementation of the projects.

Acting Disaster Risk Management for Nsanje District Council, Moses Mumba, said through Zurich Project some community concerns regarding disaster management have been addressed.

“We need such kind of interventions to effectively carry out disaster risk management activities in the communities,” said Mumba.

Concern Worldwide National Programmes Coordinator Tomy Chimpanzi said the organization is piloting disaster related projects in some districts in the country.

“We really need to invest in disaster risk management projects,” he added.

Chimpanzi said among others they are piloting community disaster fund where participating communities are implementing projects that can reduce the risks of disaster.

“In fact, this is a community led initiative and we just provided them with funds to implement the projects. For example, Nthole Village Disaster Risk Management Committee received K8 million which is being used to construct a water way,” he added.

Under Zurich Project, Concern Worldwide has also provided K8 million to communities in the area of Traditional Authority Ngabu where they are constructing a dyke.

Nsanje is one of the districts prone to natural disasters with Cyclone Freddy destroying a lot of infrastructure.

Concern Worldwide is a member of the Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance, a multi-sectoral partnership working to build resilience to climate hazards in rural and urban communities.