January 2022 Update: Malawi Floods
Back in March of 2019, Cyclones Idai and Kenneth displaced tens of thousands of families in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, leaving many in need of basic supplies like food and water. Sadly, we are here once again as Tropical Cyclone Ana tore across southern Africa last week and the Malawian President declared a state of disaster.
Several parts of Africa have battled destructive floods over the past year as they deal with the twin issues of prolonged drought and an increase in the intensity of rainfall, which create prime flooding conditions.
A spokeswoman for the World Food Programme told CNN that “agricultural land, key infrastructure and houses have been damaged, while lives and livelihoods have been lost.”
Our local staff have been in the field assessing the situation and communicating with victory garden facilitators and villagers. While the rain and wind damage is visible in many of the homes and maize fields, the victory gardens have fared much better than the maize, just like back in 2019.
We are continuing to stay vigilant and make sure villagers can depend on their gardens for food, while also relying on our experience and work in Cambodia creating specific types of gardens, like container gardening, which can stand up to flooding.