Malawi: Marsh Malawi Limited has donated food and non-relief items to 500 households in Traditional Authority Vuso Jere. The organization has supported the families of the Ntchisi district who have been affected by the drought spell in 2023.
Due to the prolonged dry spell, the agriculture output of the district suffered a major hit, causing a food crisis. Marsh Malawi made the donation to the families through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA).
Head of Finance and Administration for Marsh Malawi Limited, Hudson Kantwanje spoke about the significance of the donation. He said the donation has gone to those that were affected by El Nino and the prolonged dry spells in the last rainy season.
“We have among others donated items such as maize flour, cooking oil, rice, and soap and we believe that the donation will help the beneficiaries in a few days. The donated items are worth K15 million,” explained Kantwanje.
District’s disaster risk management officer Rhonnie Khangamwa said 12,564 households are food insecure in the district because they did not harvest enough due to erratic rains experienced during the last rainy season.
She hopes that the donation will go a long way in helping the households that have been affected by the food scarcity, She also thanked the organization for the donation before asking other organizations to emulate the same.
“The households affected are many and today only 500 have been reached with the donation. We believe that other organizations will come forward to help the remaining households,” she said.
One of the beneficiaries, Esnart Chunga said the donation is timely for the families struggling with the food insecurity. She added that the two bags of maize she managed to harvest during the last rainy season have already been used.
Ntchisi is among the 23 districts out of 28 that President Lazarus Chakwera declared food insecure following the impact of El Nino and prolonged dry spells in the last rainy season.