Over 170 people in Malawi have been reported dead as a result of massive flooding that wreaked havoc on the country. On January 12, torrential rains from Tropical Cyclone Bansi poured down on 15 districts. The rains have continued and the flooding has left over 330,000 people homeless, destroying roads, bridges, and crops.
Planet Aid's partner organization DAPP is on the ground in Malawi, distributing clothing in response to the emergency. DAPP student teachers are also working in partnership with UNICEF to provide pyschosocial support at 151 schools in the districts of Nsanje, Phalombe, Chikwawa, Machinga, Mulanje, Zomba, and Chiradzulu, reaching approximately 90,000 pupils.
"Crops have been washed away and families are homeless after their houses collapsed at the Child Aid and Farmers' Clubs projects in Chikhwawa district," says DAPP representative, Nozipho Tembo. "It's pretty sad that the farmers and participating families in the Child Aid project had worked so hard and reached certain milestones in their lives and all of sudden all that is gone just like that."
This is the second large flood that Malawi has suffered in the last two years. Such increasingly frequent natural disasters are linked to climate change and deforestation. As the climate has changed, rainfall has increased throughout the world, leading to major floods every several years rather than every 100 years.
Unfortunately, it is the people in developing countries who suffer the most from the effects of climate change. They are more susceptible to the destructive effects of natural disasters and lack the resources to recover quickly from such tragedies.
Thankfully, there are ways that we can help. When you donate your clothes to Planet Aid to be recycled, you reduce the production of greenhouse gasses that accelerate climate change. Additionally, when you support Planet Aid you support many global development projects which help people in countries like Malawi in times of disaster and need.