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One Year After Cyclone Freddy in Malawi

In the wake of Cyclone Freddy's devastation, Malawi's communities, led by figures like Rhoda Joseph, are forging a path of resilience with Trócaire's support.

Rhoda Joseph, a member of the Village Civil Protection Committee in Mchenge Village where land was damaged by Cyclone Freddy in March 2023. The villagers are working to restore the land for farming with the support of Trócaire. Pictured here with Trócaire CEO Caoimhe de Barra. Photo: Gary Moore/Trócaire. Rhoda Joseph, a member of the Village Civil Protection Committee in Mchenge Village where land was damaged by Cyclone Freddy in March 2023. The villagers are working to restore the land for farming with the support of Trócaire. Pictured here with Trócaire CEO Caoimhe de Barra. Photo: Gary Moore/Trócaire.

In March 2023, Cyclone Freddy hit Malawi bringing torrential rains that resulted in severe floods, apocalyptic mudslides, and landslides, causing widespread devastation. Hundreds lost their lives, over half a million people were left homeless, and countless livelihoods were shattered.

Among those affected was Rhoda Joseph, a member of the Village Civil Protection Committee in Mchenge Village. She remembers:

‘For us, the rain started on the 11th and then on 14th, that’s when the mud slides came. And because there was a lot of water and mud, a lot of people lost their lives. Some were trying to cling on the trees, but the trees were also washed away.

When the rain stopped, that’s when people started coming to help us. That’s when we started seeing helicopters flying over to start helping us people from Mchenge village. The helicopters were the only solutions to reach this area because the roads were damaged and the bridges were also washed away.’

Chimwemwe Sakunda, National Coordinator of Trócaire partner organisation Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM). With CADECOM Trócaire is helping communities to adapt to climate change. Photo: Gary Moore/Trócaire. Chimwemwe Sakunda, National Coordinator of Trócaire partner organisation Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM). With CADECOM Trócaire is helping communities to adapt to climate change. Photo: Gary Moore/Trócaire.

When the roads were fixed, (Trócaire partner) CADECOM provided emergency food supplies and helped with building materials and training us in how to build stronger houses.’

Another farmer told us, ‘the flood plains where we used to grow potatoes. They’re now covered in mud and we cannot grow anything now.’

Trócaire is working with the village to help restore the fertility of the soil which was destroyed by the mudslides.

Julius Ng’oma, National Coordinator for Civil Society Network on Climate Change (CISONECC) in Malawi. speaking at Trócaire's 50th anniversary. Photo: Garry Walsh/Trócaire. Julius Ng’oma, National Coordinator for Civil Society Network on Climate Change (CISONECC) in Malawi. speaking at Trócaire's 50th anniversary. Photo: Garry Walsh/Trócaire.

Julius Ngoma, National Coordinator for Trócaire partner Civil Society Network on Climate Change (CISONEC) in Malawi says, ‘For the last two decades, we’ve seen a number of climate related risks and hazards. Particularly we’ve seen droughts, as well as flooding events that have occurred with more frequency and more intensity. More recently, in the last four years we’ve seen a new phenomenon: cyclones, which have caused a lot of havoc in the country, particularly in the southern part of Malawi.

They’ve also caused a lot of damage in terms of houses, public infrastructure, private property and infrastructure has been destroyed. Entire bridges have been washed away by the heavy rains.

Over five and half a million of people have been displaced in Malawi due to these cyclones.

Some families have been hit once or twice by these hazards. Some of the communities could be hit by flooding and then followed by droughts the next year, before they even recover. When we talk about the people that have been affected by Cyclone Freddy recently, then I think we are talking about a dire food situation in the country, but also economically, because most of the people have lost their livelihoods. They’ve lost, the places where they used to live.

We’ve seen the droughts that have persisted in some of the areas making some of the rivers to dry up.

Flooding events have made it very difficult. The water has been contaminated in one way or the other because of the heavy rainfall. But also, the drought has made it not possible for these communities to have the water for other purposes, like agriculture.

What we’re explaining here about the impact of climate change is real. We are actually feeling it now as the people in the global south, people in Malawi, in Africa.

As the impacts of climate change are multiplying themselves, they are also creating a new challenge to the communities to adapt because, for example, the new cycles, they come and disrupt whatever initiatives that are there in the form of climate adaptation.

I think there’s a need for a country like Ireland and the politicians to actually, understand the fact that this global problem is as a result of oil, gas, coal, and others. So, if we keep on extracting these, it means we are still creating a bigger problem, a climate crisis in the future.

So, we need countries like Ireland, the politicians and others in the European community to step up in terms of ensuring that they’re phasing down, phasing out coal, oil and gas exploration and even extraction, so that we actually limit the global warming to 1.5 and we can create a safer world.’

 

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Trócaire’s work in Malawi is focused on supporting communities to cope with the impact of climate change and ensuring families like hers can continue to survive when faced with the extremes of too much and too little water.

Your support can change the lives of families in Malawi and all over the world. With your help, we can work with families when there is too much water, strengthening flood defences and emergency responses. When there is too little, we can help adapt irrigation systems and provide better access to safe water.

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