Mulanje, MALAWI - As heavy dark clouds rolled over Ng’omba village in Mulanje, Daliso Simon quickly gathered her harvest as she didn’t want to get caught in the impending storm. All week, her village had been battered by strong winds and heavy rains induced by the devastating Tropical Cyclone Freddy.
“I couldn’t go out as it was raining heavily,” said Daliso who is seven months pregnant. “So when I saw a bit of sunshine, I decided to go out to my garden to collect some fresh maize. But as soon as I arrived at the garden, the weather changed again.”
The incessant rains descending on Mulanje district had already caused damages to infrastructure in many communities. In Ng’omba village for instance, a majority of the mud-built houses were starting to develop cracks and many more had had their roofs blown off.
However, Daliso’s house was still standing strong. But not for long. The same evening strong winds ripped off her roof letting in sheets of water. In no time, all the rooms were flooded leaving her with no option but to seek for shelter somewhere.
Suffering and destruction as cyclone descends on district
Daliso grabbed a few belongings and strapped her two-year old baby on her back.
“I had seen many houses in the village collapsing and didn’t want to wait for that to happen before I moved to safety,” she said.
Drenched, and feeling cold, Daliso joined hundreds others from her village who had sought refuge at a nearby school.
“When I reached the school, all my body was pain,” she recalled. “I needed a place to rest but the classrooms were overcrowded. I just sat in a corner and someone was kind enough to give me a dry blanket.”
Mulanje is one the 15 districts that was heavily hit by Tropical Cyclone Freddy. The disaster displaced 131,830 people who were spread across 128 camps in the district. However, almost all of the camps have now been decommissioned and people have returned to their communities to rebuild.
“When I returned back home, I found my house completely destroyed,” said Daliso. “My husband had to put together a make shit structure made of plastic sheets as our new home.”
In Malawi, the winter season starts in June. And in Mulanje it can be very cold. With many of the displaced people having lost all their household goods, including blankets, the approaching winter presented another challenge especially to pregnant women like Daliso.
A warm winter for cyclone survivors
However, with the generous support from the Republic of Korea, Daliso and many other women and girls in Mulanje and Phalombe can now dream of a warm winter. The Republic of Korea supported UNFPA to procure 3,800 winterised dignity kits and 650 torches, which were distributed to pregnant women and adolescent girls in the two districts.
By providing these kits, UNFPA and its partners engage with communities, creating opportunities to discuss the risks of gender based violence and sexual gender based violence, educate about consent and rights, and promote non-violent norms. The act of distributing the kits is coupled with awareness sessions where information on gender based violence and sexual gender based violence prevention and response services is shared, making it a crucial entry point for addressing these issues.
Moreover, the distribution of dignity kits provides an opportunity for health workers and partners to offer information on sexual and reproductive health services available in the area, including access to contraceptives, maternal health services, and services for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This ensures that women and girls' sexual and reproductive health needs are not overlooked during emergencies
The support from the Republic of Korea supplemented UNFPA’s ongoing tropical cyclone Freddy response in Mulanje and Phalombe, which ensured that adolescent girls and young women have access to life-saving sexual and reproductive health and rights services and commodities. The support also helped mitigate risks of public health and protection issues, especially gender based violence prevention and response.
“I am very grateful for having received this kit,” said Daliso who recently recovered from pneumonia due continuous exposure to cold weather. “It will help me in many ways, particularly the blanket as it will keep me warm during the winter.”
- Joseph Scott, Communications Analyst
