After years of havoc and disturbance of livelihoods due to climatic shocks, people from villages along Khulubvi River in GVH Ngabu have taken matters into their hands to mitigate the impact of the same. The community now has a nursery for trees and plants and manages the same. Art and Global Health Center Africa (ArtGlo) had a chance to appreciate these restoration activities where community members braved the fear of rain on the material day.
“My concern over floods that disrupt our livelihoods by destroying crops, houses and sometimes loss of life, motivated me to be part of this initiative. Although it is on a volunteer basis, my participation would not only be for me and my family, but the whole community.” said, Lovemore Winji.
According to Winji, trees provide ground cover, enrich soil fertility and reduce run-off considering that the area has flat terrain and is susceptible to flash floods. Women in the community trek for almost 500 meters to draw water from a borehole for irrigation since the Khulubvi river is perennial and by the time of our visit, was already dry a few weeks before the offset of the rains. The volunteers utilize a duty roster for each village to ensure equal amounts of effort towards the same.
“I saw it as a great opportunity for me to be part of this tree planting initiative considering the floods that have been happening in our area that has also contributed to widening of rivers due to lack of vegetative cover along river banks.” Explained Chrissy Elias.
Elias added that lack of tree coverage leaves the primary school, community hospital and crops vulnerable to floods. She believes that this initiative will help to reduce the fear and stress that she has every rainy season. She believes that the trees will increase vegetative cover and reduce the impact of floods.
Both Winji and Elias concurred that they plant trees based on the duration of maturity since there is need for a sustained water supply for young trees to survive. The two are appreciative to CARD Malawi for providing more seedlings and tubes for transplanting from their nursery. Early maturing trees and drought resistant species like ‘Nimu’ have a high survival rate.
Meanwhile, the people from GVH Ngabu chose the construction of a dyke along Khulubvi and a drift to protect a community hospital and Khulubvi primary school and ensure an interrupted flow of goods and services in the area respectively. All this will be made possible through the MK 3.4 million microgrants that CARD Malawi has committed to these projects. ArtGlo held TfD performances to raise awareness and amplify this effort to everyone in the community and also encourage them to take part.
