Climate change-induced disasters such as tropical cyclones leave pervasive scars and traps people in abject poverty overnight. This is the predicament that Henderson Mailosi (35) and his family, from GVH Mtemangawa, have to endure as a result of the 2023 novel Cyclone Freddy which brought unprecedented pain and loss to Malawians in Nsanje district. Standing close to the ruins of his house which was well built with strong materials such as cement and burnt bricks, Mailosi gives an account of the fateful day and how the livelihood of his family dramatically changed for the worse.
“I was organizing burial arrangements for my uncle who we had just lost when I received a call informing me of the horrible state of affairs at my house and my village. Fortunately, my neighbors assisted in rescuing my wife and my five sons,” narrated Mailosi.
He vividly recalls what happened in the afternoon of the 13th of March 2023, a day that also marked the beginning of a fortnight long flow of water high volumes in a seasonal river, Nyamadzere. Within the same period, survivors of the storm spent more than seven days on an empty stomach as they desperately waited for relief at Kapalakonje Primary School which set out as a temporary evacuation camp when Mailosi and his family also took refuge.
Before the disaster, Mailosi was saving some money to finalize some processes to attain a drivers’ license in Blantyre City to diversify the sources of revenue for his household. Sadly, all his savings including livestock to complement the same was washed away. The family had a three-bedroom house, a kraal for cattle (5), a kraal for goats (10), and structures housing a cumulative total of 20 ducks and chickens which were all gone in a few minutes after 2pm on that day.
“I was so devastated and wished to maybe throw myself in the river considering how I as the breadwinner would support my family. To date, I still get so depressed when I think about how to meet the educational needs of my elderly sons who are approaching examination classes,” laments Mailosi.
Mailosi was relying on his livestock to settle tuition, examination fees and school materials for his three elderly sons whom one of them wrote this year’s Junior Certificate of Examinations (JCE). These are national exams where candidates register and pay for at least 11 subjects to progress to the senior classes of secondary education in Malawi. The were fears that his charcoal burning business for logs of fallen trees buried by the Cyclone is way too far from meeting these needs. Fortunately, well-wishers settled examination fees of all learners at the school some few days before the exams.
The situation in GVH Mtemangawa is dire as piece works are scarce due to the loss and damage that the cyclone, that was preceded by two other storms, has left in the area. The land in the area is no longer suitable for maize cultivation and the area faces persistent dry spells due to its geographical positioning.
“I am forced to do things that I have never imagined doing like digging out logs of trees and producing charcoal out of them which takes four days just to get less than MK 5, 000. Sometimes I get lost in the moment and in my thoughts even when I am around other people due to thoughts about my loss and how to continue surviving.” Expresses Mailosi.
Mailosi applauds ArtGlo for conducting research that highlighted the need for psychosocial support and CARD Malawi for training some community duty bearers to offer psychosocial support to survivors like him. A prior attempt was made by the District’s Social Welfare Office which sent a representative two days after the flood but was not able to address the psychosocial needs of people camping at Kapalakoche Primary School. Mailosi believes that this will help people like him to access psychological relief right in their communities.
Some of the initiatives that people in GVH Mtemangawa have been able to implement to minimize loss and damage has been planting trees along Nyamadzere river and mobilizing empty sacks which are filled with sand to construct barriers that prevent flooding waters from invading households. Nevertheless, Cyclone Freedy managed to destroy these temporary structures and a majority of community members including Mailosi, cannot afford to contribute empty sacks to reconstruct. Mailosi pleads for more support for the Microgrants initiatives that the community is implementing with support from CARD to achieve meaningful impact.
Currently, Mailosi and his family are temporarily residing in a house of a well-wisher who moved out of the area. Nevertheless, this is another cause for stress because the owner of the house can demand it back any time they wish. His wife spends each and every day searching for the scarce pierce works as he is burning charcoal. Spending a night on an empty stomach has become normal for them as they earn very little to adequately meet their needs.
The family resides in Thompson village in GVH Mtemangawa, and their home has been left in ruins due to the change of course of Nyamadzere River to people’s houses. Mailosi’s old house is about 100 meters from the river and one would expect the forest, in the intermediary, to act as a relief and barrier but the waters swept all the tree cover along a stretch of about 600 meters.
