Cyclone Freddy has transformed some children and infants into orphans and the responsibility to take care of the same has been left on the elderly. Rute Million (56), is one of these elderly people who apart from being a widow who struggles to raise her 7 children, is also keeping one orphaned granddaughter who is now 18 months old. Million’s daughter left the infant after she was swept away by some flooding water in March 2023.
“My daughter had gone to sell firewood at Nsanje Port where fishermen purchase wood to smoke fish along the Shire River. As she was about to leave the place, she was swept away by flooding water that had suddenly come from the bushes around the area,” narrated Million.
She adds that the floods also killed four other people. The young woman was trying to assist her mother to make ends meet for the family which was in dire poverty since they have been residing at an evacuation camp for more than 2 years. The family lost all its household possessions after Cyclones Ana and Gombe in 2021 also caused havoc in the area of GVH Mambundungu where a small perennial stream had swelled almost 20 times its original size.
“Being newcomers in the area, we never knew that where the Malawi government had bought us land in 2016 would be inhabitable as well. Now we lost everything including the little land where we could grow crops due to floods that have also brought excess sand.” Lamented Million.
GVH Mambundungu and his people had settled close to Shire River and they were highly susceptible to floods every year. Responding to the risk, the government came to their rescue by procuring land at a higher ground but their misfortune continued as cyclone induced floods has also left them homeless and camping at an evacuation camp for more than 2 years. The desire to move out these camps has been hampered by worsening poverty and the inability of the community members to generate enough income to procure land.
Being part of this community, Million ventured into a firewood business with assistance from her departed daughter. The family was collecting firewood from their nearest forest and was surviving on the same. Upon the death of her daughter, Million was so depressed and highly stressed about how she will raise a toddler who was still suckling as well as the other remaining 7 children. Life at the camp is also not conducive for child growth but they have no other choice and this has worsened her stress. “Members of the VCPC, the Village head and GVH Mambundungu cheered me up and advised me to remain calm because my children and granddaughter need me to be psychologically well so that I can be a good guardian for them. This has kept me going…” expressed Million.
According to Million, she took heed of the advice and always tries her best to make sure that they are happy although they earn very little. Some members of her community have also shared with her some porridge flour and monitored her visitations at the under-five clinics for her granddaughter. She is highly appreciative of this support and believes that the Psychosocial training that some members of her community have received will amplify the impact to other people in a similar situation.
Meanwhile, Million joins other women to harvest wild and bitter tubers called ‘Nyika’ so that her children at least have food due to the worsening national hunger situation. The process of acquiring these tubers is very risky as they grow beneath the Shire River where there are high chances of drowning due to entanglements with other weeds and the threat of crocodiles that are found in the water body.
