Projects: Mlanga Village Cyclone Rescue
One-time project to address
a climate emergency
January 24-25, 2022: Cyclone Ana dumped torrential rains on Madagascar, across Mozambique, and into Malawi, resulting in widespread flooding and destruction.
Government reports show close to one million Malawians were affected, including 46 people killed and 18 still missing as of February 22nd. The destruction of homes resulted in nearly 190,000 people seeking shelter in camps. Crops were lost across more than 100,000 hectares (247,105 acres) of land.
Particularly hard hit was the village of Mlanga, located in a rural area of Blantyre. Butterfly Foundation for Peace quickly went into action.
Andrew Raphael, Director of Butterfly Foundation for Peace, assembled an energetic and committed team of volunteers. On the ground with him were Foundation board members Wezi Chavula and Pastor Thoko Solobala.
They worked closely with the village Chief, Mr. Mlanga, to first determine the immediate needs of the villagers most affected.
Upon learning that the scarcity of food was of primary concern, the Foundation took steps. They prepared and distributed bags for the individual households as needed, each containing high protein soya pieces as well as 4 kg of maize flour for preparing nsima, a staple Malawian dish.