NEW YORK / LONDON | May 22, 2023 ― The Rockefeller Foundation announced today that the Rt Hon Sir Alok Sharma, current Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom and …
Cyclone Freddy was the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded. It pummeled Malawi, where the president declared a state of emergency. This five-part series shows part of what happened next.
From Lilongwe, I travel five hours by road to Malawi’s commercial hub, Blantyre, which was battered by the intense winds and rain that accompanied Freddy and caused catastrophic flash floods.
The coordination meetings are underway. Those of us who have never met before are getting to know one another even as we assess the situation here in Malawi.
Over the last several days, I have traveled out of Blantyre to five communities in the Shire River Valley – Zomba, Chikwawa, Nsanje, Mulanje, and Phalombe.
Today was one of the best days of my mission. I held a one-day training with 18 local community-based organizations—the real foot soldiers—around community feedback mechanisms.
Malawi women pound maize to help feed their displaced families in Phalombe District. More than 500,000 people were displaced by Cyclone Freddy, which pummeled the country in March. Climate change has made storms like Freddy more frequent and intense.
When In Malawi, Cyclone Freddy hit Malawi in March, the storm killed hundreds, displaced more than 500,000, and left overwhelmed rescue workers burrowing through the mud with their bare hands. Catastrophic flash floods washed away lives, homes, crops and livestock.
It was the day after the first rainfall in three months. Kenyan farmers sprang up on the fields like hopeful seedlings, praying aloud for more showers. After two and a half …