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5 August 2002 By Grethe Østern in Malawi They are children struggling to provide for younger sisters and brothers after having lost their parents. They are grandmothers left with the burden of caring for the orphans of their dead children. They are people weakened by HIV and AIDS and unable to fend for their families, elderly who live alone and have no-one to support them, widows, disabled people. They are the most vulnerable people - the ones who are facing the greatest difficulties in coping with the rapidly deepening food crisis in Southern Africa. Her face trembling under the weight of the sack of maize that is lifted onto her head, Edisi David – a widow from Kahsu village - still smiles as she walks away with the precious food. On her back is a baby girl. She reaches for the sack. When the girl's mother - Edisi's daughter-in-law – died last month, Edisi became the sole provider of four orphans in addition to her own three children. With the failed harvest and soaring food prices, Edisi says that most days now she feeds only pounded cassava leaves to the children. She begs from people who are better off, but they are getting fewer and fewer in number. An estimated 3.2 million people in Malawi are facing food shortages due to the current food crisis and will require food aid for the coming 12 months. Of these nearly 18% are children under five. "I am having great difficulties getting enough food for the children. They cry, but I do not have anything to give them," says Edisi. What she evidently does give the baby on her back and the other six children though, is warmth and care. Other orphans suffer neglect and maltreatment because of the added pressure that they put on the limited resources of their extended families. Village by village, name by name, those registered for aid from the Red Cross are called into the line in front of the warehouse where the sacks of maize are waiting, only a fingerprint's signature away. Those, and there are many, who are too weak to carry the 50-kilo sacks themselves, have brought stronger help. Some cannot even manage the trip to the warehouse but have authorized a person to pick up the food in their place. Local Red Cross worker, Matthews Nyirenda, organizes the line. A silent crowd of people has gathered round him, watching the distribution. They know that their names are not on the lists, but have come in the hope that, just maybe, there will be something left over at the end of the distribution. Matthews and the Red Cross volunteers in Nkhotakota branch are among the many volunteers in southern Africa who have to endure the frustration of not having enough food aid for all the people that desperately need it. "You cannot imagine the sad faces of the people that we have to turn away when we go to the villages to register beneficiaries for our food distributions. But we can only give out what is donated to us. We target the most vulnerable people, but they all need assistance. We have to leave out old people, people who are sick, people who are keeping orphans," says Matthews. Some of the very people who the Red Cross and Red Crescent are targetting through an international appeal for nearly 62 million dollars across five southern African countries, including Malawi. The sacks of maize that are handed out to 206 registered vulnerable families in Nkhotakota on this particular day, are part of a donation from USAID, and the distribution is supported by American Red Cross. The Malawi Red Cross and its sister Red Cross Societies in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Swaziland are ready to step up their efforts to help prevent the food crisis in their region from becoming a humanitarian disaster, but need donors to urgently provide them with sufficient food and resources. They are waiting anxiously for it now. If it doesn't come within the next couple of months, it will be too late for many thousands. FACTS ON THE RED CROSS FOOD OPERATION - The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has launched its largest appeal since the Balkans operations three years ago, asking for 89.2 million Swiss francs (US$61,9 million) to bring assistance to victims of the food crisis in the southern African countries of Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Swaziland. - The International Federation will directly distribute more than 76,000 tonnes of food assistance to 750,000 vulnerable people in addition to seeds and agricultural tools to farmers in the five countries. - The International Federation will be implementing its largest food transportation operation ever, using a fleet of more than 200 sturdy trucks provided by the Norwegian government and the Norwegian Red Cross. The trucks will ensure regular and efficient distribution to even the most difficult-to-access affected communities in the region. - The International Federation will be making the trucks available not only for Red Cross distributions but also for other agencies responding to the emergency. The World Food Programme (WFP) will provide the food and the running costs for the transportation. This means that in every month, the International Federation will be helping directly or indirectly, 1.3 million people across these five southern African countries. - The International Federation will procure a one-month rotating supply of food and store it in two warehouses in Zambia and South Africa for resupply to the individual countries should there be a pipeline disruption or delay. Related Links: Southern Africa Appeal Make an online donation More about the southern Africa food crisis |
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