Blantyre Arts Festival (BAF) has pledged to help some survivors of Tropical Cyclone Freddy restart their lives by providing them with iron sheets for the construction of new houses.

BAF director Thomas Chibambo made the pledge on Friday when they donated assorted relief items to cyclone survivors at Mayela Camp in Traditional Authority Machinjiri in Blantyre.

Chibambo (R) hands over the items

He said through the assistance from their partners such as Malawi Circles Organisation in Germany, World Connect Malawi, Aqure Pure, Amaryllis Hotel, Cepa and Rab Processors, they have collected K9 million which they want to use in reaching out to survivors in various ways.

“We want to help them restart their lives. Some of these people lost everything. The iron sheets we will provide will enable them to build houses. We won’t reach out to everyone, but with the help of the authorities, we will identify a few beneficiaries,” said Chibambo.

During their visit, BAF team was accompanied by traditional dancing troupe Dikamawoko Arts which entertained the survivors with eye-catching dances. Chibambo said the move was designed to lessen the pain and emotional stress that the survivors are going through.

He said: “Artists reflect what the communities are going through. The help that these people need is not just material, but also some human needs. The festival belongs to the people of Blantyre and when these people are victimised, we are also victimised.”

Village head Mdala said the survivors cannot stay at the camp forever and any assistance that will help them get back to their normal lives will be appreciated.

“If you ask them, everyone is ready to go back home and start afresh. But the question is where they start from. All their belongings and houses got swept away. They cannot stay here forever. Life in the camp is hard,” he said.

Mayela Camp is one of the few remaining camps in Blantyre and has 307 survivors, some of whom were moved from Chirimba and Namatete camps after their decommissioning.

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