Good Neighbours Malawi has distributed relief items worth K102 million to 1 000 Tropical Cyclone Freddy survivors seeking refuge at Ngabu Sports Club and Pakamwa evacuation camps in Chikwawa District.

The items include 25 metric tonnes of maize flour, 2 000 blankets, 1 000 buckets, 55 500 packets of instant porridge and 130 buckets of chlorine.

In an interview after the handover on Monday, Good Neighbours Malawi country director Gyojin Joo said one of their mandates is to respond to natural disasters.

She said their goal was to reach out to most survivors, particularly those in hard-to-reach areas, but bemoaned poor road network.

Gyojin (L) and Good Neighbours international regional director Namun Heo (C) handing over relief items to a beneficiary

“If we were helped with bigger vehicles, MDF [Malawi Defence Force] trucks or something that carries bulky load, we would be able to reach out to more vulnerable people affected by disasters,” said Gyojin.

She said the organisation, which raises funds for children and their communities, mobilised resources through local partners such as K2 Transformer Company from Lilongwe and other international partners in Korea, United States of America, Canada and  United Kingdom, among others.

In a separate interview, Chikwawa District Council representative Charles Chibwana commended the organisation for the gesture.

He said there were 38 camps in the district where food was in high demand.

Chibwana said the damaged bridge near Miseu Folo worsened the food situation in Ngabu area                                                                             as it was difficult to reach out to survivors.

“These people will not stay here for a long time. They will return to their respective houses. So they need more supportm,” he said.

One of the survivors, Emily Black thanked the organisation for the donation.

The post Good Neighbours inK102m relief aid first appeared on The Nation Online.