It is around 4pm on Saturday afternoon. The sun is setting at Kapeni evacuation camp located on a football field at Blantyre Teacher Training College in Blantyre.

Within, a group is in a jovial prayer session to keep the spirits nourished.

Jackson with her three children
at the camp

There are 476 people, over half of whom are under 18. They have just been relocated to the school ground from the Kapeni Demonstration Primary School classes where thousands spent nights and days since they escaped the ravaging effects of Cyclone Freddy on March 13. Now, they are relocated in tents provided by various donor organisations.

The survivors’ greatest need, is the lack of food. Little aid has trickled down to them, the survivors claim, despite being a few kilometers from the Department of Disaster Management (Dodma) regional office in Limbe.

Laureen Jackson has three children aged between six and nine in the camp. They are spending nights with 84 others in a tent.

The situation has worsened with 17 other survivors who have been relocated from Manja evacuation camp down the road.

But, that is not her major worry. She is most worried about the food situation at the camp. They had their last meal at lunch. That Saturday evening, they would have nothing but roast maize.

Even more, she will have to take her first born son, Blessings, to Limbe Health Centre today, the day schools open, as he needs attention for malnutrition.

“Before he goes to school, I will take him for treatment for malnutrition. We got maize flour on Thursday last week and that was the day a health worker noted my son’s malnutrition and they said we have to go to the health centre the very day they are opening schools,” said the single mother.

According to her, they have been one meal a day, with porridge to supplement.

“We are getting, at most, soya pieces and beans with no cooking oil. We lost everything in the floods and here we are, devastated,” she said.

Another survivor, 49-year-old mother of four Tinesi Mhango says she is worried by the food situation at the camp.

“We listen to the radio and hear of the so many donations made towards victims yet, nothing is getting to us. We are only dependent on food donations from well-wishers connected to our chief,” she said.

Village head Mbemusya under group village head Misesa and T/A Kapeni in Blantyre said food is one of the problems facing survivors at the camp.

“It is worrisome. We had three bags of beans and that only lasted three days. Besides, there was no cooking oil. Even more, there has been nothing from the government since March 13. As a chief, I think government has left the duty to take care for the survivors to chiefs since they are the people’s guardians,” she said.

With 476 people, the Kapeni camp houses most of the survivors from Blantyre’s most hit area, Three Ways in Chimwankhunda.

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