Adventure in Phalombe: Malawi Flood Relief

So as some of you know, this past weekend I went on a trip to Phalombe to help out victims of the flood. I thought that you may want to know what happened while we were there.

   

We left early Saturday morning and made the 7 hour trek to Mulanje. If we were in America, the trip would probably only be about 4 hours, but because of the poorly paved roads, pedestrians, goats, cows, chickens, and eventually dirt roads, it takes significantly longer. We arrived at Mulanje, where we were staying, about mid afternoon. (Mulanje is a mountain – the third tallest in Africa. Fun fact: it’s been said to be the place where J.R.R. Tolkien was inspired about Mordor.) Anyway, after the night of organizing for the next day, and fellowshipping with the 15 of us that went, we went to bed.

At 6:30 Sunday morning we set out for Phalombe; a town not far from the base of Mulanje. However, it took roughly 3 hours to get there. The first delay was simply because it's Malawi, and nothing occurs on time; we sat at a district office for about 15 minutes waiting to get our truck (tractor –trailer) filled with maize. Once that was taken care of, it was off to the mud roads.

The first encounter with road trouble was when there was a stream running through the road. I know that may be hard to imagine, but yes; the flooding has caused a 1 ½ ft deep by 3 ½ ft wide stream to go directly through the road. After about 30 minutes of talking to people, and men trying to level out the dirt, our two cars, minibus, and tractor-trailer made it through.

The next event mostly concerned the giant truck. It was leading our caravan through the mud-stricken road, but was too heavy for one of the wee bridges. As it was going over the soft patch of land it sunk into the mud, and the front left wheel was half buried. This ordeal took an hour of pondering and confusion as to how our day would continue. Eventually the group leaders decided to leave the truck where it was and continue on our way to the school.

We arrived at the school where we were to distribute the supplies we brought. There were countless people there. It was a sea of chitenje, and faces, and umbrellas, and mud. People of all ages meandered around the school buildings looking hopeless and confused. As others began unloading the minibus with the supplies, I took the chance to take photos.

One of my favorite things to do when working in a village is to take photos of children, then show them the photos on the tiny screen of my Nikon D50. However, I started to take photos of the older women – their reactions have trumped any other that I've seen. They were scared at first to see it, only taking a quick glance, but then warmed up to the idea, and staring at their photo for longer intervals. Their cries of laughter, and looks of surprise were the most adorable I have ever seen. Repeated Zikomo's fluttered to my ears the entire time I was with them.

I walked through the school yard photographing all different people until I was summoned for another mission. I was with some other members of the team interviewing people who had lost their homes. They all had to evacuate their homes in the middle of the night because the floods came so suddenly. They all were farmers, and their crops are practically hopeless this year. Their biggest struggle right now is finding food and shelter. They have literally lost everything, and they can't see anything getting better in the near future. There was so much despair in their voices. And even though I couldn't understand their Chichewa words, I could feel their pain and helplessness.  

After we had conducted our interviews, there was a short sermon preached by a teacher from ABC Christian Academy; a majority of the recipients were present. When he had finished we sang a few songs, and I entertained many people with my attempt to sing in Chichewa. And finally it was time for distribution.

Each person receiving a gift got: a plastic bucket, a pot, a couple plates and cups, soap, a mosquito net, a Chichewa Bible, and a blanket. There were hundreds of people who received, and the other high-schoolers that were there actually handed them out.

One of the most touching moments in the distribution was giving the supplies to a particular old woman. Probably in her 70s, this woman was weak and frail, but also very respected. Generally anyone who makes it past 50 is of immediate respect. When it was her turn to gather her things, she knelt down on the ground to take them. Such an act is the highest form of gratitude in Malawi—for such a woman to be doing this was a huge deal. More so than that, as she was kneeling she mumbled, "Amayi anga." That literally translated is "my mother" but its meaning is an exasperation of pain. Despite her pain and her nobility, she knelt down before three high school girls, and though that is culturally accepted, it still broke my heart.

Eventually we finished giving out the things we had brought. As expected there was a dramatic scene of threats by those who didn't get a bucket of stuff. However, we just waited it out, and the tensions calmed down. The scene wasn't dangerous at all, people were simply upset because they didn't receive what they thought they were. 

On our way back, we decided to unload the truck of maize that had gotten stuck. I was not part of this team, however, I was sent back to the district office. The ones who remained handed out sacks of maize; each bag weighed 110lbs and can feed someone for roughly 3 months. That distribution went very smoothly.

Once the team rejoined us, we made our way back to Mulanje and enjoyed the rest of the night. We had a good dinner with rice and nsima and other Malawian style cooking, and were well rested for the journey back to Lilongwe the next day.

Monday, some of the group went on a small hike to a waterfall on Mulanje. I opted not to go, but those who did had a lovely time. Upon their arrival back at camp, we began packing to go. We loaded up and set out for Lilongwe. After a lunch break in Blantyre, we continued our journey northward, and eventually made it back to ABC.

 

All in all, it was an unforgettable and humbling trip. Though we weren't able to give to everyone, and the things we gave were temporal, I believe it did make a difference in their lives. Please still be praying for the victims, their lives have completely fallen apart in a matter of days. Their needs are things that we take for granted and it is mind boggling to see such struggle and pain. Please continue to pray and I'll try to update as I get more information.