In the darkest hour of the night, a mother of five woke up to the shock, her house had collapsed.
Like thousands of other victims rendered hopeless by the animosity of Cyclone Ana, Rhoda Misomali- 38 went to bed, to wake up a happier person, the following morning.
Little did she know that the downpour experienced for two consecutive days, in Komihera village in the area of Sub Traditional Authority Tamani in Phalombe district, would see her be a refugee seeker.
As she narrates her story, it was around 9 a.m. when she suspected that her house may collapse. She went to her children’s bedroom to alert them. After they all managed to get to safety. She suddenly heard a loud bang and it was the house losing its glory. Lying in ruins on the ground.
“Cyclone Ana has negatively affected me, because after my first house collapsed- my children and I, rushed to my other house on the same compound, which also collapsed during the same night. I have lost everything. I do not know what to do.” narrated Roda.
Misomali is not the only one who has been left destitute by Cyclone Ana. As there are a thousand more like her in Komihera village- according to village headman Samson Saideni Phiri.
He says Cyclone Ana has devastated the village by washing away crops and destroying houses, and no casualties were reported.
“As we speak, in my village alone- over two hundred households have been affected. And they are in dire need of basic necessities such as food.” said Phiri.
But at the end of the tunnel, there is always light. There is a ray of hope for victims like Misomali, as Humanitarian organizations are on the ground assessing and reaching out to the affected persons.
World Vision Malawi is one of those Organizations, and its officials have disclosed that funds amounting to K 1 Billion have been set aside to be utilized in assisting the victims of Cyclone Ana.
The revelation was made in Komihera Village in Phalombe district, where the Organization was donating relief items worth Over One hundred million, to the victims- on Saturday, January 29th.
The Operations Director for the Organization-Charles Chimombo told MIJ Online that in order to effectively reach out to all the victims from the organization’s working areas- it will require a budget of Two Billion Kwacha.
“So today, were supporting people in Phalombe with flour and household items, thus for the short term but in the medium term- we will be looking at other challenges like, rehabilitating their boreholes and helping them to get back to their livelihood by giving them seeds to plant in their fields.”
“For the whole response we have One Billion Kwacha, but after a thorough assessment of what we need to do in the next three to six months- for the response in the areas where world Vision works, we need close to K2 Billion said Chimombo.