On Wednesday 23rd February, 2022, Habitat for Humanity Malawi staff participated in the Virtual Build currently taking place in Gwilize Village in Traditional Authority Kabudula in Lilongwe where 2 houses are being constructed for the families of Dorothy Mkomba and Evelesi Jesitala respectively. The Virtual Build is being supported by USA Global Volunteers from Alaska in the United States of America and is led by Bob and Leslie Bell.
The Global Volunteers could not physically be present in the country because of the travel restrictions following the effects of COVID-19. The Virtual Build is aimed at engaging previous Global Village participants who supported and built a house for the most vulnerable families in Malawi.
Malawi is currently experiencing an increasing housing poverty caused by recent devastating effects of Tropical Storm ANA and the COVID-19 pandemic. About 56 percent of the Malawi population is in need of decent housing and the need has since increased due to the effects of Tropical Storm ANA where 190,429 people have been displaced and are in urgent need of housing support in the affected communities. The upsurge of the COVID-19 cases also negatively affected the Global Village Program since 35 teams of Global Volunteers who were expected to come to Malawi to build the houses for 70 families were cancelled in February 2020. COVID -19 has also worsened the housing poverty due to the suspension of the Big Build initiatives introduced by Habitat for Humanity Northern Ireland which was aimed at building more than 10 houses for vulnerable families.
The current housing needs in Malawi calls for a deeper commitment by HFHM, its Affiliates and Partners to the mission of providing decent housing for all. Excited by the efforts of the USA GV Sending Team to pilot the virtual build in Malawi in these unprecedented times, the National Director and staff of HFHM participated in the Virtual Build by being physically present at the site and supported in different works at the site.
The National Director of HFHM, Mr. Anock Kapira could not hold his excitement and had this to say, “The housing poverty in Malawi has worsened due to the current effects of floods and on-going COVID-19 pandemic. As such we are so grateful to Bob and Leslie Bell for leading and mobilizing the team from Alaska to support and pilot this Virtual Build in Malawi. This Virtual Build gives me hope that the Global Village Program is back on track amidst the COVID-19 associated setbacks. As such I call upon all GV Sending Teams and Affiliates to consider reaching out to Malawi so that we build hope and stability to the vulnerable families through provision of decent housing in this current period when the need for decent, resilient and safe housing is ever increasing and is the way to go
