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Following the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Idai in March 2019, Habitat for Humanity Malawi (HFHM) with funding from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) pledged to support 20 disaster affected families in Chikwawa to ‘build back better’ –a vision designed to ensure that affected communities were stronger and more resilient in the face of future storms. But unless the fundamental issue of security of land tenure is addressed, poor and vulnerable people, those most affected by the cyclone are at risk of being left out of any lasting recovery and rehabilitation in the aftermath of the heavy rains and strong winds, associated with the Tropical Cyclone Idai. On 6th September 2019, HFHM facilitated the signing of “customary land consultation with chief form” for the 20 disaster affected families to be supported with housing units from the “Flood Recovery of Disaster-Affected Families in T/A Makhuwira, Chikwawa District” project funded by UNDP. These targeted families are among the 107 families that have been reallocated to Mphimbi area in Traditional Authority Makhuwira in Chikwawa district following the heavy rains and strong winds. The “Customary Land Consultation with Chief Form” is the land document that are used in the acquisition of the customary land as regulated in the Land Act. These land document confirms the ownership of the land and is approved by the Village Heads, Traditional Authorities and District Commissioners who all sign on it. These land documents provide both legal and social legitimacy of land rights. Speaking during the handover ceremony of these land certificates to the 20 families, the Programme Manager for HFHM, Lucy Mwase affirmed the importance of the security of land tenure particularly to disaster affected families that have been reallocated to new areas. “Displaced persons who do not have a rightful claim to land they have reallocated to are more likely to fall into evictions or face the threat of evictions as time goes by’’, she argued. She further stated, it is for this reason that HFHM is committed ensuring that no family moves back from sites of displacement or relocation to unsafe land. The function was presided over by the District Commissioner, Chairperson of the District Council, Traditional Authority Makhuwira, chiefs and community members.

Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) supported Habitat for Humanity Malawi (HFHM) with ? 63.74 million South Korean Won (KRW) an equivalent of U$D 57.42 thousand dollars in form of humanitarian assistance to recover the damage from the Cyclone Idai. The support was used to assist 140 Households at Chabuka Camp in Group Village Headman Chabuka, Traditional Authority Lundu in Chikwawa District. Through the support, HFHM assisted the affected 140 families with Emergency Shelter Kits (ESKs) which comprised of tarpaulins, basic, poles, planks, and basic working tools to help the families build back better as they return to their places. KOICA and Habitat for Humanity Korea visited Chikwawa to monitor the implementation of the project and identify the possible project interventions towards the families affected by the disasters. One of the visiting staff from KOICA Mozambique Office, Ms. Shin Mihye, The Development Cooperation Officer, was impressed with the commitment of HFHM in the project to ensure that families have shelter when disaster strikes. Following the monitoring visit, Mihye appreciated the impact of the project on the families that benefited from the ESKs and retaliated KOICA commitment to assist Malawi in responding with humanitarian assistance during disasters. As such KOICA came to Malawi to learn what people want to improve their resilience. Mr. JaeYeon Jo, The Staff from HFH Korea, was also pleased with the efforts of HFHM in trying to provide shelter to the families in Chikwawa who were affected with floods. Mr. Francis Sande, the Construction Specialist from HFHM thanked KOICA for supporting HFHM in responding to disaster. Chabuka was one of the 173 camps which were instituted to host the people that were displaced with floods caused by Cyclone Idai. 487 House Holds were affected, 247 houses were destroyed and 239 houses were inhabitable and 1 person was injured in the area.

On 16th May, HFHM has received a donation of 100 10Ft x 28# corrugated Iron sheets from JRP Steel and Wire Ltd. JRP Steel and Wire Ltd is a domestic steel company and donated the iron sheets to compliments HFHM efforts in responding to disasters affected families by providing decent houses that have disaster resilient features. The donation will assist towards the roofing of three more houses for three families. More information about the company that donated to HFHM can be accessed on http://jrpmalawi.com/ The story can also be found on this link https://www.zodiakmalawi.com/malawi-national-news/habitat-for-humanity-malawi-responds-to-floods

Born in 1963, Alaina John is a mother of 7 but takes care of 6 children, 4 of her own and 2 grandchildren. Alaina was born in Mangochi District but her parents moved to Salima while she was still young. Alaina has never been to school. She does piece work to support her family. The house they were living in was very small and it gave them trouble during rainy seasons as rain water could go into the house through the roof. “Even when wild winds came, I was very worried as I often thought my house would blow off and cause injuries to me and my children,” she explained. Alaina is so excited about the new house and is looking forward to occupying it as her previous housing problems will be over because of the new house she will be living in. she wishes she could be assisted to start a business although she is a little older to be doing the business herself. She could rely on her 21 year old daughter to be helping her with that if they had enough funds to start a business. Alaina is grateful to the people who have supported her with the new house, both Habitat for Humanity Malawi and the Global Village volunteers who came to build the house for her. Life will never be the same for Alaina, her children and grandchildren.

Violet Kamfunseni is a 32-year-old woman who was born at Mpanje Village under Traditional Authority Kalonga in Salima district. She is a mother to 6 children namely: Patuma Banda aged 12, Chisomo Bulazilu aged 11, Emelles Jonas aged 10, Robert Nkhaliramo aged 8, Tomas Banda aged 4 and Rashida Banda aged 1. The parents of Violet originated from Salima and they all died sometime back. Violet has 4 sisters and one brother. She did her primary school for one year at Chikombola School. Violet dropped out because of lack of school fees. While at school she wanted to obtain some vocation skills when she finished basic education to help her generate income to provide for her daily needs. Violet has three wishes for her life and her family. Firstly, she wishes if she could have adequate food to feed her family all year round. She says she usually has to skip some meals to make sure that the family has something for the next day. Secondly, she wishes to have better clothes for her and her family to wear. Some of her children have torn clothes which makes her so sad. She would love to have soap to use for washing the clothes too. Thirdly, she wishes to have good beddings and mats to sleep on at night. During the winter season she and her children suffer a lot trying to keep warm and the beddings and mats would go a long way in changing that. Violet thanks Touchstone on behalf of her 6 children for changing her housing condition from a dilapidated house to live in a decent house courtesy of the Touchstone CPS team that came to build for her. Her previous house was very small that one child slept at the grandmother’s house which is not any better. Violet lived in a one roomed house which was very small with a grass thatched roof, the floor was made using dirt, with no ventilation and walls built using unburnt bricks. The house that Touchstone is built for her is spacious, roofed with iron sheets, walls built using burnt bricks and floor made of cement. Her previous house collapsed because of rains when she had just moved into the new house. Violet is now able to provide better necessities for her children because the money she gets from doing piece works is sorely used to buy food and clothes and does not need to go into maintaining their house, something which was a problem in the past. Before After

Mtislidza, a slum in Lilongwe city is one of the poorest parts of the city. People live in slums characterized of poor water & sanitation facilities, no electricity and poor road network. Over decades, the health of the people dwelling in such parts of Lilongwe has been highly affected due to lack of safe drinking water facilities, sanitation facilities and poor hygiene due to open defecation and lack waste disposal system. HFH Malawi worked in collaboration with HFH Germany to improve the well-being of adolescent girls and residents living in Mtsiriza through its WASH project. Christina Namutwa, a beneficiary of the project is a single mother and guardian to 10 children. She was identified by the local Health officers and after going through the selection process she was chosen to be among the 37 beneficiaries of the Ecosan latrines that were constructed in Mtsilidza. In the rainy season her former toilet which she shared with her daughters’ household would get flooded and make it impossible to use the facility because it was at risk of collapsing inside. This led them to resort to either use the neighbor’s latrine or defecate in the open. This resulted in her family especially the young ones getting different diseases and infections most notably diarrhea and skin rash which was a big challenge for her because they skipped school and she had to buy medication from the pharmacy because the clinic nearby was usually out of medicine. “I want to thank Habitat for building me a toilet, I no longer have to live in shame because I did not have a decent facility. My children no longer get sick because of the risk the old toilet posed on their lives. Not only is the toilet beautiful but I can also harvest manure from it and use it in the field which will remove the burden of buying fertilizer every year.” Said Christina when she was interviewed The toilets have two chambers so when one is full, the other is used while the full one can be harvested for manure after six months. This means the problem of having to construct a latrine every time it gets full has been eliminated there by preserving land.