Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA) has distributed maize to over 4, 000 households under the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Nankumba in Mangochi as a way of easing hunger situation in the area.

This is in response to an assessment conducted by Mangochi District Council which revealed that over five group village headmen in the area were food insecure.

The assessment followed a recent video clip which was trending on social media about food insecurity in the area and showed hunger stricken people threshing grains from grass for food.

Speaking during the distribution exercise on Saturday, Commissioner for DoDMA, Charles Kalemba said his department is committed to reach out to all hunger stricken households in the country.

“I would like to thank those who publicized the clip which depicted some communities under T/A Nankumba threshing grains from grass which they were processing in order to make a meal.

Kalemba assisting a beneficiary to carry her bag of maize. Photograph by Lyte Ali Mana — Kalemba assisting a beneficiary to carry her bag of maize. Photograph by Lyte Ali-Mana

“When we saw the clip, we asked Mangochi district council to do an assessment on food situation in the area, and they found out that communities are indeed food insecure, hence our coming to rescue them’’ he said.

Kalemba assured communities in Mangochi of continued support through the on-going Lean Season Response Programme where needy people in the district are currently receiving a 50-kilogramme bag of maize per household.

He therefore advised duty bearers and citizens in the district to ensure that the relief items are going to the intended beneficiaries.

According to the Disaster Risk Management Officer for Mangochi, Maria Joseph, so far over 70,000 households in Mangochi have been reached with the lean season response programme.

One of the beneficiaries, Patricia Yohane expressed gratitude towards the initiative saying it is a timely rescue from the unbearable conditions that people have been experiencing.

“I would like to thank government for coming to our rescue barely few days after it was reported that we are facing food shortage. From here, my family will no longer rely on grains from grasses as food’’ she said.