Malawi President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has taken advantage of his trip to the United Kingdom (UK) to paint a picture to the heads of charity and non-governmental organizations domiciled in the UK on how Tropical Cyclone Freddy has brought Malawi to its knees.
Writing on his Facebook page after the meeting with the NGO leaders, Chakwera said he felt it important to narrate by himself the challenges people affected by the storm are facing to survive.
“Though they have largely learnt of our plight through the media, I took time to paint a comprehensive picture of what it means for a Third World country to lose over 1000 people, have 250,000 homes damaged, render over half a million people homeless, have 40 roads cut off and leave over 2.3 million people food insecure due to submerged or washed away crop fields,” wrote the President.
Chakwera expressed optimism that the charity and non-governmental organizations have received Malawi’s appeal for technical and financial support toward recovery and reconstruction efforts.
He said he pleaded with them to get on board and help Malawi cover the deficit of over US$107 million required for the effective implementation of a short-term plan and around US$700 million estimated to address recovery and reconstruction programs.
“I have also invited them to the Donors’ Conference we plan to host later this year,” he concluded.
