Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD) would like to respond in the post crisis phase of the floods that affected Malawi in the third week of March this year through the provision of relief food and agricultural seeds for food production. CARD had expressed willingness to respond during the crisis phase but lacked sufficient information and data of the floods to put forward a good proposal for an ACT appeal. However, the Evangelical Lutheran Development Program requested a Rapid Response Fund and was given US$25,000 to respond in the Southern Region of Malawi.

CARD wishes to respond in this post crisis phase in the Karonga district which was one of the districts worst affected by the floods and which remains in need of assistance. The proposal includes the following components:

• Food distribution (maize)
• Agriculture - seed

Summary of Appeal Targets, Pledges/Contributions Received and Balance Requested (US$)

Implementation period: June 2000 to end December 2000.

Signed by:
Thor-Arne Prois, ACT Coordinator
Geneviève Jacques, Director, Cluster on Relations, World Council of Churches
Rudolf Hinz, Director, Department for World Service, Lutheran World Federation

REQUESTING ACT MEMBER

• Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD)

IMPLEMENTING AGENCY

Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD) was formed in November, 1995 from what was called the Relief and Development Department of the Christian Council of Malawi. The organization's experience in relief and development dates way back in 1988. Since then the organization has been involved in a number of relief activities including:

• Assistance to refugees from 1988 to 1995. A number of activities were implemented to reduce the suffering of a huge population of Mozambican refugees seeking refuge from the war in Mozambique. Assistance included construction of shelter to receive new arrivals from Mozambique; food distribution, and distribution of other materials such as those required for building of houses and so on.
• Drought relief programme in 1992/93 and 1994/95. Malawi experienced what could be termed the worst drought in the 1991/92 growing season which adversely affected food production for most parts of the country. Again in 1993/94 growing season there was re-occurrence of the drought of smaller magnitude than that one of 1991/92. However, in both situations, the majority of Malawians already living under an ailing economy were adversely affected especially in areas of food security. CARD assisted the people in the worst affected districts of the country with relief food distribution.
• Flood relief programme in 1989/90; 1996/97; and 1999/2000. Malawi experienced flooding of various magnitudes in the rainy seasons of 1988/89; 1995/96; and 1998/99.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMERGENCY SITUATION

It was estimated that more 15,000 families were affected by the floods that hit Malawi due to very heavy rains experienced in February and March, 2000. A total of 4 people had been reported killed by the floods in the districts of Karonga, central Nkhotakota, and in Southern Zomba. Thousands that were rendered homeless were temporarily housed in schools and churches. The flooding damaged houses, bridges, roads and other infrastructure in the affected areas. Crops were also extensively damaged consequently compromising the food security situation in the affected areas.

The country’s economy and livelihood is mostly dependent on agriculture and it is estimated that over 80% of the population derive their livelihood from agriculture either directly or indirectly. Again agriculture accounts for about 90 per cent of the country’s export earnings and over 75% of the total employment.

The important striking feature of Malawi’s agriculture is that it is almost entirely rain-fed with few irrigation schemes.

KARONGA DISTRICT

Karonga is one of the districts in the Northern Region of Malawi. It shares boundary with Chitipa district and Tanzania in the North, North East and East; and Rumphi district in the South. It has a large river in the north called Songwe which is in the boundary between Karonga and Tanzania. Apart from the Songwe River, the district has other rivers that originate from the hilly district of Chitipa.

Karonga district is blessed with fertile flood plains which are a good source of food for people’s livelihood in good seasons.

1999/2000 Cropping Season in Karonga

Rains started very late in Karonga compared to the normal season which starts in November/December. Most areas in Karonga started receiving rains mid-January 2000 which was a relief to the people that had suffered floods the previous year. CARD, through the Disaster Preparedness Committee of Churches in Karonga, distributed maize and rice seed which was being put into good use. Reports from the Ministry of Agriculture and Churches indicated that the crop situation was progressing well until the district was surprised with the inundation of 24 – 26 March 2000 which proved to be one of the worst floods for many years with the rivers Lufira, Chungu and Songwe bursting their banks as a result of the heavy rains in the hilly areas that are source of the rivers.

Current Situation
So far the Government of Malawi, through its Disaster Preparedness Section has donated food and household utensils to some individuals in the affected area (the items provided include maize flour for 4,058 people, plates, buckets, salt, beans, Likuni phala flour). The food given was only for a short period – around two weeks – and the more vulnerable persons are still in need of basic food and assistance to regain some sort of food security.

Impact on human life
The people of Karonga district were among the worst affected with the waters sweeping across a wide area in Karonga North destroying houses; gardens and crops; livestock and infrastructures such as roads. The areas mostly affected fall in Traditional Authority Kilipula which is one of the major rice growing areas in the district. (For other details on damages see table 1 below).

Table 1: Magnitude Of Damage and Specific Sectors Affected

• A total of 15,322 farming families lost their gardens.
• 4 people reported killed
• A total of 55,448 people were rendered homeless.
• Increased incidences of diseases were witnessed due to poor dirty for drinking and damaged sanitation facilities.

As shown in Table 1 above, assessment carried out by the government in coordination with other agencies such as churches in the district and the Relief and Development Department of the Livingstonia Synod indicates that a total of 15,322 farming families had their homes and gardens destroyed. As indicated above, agriculture is the main stay of the majority of the people and the destruction of the crops meant most people were left without food and had to depend on relief food.

GOAL & OBJECTIVES

The main goal of the relief intervention in Karonga District is to assist restore food security for the people through agriculture activities. CARD proposes the following:

• Promotion of food production through provision of maize and rice seed.
• Distribution of relief food to the worst affected people in the district.

The seed will enable the people to grow their own food while the relief food will support the affected farming families while undertaking their farming activities.

BENEFICIARY INFORMATION AND TARGETED AREAS

CARD plans to assist 13,223 farming families with relief food. It has been planned that each farming family will receive a one-off distribution of 50 kilos of maize grain. CARD also aims to assist 6,600 farming families with rice and maize seed. Each family would receive 5kg. rice seed and 10kg maize seed.

The target population includes the most critically affected people in Traditional Authority Kilipula. Only families verified to have lost their crops, livestock and houses are targeted for assistance.

DESCRIPTION OF TARGETED ASSISTANCE & IMPLEMENTATION

CARD plans to distribute only maize grain for food, and then promote agricultural production through provision of rice and maize seed.

Table 2: Number of People to be Assisted

Procurement
CARD will procure all the relief items from Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) and other private traders in the country. Due to market liberalization in the country there are private traders available who could sell their food items and certified seed freely.

Transportation and Distribution
CARD will transport the relief items from point of purchase to distribution points in Karonga.

The distribution will be carried out by volunteers organized by a committee of churches based in Karonga, with supervision from 2 relief staff to be deployed by CARD on temporary basis for six months. The committee of churches in Karonga has experience in distribution of relief supplies after being involved in the exercise by CARD in the previous relief interventions.

Training
Training will be carried out to the volunteers, local leaders, and the church committee in Karonga on the skills of food and seed distribution. This is necessary to ensure a fair distribution of the items. The facilitators for the training will come from the CARD main office in Blantyre.

ADMINISTRATION, FINANCE, MONITORING & REPORTING

The overall project responsibility will be in the hands of CARD. CARD Finance Department will institute financial management and control systems in accordance to the ACT guidelines and all accounts will be audited. The Programme Manager will ensure that work of the whole relief operation goes according to plan. The two relief staff to be deployed in Karonga will ensure distribution goes according to plan.

CARD staff to be based in the programme area will ensure that activities of the programme are coordinated with other activities implemented by the government and other agencies involved in the emergency relief work. In summary the major tasks and responsibilities are given below:

COORDINATION

When the disaster occurred, the Relief and Development Department of Livingstonia Synod, one of CARD's member churches based in the Northern Region of the country, went to the area to assess the magnitude and nature of the disaster. The assessment was made in coordination with the Government Administration in the district.

CARD and Evangelical Lutheran Development Programme (ELDP) met to discuss the way they would utilize the information from the disaster area and agreed that CARD should submit an appeal to ACT.

During implementation CARD will collaborate with the Government agency for disasters called The Relief, Disaster Preparedness Department and other Non-Governmental Organizations that might work in Karonga.

BUDGET

Exchange Rate: US$ 1 = MK 46.98