wfn.org | Malawi: Drought-Stricken Villagers Determined to Grow Maize

["Frank Imhoff" <franki@elca.org>]

Malawi: Kajuni's Drought-Stricken Villagers Determined to Grow
Maize Again
New Well Slowly Takes Shape, Fish Farming for Food and Income

KAJUNI, Malawi/GENEVA, 26 November 2002 (LWI) - It is a hot, dry
day and dust billows at the slightest provocation. The cloud that
we have brought in our wake lies in a thick layer over the car
when we stop in Kajuni village, Chikwawa province, southern Malawi
- one of the many drought-affected regions in the southern African
country.

The need for water is only too evident. No moist soil in sight,
just barren earth between the small mud huts. Like in many other
villages, not much grows here.

But there are alternatives. Kajuni villagers are active partners
in efforts to fight starvation and the worst imaginable - death
from hunger. The village's new well is slowly taking shape. Some
four meters below in the darkness, Christopher is hard at work,
digging out stones from the muddy, sticky bottom.

Christone Muthubule, project manager of the Evangelical Lutheran
Development Program (ELDP) in Chikwawa says the well project, with
the aim to obtain clean drinking water, is a visible sign of the
ELDP's effort to fight against starvation. "Water is essential if
you want the maize to grow and that is what we want, as it is the
most important crop here." The ELDP is the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) Department for World Service Malawi country
program.

In the past, the village managed farming without any major
difficulty. It was self-supporting and able to produce enough
harvest for about ten-months' food supply. But last year things
went wrong. First came the floods and all the crops were washed
away. When the water subsided, drought set in. During a normal
drought period people can survive on tubers such as cassava and
sweet potatoes but even those disappeared when dry earth recurred.
Currently, villagers survive on tubers and roots, and on wild
fruits, usually considered inedible. It is not a nutritious diet
but there is no choice. It is a question of having something in
the stomach.

The children appear feeble and undernourished. As one of the
locals says, "HELP US - We are starving. If we do not get help
within the next few months we can expect many deaths from
starvation. We are already witnessing the illnesses that accompany
it. Food can still be obtained but prices are unrealistically
high. If we want food we can afford, we have to walk to
Mozambique." So, many of the men have gone away to earn money to
buy food.

The ELDP is trying to establish new income-generating activities
in Kajuni. Fishing and fish-farming have been introduced in
several places in the province. Fish-farming provides the local
population with an immediate income and sets a basis for the
future.

For Dr Eliawony Meena, the Blantyre-based LWF representative,
there is no doubt about what should be done. "It is essential that
we receive funds so that we can extend the ongoing assistance in
the area. We already have a large number of projects which are
aimed at improving agricultural production. It is unfortunate that
the drought is slowing down this development."

Well-protected behind a high fence, is another ELDP initiative - a
new tree nursery. A group of women are planting small cuttings for
delivery to those who grow them in the village.

Muthubule says the ELDP wants to provide emergency food here but
this cannot be fully achieved. "Therefore we have taken the
initiative to set up nurseries for drought-resistant crops which
can be harvested three times a year."

Back at the well, Christopher is taking a well-earned break. The
first water has just begun to trickle through the bottom of the
well. He still has to dig a further 1.5-2 meters before it is deep
enough to be able to withstand drying up even in the worst of
drought periods. Then, Kajuni's inhabitants can re-establish their
fields.*

(By Copenhagen, Denmark-based LWI correspondent Michael Jensen,
following a visit to LWF field program work in southern Africa.)

(*The fourth article in an LWI series focussing on the LWF Tenth
Assembly theme, "For the Healing of the World.")

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 mllion Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and
development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted,
material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the
LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced
with acknowledgment.]

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