wfn.org | PDA sends $200,000 to Malawi amid food crisis

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #7119 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05-April-2002
02135

PDA sends $200,000 to Malawi amid food crisis  

Aid to benefit 26,000 hungry families

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE - Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has provided $200,000 to church officials in Malawi in response to widespread famine in the developing African nation.

Primarily from One Great Hour of Sharing, the funds will be used to purchase and distribute food to villages in Malawi's southern region, according to a situation report posted last week on PDA's Web site. Millions in southern Africa are threatened by severe food shortages as the region faces widespread drought following two years of flooding.

"The findings in the visit to the project areas were astonishing," said PDA relief specialist Hudson Lugano. "I found myself weeping as I faced the severity of the need."

The money, headed to four villages in the Chingale Division of Zomba District, is being channeled through the Blantyre Synod of the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian. Twenty-six thousand families are expected to benefit from the relief effort, PDA said, adding that they will continue to require food aid over time.

Officials have warned that 70 percent of Malawi's 10 million inhabitants risk starvation. Officials fear residents will harvest their crops prematurely when Malawi's normal harvest period begins next month - a factor that could exacerbate the food crisis.

Thousands of children are reported to be malnourished and in need of therapeutic feeding in Malawi. Children have abandoned schools to join parents searching for food in the bush. A population of street children and child prostitution is also on the rise, PDA said.

"People behave as if they are drunk, a sign of not eating solid foods only pumpkin leaves, which cause swelling and wobbly walking," said the PDA situation report, quoting a Blantyre pastor. "The elderly who cannot fend for themselves are left to die because the younger and able-bodied go out scavenging for food in the bushes."

The Presbyterian Church (USA) has a long history of partnership in Malawi, the hardest hit of nations in famine-stricken southern Africa, PDA officials said. Nearly 90 percent of all Protestants in southern Malawi are members of a Presbyterian church.

PDA is planning to be engaged in the region for at least a year, and is active in early preparedness in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The current relief effort is to be followed by training and capacity building for an anticipated second wave of hunger. 
Presbyterian World Service and Development of the Presbyterian Church of Canada has provided more than $465,000 toward plans for food relief in rural communities in northern Malawi, according to PDA. 

Financial contributions may be made through Presbyterian congregations or sent to Presbyterian Central Receiving Service, Section 300, Louisville, KY 40289. Refer to designated account number #9-2000158. To make a gift with a credit card, call PresbyTel at 1-800-872-3283 or visit PDA's secure Web site at www.pcusa.org/pda/response/africa/Malawi-updte0329.shtml.
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