Mwandi Update

It is time for an update!

The last few weeks have kept us very busy. In our last blog we mentioned the survey that was being conducted to get a better and more accurate understanding of the drought situation that the Mwandi farmers are facing. That survey was completed and we have used the results as the basis for much of the now, completed and submitted proposal.

373 families were surveyed in various parts of the District of Mwandi. Let us share with you just a few of the results of the survey

• 87% of the surveyed households are using 3 or more coping strategies to deal with the shortage of food. Households are eating cheaper or different foods, are reducing the portion sizes for everyone in the family and adults are eating less meals per day to provide more food for their children.
• Dairy products and pulses (beans, lentils, peas, etc.), both important ingredients for a healthy diet, are severely lacking in the daily food intake.
• 30% of the people are eating 1 or less meals/day.
• On a 4-point scale ranging from 1 to 4 (food secure to severely insecure), 41% of the people are moderately insecure and 17% are severely insecure!
• 43% of the households have 1 or more orphans living with them.
• The April harvest is expected to be less than 10%, with 73% of the people expecting their harvest to last them for less than one month. These farmers normally depend on their harvest, not only for food to feed their families throughout the year, but also for selling a portion of it to purchase other household necessities.

It is not a good situation and is certainly one which requires immediate action.

The funding available from World Renew is not sufficient to respond to all of the needs. Together with the team here, we have had to make some difficult decisions to establish priorities. The proposal is to:

• Provide food to 2,000 families for a period of 5 months
• Limit the intervention to 10 communities
• Give each family, on a monthly basis, 50 kg of maize meal, 10 kg of beans, 2.5 litres of oil and 500 g of salt.

This will give food assistance to approximately 58% of the people living in these communities. Some painful choices need to be made as almost all members of these communities are truly vulnerable.

 As we wait for word on the project’s approval, and of course the funding that will go along with that, we continue to make preparations for the project’s implementation. There will be many challenges, but challenges in project start-ups are the norm. We are gearing up to hire staff, to issue tenders for the food commodities and transportation of the food from our warehouse to each of the 10 communities. A distribution schedule must be decided on based on how much food is to go to each community.

One very important task is to organize and train the Community Advisory Committees who will do the critical beneficiary selection, take a lead role in the actual distributions, communicate the complaints mechanism and start up the planning of the “Food with Work Expectation” (there is an expectation that beneficiaries should and will participate in community work projects).

 This week, Carl and Edith Vander Boom are arriving. Carl and Edith will be replacing us as IRMs to provide the necessary oversight in the implementation of this project. We will have 2 weeks of turn-over with them and then on April 17 we leave Mwandi to start our journey back to Canada.

Once again, we are always overwhelmed by the amount of support and encouragement we receive during these assignments. We are very thankful for your ongoing prayers and well wishes.

THANK YOU!