Mozambique Recovery Update

By Yvette Kibwika

Hours into the night, a fuery of rain and wind swept through the provinces of Manica, Sofala, Tete and Zambézia, and parts of Zimbabwe while destroying 90% of Beria, the fourth largest city of Mozambique. A flicker of hope is far from reach as the communities affected by Cyclone Idai and  try to recover. I found myself making phone calls at 3:00am to reach individuals who could assist in bringing immediate relief to the Cyclone Zone. I kept asking myself why this situation was familiar to Hurricane Katrina and the levee failure that flooded the homes, of predominantly black, Greater New Orleans, Louisiana. As a former Miss Uganda North America beauty queen, I reached out to my network and tapped a recent Bachelor’s of Communication  graduate and entrepreneur, Sandrah Namlumansi to lead an outreach and respond to the call of action set forth by the Embassy of Mozambique.

Barely missing her flight, Sandrah soon landed at International Airport on April 27th, vaccinated and anxious to connect with the communities, people and cultures of Mozambique. We were introduced to the needs of the local community through Plataforma Makobo, a nonprofit organization seeking to improve conditions of malnutrition in partnership with World Central Kitchen and the CEO of Makobo, Ruy Santos. Sandrah volunteered consistently at the organizations location in Maputo and fly to work in their new kitchen 50km from Beria in Mezimbite. We found that the Plataforma Makobo and World Central Kitchen were supporting over 5 schools in a region with about 5,000 school aged children who have gone without meals on several occasions as a result of the Cyclones, famine and lack of access to resources.

Organizations like the African Union could only step in from afar and send aid in the form of food, services, and logistical support for a short-term recovery. Sandrah quickly realized that there must be more support and partnership from neighboring countries on a continental call to support the Cyclone Zone victims. The emptiness of a connected and intercontinentally accessible region has left  solutions on the table. Not only is it up to the people of Mozambique to decide how they want to battle the effects of climate change, a continental effort must grow to open inflows of sustainable solutions in agricultural rehabilitation, sustainable building and infrastructure implementation. With the onset of the #Afcfta, we must truly live and be the change for the Africa that we want. The manifestation of the actions we take to change our world ripple into the atmosphere. If we are to be emancipated from environmental, hazards, and disaster stricken events around the world, then it is about time that we start doing more and play offensively on the climate battleground and offer you the opportunity to support the recovery.

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Click here to view a list of supplies recommended by the Government of Mozambique agency Instituto Nacional de Gestão de Calamidades that your donation can support and their report on resettlement conditions.

No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.- Unknown

The NGOs below are still hard at work trying to get the region back to its feet. Please consider to assist in anyway you can.

List of Organizations:

• World Central Kitchen
• Plataforma MAKOBO
• International Red Cross
• Care USA
• UNHCR
• Good Samaritan
• World Food Program