Lilongwe, Malawi … Msamba Banda is the Treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors for Action for Progress, the in-country, sister organization to the Malawi Project. He lives in Lilongwe, the nation’s capital, but as with many Malawians has a tiny home in his home village, where he perhaps will retire someday.
This year the rains started early. By the 10th of October the central part of the nation had already received a soaking. In fact, just the day before it was so intense, and the predictions for the upcoming season so dire, it captured front page headlines in The Daily Times newspaper. The lead headline read, “MET DEPT ISSUES FLOODS ALEART. It went on with glaring sub-headlines that declared, “Expect above normal rainfall in Oct,” and “Disaster Risk Act not operationalized.” Under these alarming headlines dire predictions warned of disasters in the 2023-2024 rainfall season.
The story was not news to Banda. The disaster had already hit him. His home and many others in his home village had been torn to the ground by the wind and rain. While there are some instances of homeowners having flood and wind damage insurance, most often Malawians cannot afford the high costs they would be paying to insure their home and property. (Additional pictures can be seen on the Malawi Project Facebook site ( https://www.facebook.com/MalawiProject ) and the Malawi Project Flickr site ( https://www.flickr.com/photos/malawiproject )
Picture: Home of Msamba Banda after October storm.