Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2015-02-13
Jamiatul Ulama South Africa and Radio Islam are currently in Malawi distributing aid and visiting the victims of the recent floods. Residents have told us how entire homes, villages and schools and even mosques have been washed leaving more than 200 dead and hundreds of thousands homeless.
Halima Nudi (40) a resident of Namanolo in Malawi said people in Malawi are suffering. “The rain came heavily for a month, daily and there were floods everywhere. The houses were falling and most of the people ran away from their homes to hide in the classrooms and mosques to seek shelter from the rain and flood waters.”
Nudi said the floods and heavy rains destroyed many homes, schools and even the Darul Uloom where many residents also sought shelter. She said some people even resorted to sleeping under trees.
When Radio Islam along with Jamiatul Ulama South Africa and Namanolo Islamic Educational Trust visited the area, it was discovered that heavy rain left a trail of destruction in its wake.
Besides the homes that lay in ruins, toilets and bathrooms, which are separate from the homes, were also destroyed leaving many families without ablution facilities.
It was also discovered that entire families of up to 15 people were sharing one room because they had nowhere else to live or go.
The depth of the water that destroyed so many homes could also be gauged from what was left of some buildings; a brown mud line marking almost 2 meters deep.
Nudi said sharing a room with so many people is claustrophobic and privacy was compromised. Nudi lost all her belongings in the flood – “everything was flushed away.”
Another resident of the area, Amina Ndeketa (32) who has 5 children and 6 grandchildren, share one bedroom because they don’t have money to rebuild a room in the house that was destroyed by the floods.
“We don’t have money to rebuild. Here in Malawi some men are not educated due to a shortage of finances, and therefore don’t go beyond grade 8. We are living a poor life.”
Nudi said they need help to rebuild their shattered lives and thanked Jamiatul Ulama and Namanolo for the aid that was distributed.
“Many thanks for what you have given, it’s going to assist us, we say Alhamdulillah to you as half a loaf of bread is better none.”
Despite their plight and circumstance, the Malawian people are always smiling, waving and greeting which is why the country lives up to its name of ‘the warm heart of Africa.’
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