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The Lutheran World Federation
Lutheran World Information |
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| 26.11.2002 |
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| Malawi: Kajuni’s Drought-Stricken Villagers Determined to Grow Maize Again |
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New Well Slowly Takes Shape, Fish Farming for Food and Income
KAJUNI, Malawi/GENEVA, 26 November 2002 (LWI) - It is a hot, dry day and dust billows at the slightest provocation. The cloud that we have brought in our wake lies in a thick layer over the car when we stop in Kajuni village, Chikwawa province, southern Malawi – one of the many drought-affected regions in the southern African country.
The need for water is only too evident. No moist soil in sight, just barren earth between the small mud huts. Like in many other villages, not much grows here.
But there are alternatives. Kajuni villagers are active partners in efforts to fight starvation and the worst imaginable – death from hunger. The village’s new well is slowly taking shape. Some four meters below in the darkness, Christopher is hard at work, digging out stones from the muddy, sticky bottom.
Christone Muthubule, project manager of the Evangelical Lutheran Development Program (ELDP) in Chikwawa says the well project, with the aim to obtain clean drinking water, is a visible sign of the ELDP’s effort to fight against starvation. “Water is essential if you want the maize to grow and that is what we want, as it is the most important crop here.” The ELDP is the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service Malawi country program.
In the past, the village managed farming without any major difficulty. It was self-supporting and able to produce enough harvest for about ten-months’ food supply. But last year things went wrong. First came the floods and all the crops were washed away. When the water subsided, drought set in. During a normal drought period people can survive on tubers such as cassava and sweet potatoes but even those disappeared when dry earth recurred. Currently, villagers survive on tubers and roots, and on wild fruits, usually considered inedible. It is not a nutritious diet but there is no choice. It is a question of having something in the stomach.
The children appear feeble and undernourished. As one of the locals says, “HELP US – We are starving. If we do not get help within the next few months we can expect many deaths from starvation. We are already witnessing the illnesses that accompany it. Food can still be obtained but prices are unrealistically high. If we want food we can afford, we have to walk to Mozambique.” So, many of the men have gone away to earn money to buy food.
The ELDP is trying to establish new income-generating activities in Kajuni. Fishing and fish-farming have been introduced in several places in the province. Fish-farming provides the local population with an immediate income and sets a basis for the future.
For Dr Eliawony Meena, the Blantyre-based LWF representative, there is no doubt about what should be done. “It is essential that we receive funds so that we can extend the ongoing assistance in the area. We already have a large number of projects which are aimed at improving agricultural production. It is unfortunate that the drought is slowing down this development.”
Well-protected behind a high fence, is another ELDP initiative – a new tree nursery. A group of women are planting small cuttings for delivery to those who grow them in the village.
Muthubule says the ELDP wants to provide emergency food here but this cannot be fully achieved. “Therefore we have taken the initiative to set up nurseries for drought-resistant crops which can be harvested three times a year.”
Back at the well, Christopher is taking a well-earned break. The first water has just begun to trickle through the bottom of the well. He still has to dig a further 1.5-2 meters before it is deep enough to be able to withstand drying up even in the worst of drought periods. Then, Kajuni’s inhabitants can re-establish their fields.*
(By Copenhagen, Denmark-based LWI correspondent Michael Jensen, following a visit to LWF field program work in southern Africa.)
* This contribution is the fourth in a Lutheran World Information (LWI) features’ series on the 2003 LWF Tenth Assembly theme, “For the Healing of the World.” The aim is to highlight the understanding of the assembly theme in the different regional and local contexts of the worldwide Lutheran communion. Focus is on projects dealing with reconciliation and healing. The 21-31 July Assembly will take place in Winnipeg, Canada, hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
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