Through the kindness of Christians in this country ZM/ZEC has been able to distribute bags of maize over recent months to many people who are most at risk from the crop failures and food shortages in Malawi. This has been gratefully received and is a lovely witness to God’s caring love.

Thankfully the recent harvest, though again very patchy, has relieved the situation for the moment but there are certain to be further shortages later in the year. This problem regularly occurs in the months immediately prior to the next harvest (January - April) but this time round the need will undoubtedly be more acute.

We want to continue to assist the national Churches as they minister to the many needy people in a number of ways ~

~ purchasing stocks of maize while the price is rather lower ready for distribution to the most needy people as soon as the need arises (presently a 50 kgs sack costs £5 - £7.50);

~ identifying those in greatest need. This is not a general distribution of food but targeted to particularly needy families and individuals. These are identified by the local pastor or some other key person who, where possible, keeps a record of how much was given and why (e.g. orphans, widow, elderly, etc.). Abraham Folayan of ZM writes, “Distribution by a donor body can only be meaningful if it is focussed on a specified group or area at a given time”.

~ distributing food as necessary: “We hope to provide food packs in the form of bags of maize and/or rice for those who have none or a negligible amount. In some desperate cases like very weak old women or men and some needy grand parents who keep orphans, a little money is added to the packs to enable them buy basic ingredients to use as relish with the maize/rice meal. This relief is given to Christians and non-Christians alike.”

~ providing seed corn for the next planting season which begins around Sept - Nov in most places. Again Abraham writes, “Without this provision, the famine situation will be repeated with worse consequences for many people”.

ZEC leaders and pastors preparing relief
food distribution at Chiole earlier this year

~ looking to the future. Where absolutely necessary, some fertilizers might be provided for the land. We are hoping that the emerging organic farming projects will help to offset this need and allow the land to recover from generations of over cultivation and fertilizer poisoning. The manure forks that we are sending from the UK should encourage this and improve the longer term prospects for the subsistence farmers of Malawi.

As always, ZM is working alongside the national Christians in Malawi. Hopefully as well as meeting the immediate needs of some of the most severely affected people we can, by these means, encourage them to farm the land more effectively in future and by God’s goodness further crises can be averted.

  Thank you for helping us ...to help them ...to help others at this difficult time.

At this time your plenty will supply what they need (2 Cor. 8:14)