Dominique Bowden
Emergency relief for families affected by Cyclone Freddy
Fundraising for Love Support Unite
Story
LSU and Tilinanu Education
An update for you all.
Alice and I have bought, packed, organised and sent off the donations for communities in the south they left us at 5.55am this morning and arrived safely with The Sparkle Foundation coordinators this afternoon. We’ve been sharing progress on our social media pages, mainly;
We are so so grateful for all those that are still sending in donations as the money will go to rebuilding the home of one of the girl’s that previously lived at Tilinanu orphanage. Her guardian, an elderly grandmother, had her entire house swept away in the cyclone. They lost everything. We initially thought that any money donated would go there first, but due to the inappropriate weather conditions and practicality of rebuilding anything during this time, we thought it best to donate funds, food and care packages to the displaced communities via The Sparkle Foundation first.
It is still the case however, that we have been unable to contact the guardians of the other two girls down south.
Previous message:
We have 3 girls living in the south of Malawi and have only been able to contact 1 guardian at present.
Danata (aged 14), is one of our girls at boarding school in the south. We have been in contact with her grandmother (her guardian). Her house has been completely destroyed and washed away. This is a huge concern as Danata will be going home for her school holidays in 2 weeks and will have nowhere to go. No roof over her head. No food. No blankets. Her grandmother now has nothing and it is not an option for Danata to remain at the boarding school.
We need to send immediate relief.
We are raising funds to send directly to our girls (and their guardians) affected in the south. Any excess we raise will go to The Sparkle Foundation who are working around the clock to help villagers take refuge in Zomba (an area heavily affected by the cyclone).
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Info about what’s happening:
As some of you may of heard by now, Cyclone Freddy is the strongest tropical cyclone on record and could also be the longest-lasting one. The cyclone swept through Mozambique and hit Malawi on Sunday 12th March.
Rising rivers have swept away bridges, landslides have decimated houses, roads have collapsed and power lines and trees have blocked pathways throughout the areas affected.
Densely-populated poorer communities, living in brick and mud houses, have been hardest-hit. As always, the most disadvantaged people are affected the worst. The death toll is rising and many people are still missing. The numbers coming out of Blantyre are increasing hourly. One of the saddest facts is that the hospitals are now overwhelmed with bodies and over 20,000 people are now displaced.
Not only is all of this utterly heartbreaking and devastating, but it comes at an already difficult time. Cholera is affecting people across the country at an alarming rate and this cyclone, with the rising rivers and masses of rain will bread more of this frustratingly curable disease.
The rains will also bring more mosquitos, which again - will inevitably cause a rise in Malaria.
We are appealing for funds to help relieve families as the cyclone and its path of destruction has affected more than just the locals’ loss of crops and food, it is their homes, education and way of life.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for considering donating just a few pounds. Every penny will go directly to families effected.
Latest - Tuesday night news update - 14th March