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CURE Malawi and Partners Extend a Hand to the Victims OF Cyclone Idai

By CURE International

June 3^rd, 2019

CURE International has partnered with International Aid, Kids Around the World and Hope and Healing to ship containers filled with hygiene kits and food packets to aid the victims of Cyclone Idai in Malawi. The kits are scheduled to arrive within the next four to six weeks. The cyclone, which made landfall in March of this year, caused extensive damage when heavy winds and rainfall ripped through parts of the country. Major flooding ensued, disrupting lives as homes and fields of crops were washed away. The hygiene kits, donated by Christian relief ministry International Aid, will provide much-needed help during this time of turmoil.

CURE Malawi and Partners Extend a Hand to the Victims OF Cyclone Idai

Last month, CURE sent a team from Beit CURE International Hospital to visit the flood victims of Cyclone Idai at Bitilinyu Camp in the Nsanje district. Their mission: to assess how they could physically and spiritually assist the people affected by the disastrous flooding. They hoped CURE International and some of its partner organizations would be able to provide much-needed aid.

The Bitilinyu campsite, where the flood victims currently reside.

CURE staff members were welcomed with open arms by the camp residents, who graciously walked their visitors around the campsite. 11,914 victims reside at Bitilinyu Camp. The overflowing population, combined with limited resources, has caused significant hardship within this makeshift community. Victims shared that their greatest need is for food, but medical assistance is also in high demand.

A local told us, “Women have their tents, men have their tents. One tent can hold seven to ten people.” Though the board members of the camp do their best to keep families together, the ratio of tents to people is too small, and tents are overcrowded. The local continued, saying, “A woman is supposed to have her partner. Each man is aware that they are separated and saying, ‘but my kids and wife are there!’ It is very painful. We have to encourage them to keep praying so they can have peace in their mind.”

After touring the site, CURE staff sat with the camp administrators to discuss their situation and to listen to the stories of their people. The leaders expressed how they could not fully understand the ways in which God was working, but said they knew He was with them, assisting and guiding all of their people. One of the camp members said, “It’s only God who could send you, and if it’s just for a little thing, He will use that little thing.” He went on to say, “When people bring something, each person will take, break in half and give to the other. God is there because each one is giving to the other, even when they have nothing. God is in the little things.”

Children in the village smiling through their hardship.

The children loved having their photo taken and playing with CURE staff. They appreciated having visitors who made them smile and feel valued.

CURE shares the gospel, bringing hope to the community.

A local pastor from Nsange accompanied CURE Malawi’s spiritual team to help minister to the people residing at the campsite. Together, they spent the remainder of their time at Camp Bitilinyu sharing the gospel, listening to stories, and encouraging the community.

Two mothers shared their heartfelt stories with the community and our CURE staff members. One described the moment when the water came flooding into her family’s home saying, “We could see the water begin to come into the house from under the door. Eventually the water rose and we had to climb a tree. We stayed in the tree for two days until the government sent a helicopter to evacuate us.”

She went on to explain how difficult it was to watch her house being swept away by the flood waters while sitting helplessly in the tree. The other woman mentioned how horrible it felt to lose her home and all of her family’s belongings. They now have no money to buy new land or to build another home, a common concern among most of the residents.

Food is foremost on their minds. Some expressed a desire to buy fertilizer to grow crops, so they could have something to eat. The sheer number of victims has made it difficult for organizations to reach those in need, and their worries are compounded daily. Regardless, many declared that “despite all of the difficulties, we see God, so we rejoice because we are alive.”

Jarson Chaponda, a member of CURE Malawi’s spiritual department, shared, “We have come to share that Jesus Christ loves you, and though the world can forget about you, the one who died on the cross, Jesus, always remembers you.”

CURE's directors and medical team discuss how CURE International can help.

CURE International's Chief Operating Officer Brian Van Hall and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Greg Bellig joined the team from CURE Malawi and witnessed the lives of the flood victims residing at Camp Bitilinyu. They spent their time assessing how CURE International could best help the situation, using the resources entrusted to our mission.

CURE's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Greg Bellig, plays with the children and is given a newborn to hold.

The children living at the camp had kind and energetic hearts. CURE’s staff agreed that it was beautiful to witness such joy and positivity from these kids during such challenging times.

CURE Malawi’s Executive Director, Mark Deysher, thanks the chairmen of the camp for sharing their stories and welcoming CURE.

CURE distributes soap and soy packets to the flood victims at the camp.

CURE Malawi’s staff left Camp Bitilinyu with heavy hearts, resolved to help the people there. They left behind small gifts of soap and soy packets, filled with protein, to thank the camp in Nsanje for allowing CURE’s team to visit. The residents were grateful for the small gifts.

CURE leadership quickly devised a plan to help the flood victims. Since the staff at CURE Malawi hospital regularly hold mobile clinics throughout the country, it made sense to provide flood relief to the patients and their families during those trips. The mobile clinics take place throughout various districts, so the hygiene kits and food packs will be distributed to flood victims far and wide. The hope is that these kits will bring comfort and that the victims will know that, no matter what their struggles, they are never alone.

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. Psalm 57:1-2