Special Malawi flood update January 2015

Annie Mkandawire
Project Director

Praying with Us and
Supporting Us...

As a friend of Hope Missions we ask for your prayers for Annie and her team at this time, and ask whether you would consider giving a little extra at this time of need. All gifts are welcomed but we ask particularly whether you would consider a regular monthly amount, however small, as this enables the team to plan and use their resources most effectively. For information on how to support us further please click here.

We pray God will use this challenging time to enable the HMM team and the HMM church plants to be a blessing to their communities, showing the love of Christ in words and deeds:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

(Ephesians 3:20-21)

Dear Friends & Supporters,

We pray this update finds you well and that you have had a good start to 2015. There is much to share with you about the ongoing work of Hope Missions Ministries in Malawi, but we are taking this opportunity to provide a special update regarding the recent extreme storms that have impacted the country in recent weeks.

The national picture
Nationally the storms have resulted in hundreds dead and hundreds of thousands displaced or homeless, with a state of emergency being declared. For more on the background to the flooding and the relief efforts so far we can refer you to the following BBC news reports:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/30886147
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30980324

The Hope Missions villages
With regards to the villages into which HMM works we can report that although the scenes were not as dramatic as for more southern areas of the country, there is widespread infrastructural damage and many families are suffering on a personal level. The storms were violent, ripping roofs off people's homes and washing away possessions.

In Kayabwa the nursery school run by HMM was washed away and 14 homes have been affected (including that of the village chief, see picture).

By a miracle the nearly completed church building survived intact, despite the trees that surround it all being uprooted! It is hoped that funds can be raised quickly to finish it with cement floors and plastered walls so that the nursery school children can meet there.

A corner of the building of the nursery school in the village of Thugwalugwa was also damaged and the nursery school and village latrines in Lemesi need rebuilding.

The rudimentary church structure in Chapendeka has also been left unusable, although the community have already used bricks to erect a temporary shelter and may need assistance for a roof.

We praise God that Biwi and Chapsinja were largely unaffected.

The HMM team have been doing what they can, providing comfort and assistance to villagers. Emergency funds from our supporters are being used to provide relief, which is being delivered in two stages.

Phase 1, which commences tomorrow, is to provide families with maize, beans, salt, buckets, plates and utensils, blankets and soap. Work is also being planned to rebuild community latrines and rebuild the nursery school in Lemesi.

Phase 2 will involve Annie and the Hope Missions team making an assessment of villagers' homes and other community structures and determining what resources are available to help them, with priority being given to the homes of the sick and the elderly.

More information on how you can help and support at this time is given in the block on the left side of this email update.

With heartfelt thanks for your friendship and support,

Alex and Sara Millington
on behalf of Annie Mkandawire and the HMM team

Hope Missions, UK
www.hopemissionsministries.com

"Transforming communities through the implementation of programs which affect all areas of community life including: agriculture, education, economic empowerment, advocacy and discipleship, working through the local church and community leaders."