Remembering Cyclone Freddy Victims a year on…..

A Memorial Service to be held in Mulanje District, Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera to attend…

?Francis Kanyongolo Writes….

A Year has passed since the devastation of Cyclone Freddy which hit Madagascar, Mozambique and most southern parts of Malawi.

?Malawians will never forget the occurrence of landslides in Chirobwe, Chiromoni and Soche townships in Blantyre, where a lot of damage was caused.

And some 80 Kilometers away in Mulanje, Thuchila, Thyolo, Thava, rivers overflowed, maize fields were swept away, as the Cyclone left a trail of dead bodies.

A gory sight was that of piles and piles of caskets which filled up the mortuaries, more significantly at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre.

Indeed a lot of people were affected and even though there is a process of recovering, the shell shock remains.

?Local media reports recently stated that a Memorial Service will be held in Mulanje District, and State President Lazarus Chakwera will preside over, in honor of the victims.

To date Malawi Government has been collaborating efforts with Non Governmental Organisations,donors, well wishers and it has even engaged the services of ?former Heads of State Dr Bakili Muluzi and Dr Joyce Banda, who are supervising the rebuilding of houses, as well as sourcing food and relief items for the affected.

Over 30 roads were badly damaged by Cyclone Freddy throughout Malawi’s Southern Region. This is in addition to numerous bridges, houses, maize fields that were swept away, within the localities of Blantyre, Thyolo, Mulanje, Nsanje and Chikwawa.

Malawi Parliamentarians have called for National Budget adjustments, as a way of sourcing funds to help those affected by Cyclone Freddy.

?

?