Cyclone Idai - Emergency Relief
On March 14th Cyclone Idai made landfall near the city of Beira, Mozambique which is home to over 500,000 people. With winds reaching up to 177 km/h, the storm traveled through Mozambique to neighbouring Zimbabwe and Malawi. The total death toll is estimated at 700 people, although the numbers continue to rise and won’t officially be known until the waters recede.
Over 90,000 people have been displaced in Mozambique, which is said to have borne the brunt of the flooding due to the rivers flowing downstream from surrounding countries. People are short on food, clean water, and cases of cholera were confirmed in Beira and malaria cases are on the rise as well.
The funds donated through this page will be given to Caia Connection, a non-profit organization based in Victoria, British Columbia which supports the work of Kuwangisana, a grassroots organization based in the Caia district of Mozambique. Kuwangisana is a non-profit/non-government community organization that provides programs to support and empower local people, especially women and girls in rural areas of Mozambique in attaining education and health services.
Kuwangisana will use these funds to provide emergency relief including food and clean water to those who have been displaced by the flood. Gabriel Miandica, the Country Director for Kuwangisana in Mozambique, has provided a rough cost breakdown of emergency supplies which donated money will provide:
$5 dollars will provide a mosquito net - these are very important to protect against malaria infected mosquitos;
$10 will purchase a blanket;
$30 will provide water treatment for a family of four for a month;
$40 will purchase a set of cooking pots;
$100 will provide a family of four with very basic supplies for a month, which would include corn meal, cooking oil, salt, sugar, and soap.
My friend and founder of Mamas 4 Mamas International, Erin MacAuley Davalos, has volunteered with Kuwangisana in Mozambique and we have been in contact with members of the organization who are giving us updates on the situation there. Not only are people in need of food, clean water, and shelter, but educational facilities, health facilities, and temporary homes for pregnant women that were built by Kuwangisana have been destroyed.
I am starting this Go Fund Me because I trust the connections that Erin and I have made through these organizations and have seen the results of funds being provided to Kuwangisana (Mamas 4 Mamas recently donated $450 dollars for emergency relief - you can see the update on the Mamas 4 Mamas facebook page). Caia Connection is completely volunteer run, so there are no administrative "middle men" to go through - the money is wired directly from their Vancity account to Kuwangisana in Mozambique. Perpetua Alfazema, executive director of Kuwangisana, and Gabriel Miandica then handle the distribution of funds in Mozambique. Kuwanginsana and Caia Connection have an MOU agreement which explains the budget and how the funds will be spent.
For further information of either of these organizations please visit their websites:
https://www.caiaconnection.org/
https://www.kuwangisana.org/
http://mamas4mamas.ca/
To learn more about the toll Cyclone Idai has taken on the affected communities, this is a comprehensive CNN article with many videos and first hand accounts:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/22/africa/cyclone-idai-1-week-later-intl/index.html
Listen to a CBC Radio interview by Perpetua Alfazema, Executive Director of Kawangisana, on the events unfolding in Mozambique:
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/radio-active/segment/15680825?fbclid=IwAR2Q5jV5eGaneUsHGo1TyJ-yDxuUusVNjLP-V25C5BRyJd3n3qV1zKjBRL4
Thank you so much for your time and consideration!
Kyla
Many homes have been destroyed.
Water treatment is badly needed as wells are contaminated by flood waters. The risk for cholera is high if the water has not been treated.
