Homes Destroyed by Malawi’s Cyclone Freddy Still in Ruins: Catholic Charity

She said that the community is “predominantly maize but the changing weather patterns make a once reliable crop unpredictable.”

In the village, the Trócaire official says that the unpredictable weather patterns have affected agriculture because the farmers no longer know when to plant and when to harvest. She adds that this condition has contributed to “unprecedented levels” of food shortage.

She says “We were there during the wet season and yet the crops were failing in parts because, in the traditionally wet season this year, there were three weeks without sufficient rain in February which is catastrophic for crop survival.”

“The weather extremes are battering this country making it so much harder to grow crops.  The floods wash seedlings and good topsoil into the rivers, and the dry spell then stunts the growth of anything that remains,” Ms. Kelly says.

She says that the unpredictable weather patterns are exacerbated by the fact that people are cutting down trees to make and sell charcoal for fuel to cook. Despite knowing the implications of their activity, she says the people still do it because “they have no other way of feeding their families.”

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Ms. Kelly says that the entity is fundraising through its Lenten Appeal this year to raise enough funds to drill a borehole and install a water pump in the villages that are having a tough time finding clean water.

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.