Risk of famine due to loss of crops

The Butterfly Tree has launched an appeal to help victims of the recent floods in Zambia. The president has announced it as a national disaster and it is still raining!

Due to the lack of information reported by the world press it is difficult to access just how bad the situation is; talking to my contacts in the Livingstone area it is devastating. A number of lives have been lost and many people displaced; schools have had to closed and crops destroyed. The make shift homes, in compound areas such as Maramba have collasped and rural mud huts are not standing up to the deluge. 

Perhaps the worst is still to come, with most of the crops being lost during this prime growing season, a famine is predicted. Read the rest of this entry »

Prime Minister of Mukuni passes away

I was deeply saddened to learn that Shadreck Mabote, the Prime Minister of the Mukuni Chiefdom, passed away yesterday. In the brief time I knew him I believe that he was a great man who was totally dedicated to his people and respected by all who knew him. During my visit to Mukuni in September 2007 I spent many days travelling around the community with him and admired his dedication and committment.

Quite noticeably he was dearly loved and will be sadly missed by everyone. Read the rest of this entry »

Area declared national disaster 

As if malaria, HIV/AIDS and poverty are not enough problems to contend with; now much of Zambia has been devastated by severe floods. Several weeks of continuous heavy rain has resulted in thousands of homes, livestock and agricultural products being submerged under water. Although it is the ‘rainy’ season the rainfall has been unusually high and this is the time of year when their summer crops are flourishing

Having visited Zambia several times in the past two years I have seen the hardships the people have to endure on a daily basis now they have a natural disaster to overcome. I cannot imagine how they will survive without financial aid from the Western World; President Mwanawasa has appealed for $13 million in international aid. Although we are experiencing severe flooding in the UK we do have insurances, government aid and social services to assist; many Zambian people have lost everything with little hope of recovery.

The authorities have closed schools, converting them into shelters for displaced families. More then 40 have died; many drowned or killed by crocodiles as they attempted to cross rivers for higher ground. Read the rest of this entry »