KA Diocese launches K48m relief project

The Diocese of Karonga has embarked on a K48 million programme to feed nearly 2 500 hunger-stricken households in Rumphi, Karonga and Chitipa.

Bishop Martin Mtumbuka launched the programme at Mlowe in Rumphi on Friday.

According to the outspoken Catholic bishop, some pockets of the districts face acute hunger although the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee paints a better picture.

The diocese’s Caritas Commission, with support from Catholic Relief Services, will offer food rations to worst hit families for three months.

“Our intervention symbolises our desire to identify with people and walk with them in joy and in suffering. So, we shall really go to them,” he said.

Besides the relief items, the church is training farmers to adopt sustainable farming methods and grow a diversity of crops instead of relying on maize alone.

Traditional Authority Mwamlowe said the donation was timely as most people did not harvest enough due to drought and floods.

But hunger looms again in Mlowe because rice and maize have been attacked by leaf-borers and stalk-borers, respectively.

The extent of damage remains unknown, said Rumphi district crops officer Patrick Lungu. n