Habitat for Humanity Malawi has called on communities
across the country, especially those in disaster-prone areas, to construct
houses that are resilient to natural disasters in order to reduce the impact of
such events.
The organisation says it has observed that despite
several districts, including Nkhotakota, being heavily affected by floods
during the 2025/2026 rainy season, many people are still constructing houses
without following recommended safety standards.
Habitat for Humanity Malawi Resource Development and
Partnership Specialist, Anthony Chingala, made the remarks on Wednesday in
Nkhotakota when the organisation presented its pilot project to the District
Executive Committee (DEC). The project aims at constructing transitional
shelters for eight flood-affected households in Traditional Authority (T/A)
Kalimanjira.
“If you recall very well, we had floods early this year and Habitat for Humanity Malawi is coming in to respond to those floods by constructing transitional shelters for eight flood-affected households in T/A Kalimanjira,” said Chingala.
He said the initiative follows a household needs
assessment conducted by the district council in collaboration with Habitat for
Humanity Malawi, which identified families in urgent need of shelter support.
Part of the DEC members during the meeting
Chingala further indicated that the organisation is still
mobilizing resources to support more households affected by floods, noting that
other areas such as T/A Kanyenda were also impacted.
The project is expected to run from June 2026 to January
2027 and will cost 87,000 United States dollars (approximately 150 Million Kwacha) .
Reacting to the development, Nkhotakota District Disaster
Management Affairs (DODMA) officer, Romatchinga Nkhata, commended Habitat for
Humanity Malawi for the initiative, saying it will greatly assist families that
were heavily affected by floods.
Nkhata said most of the affected families are still
living in temporary shelters, and the project will help them access safer and
more stable housing.
She further noted that the houses will not be built in
the areas where the affected families previously lived, but in a safer location
identified by Traditional Authority Kalimanjira together with local leaders to
ensure safety.
According
to earlier assessments by DODMA, Nkhotakota is among the districts that were
severely affected by floods, with over 10,000 households displaced in the
district.
