Helping Malawi Recover From Cyclone Freddy
Updated: Oct 20
Background
After traveling across the entire Indian Ocean, Cyclone Freddy made its first landfall in Madagascar on February 21, 2023. Meteorologists across the globe have been stunned by this particular pattern and how the cyclone maintained its strength over such a long distance, traveling nearly 5,000 miles over at least 36 days. After making landfall in Madagascar, this record-breaking cyclone swept through several African regions including Northeast Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Southeast Zambia, and Malawi. The socio-economic and humanitarian impacts of Freddy have been devastating on these regions as innocent people have lost their lives and hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes.
Impact on Malawi
More than 350,000 people have been displaced in the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy.
Malawi saw 6 months worth of rainfall over the course of just 6 days. With bodies of water and rivers already high, Freddy has destroyed Malawi's farmlands and produce. The destruction of this critical agriculture; the wreckage of roads, hospitals, shelters, and schools; the increased risk of water-born diseases; and the displacement of more than 350,000 people has left Malawi's government with no choice but to declare a state of emergency.
Response in Malawi
As the aftermath sets in, a number of organizations are mobilizing relief efforts to Malawi as well as the other countries and regions impacted by Cyclone Freddy. Among those organizations is a long-time client of ours, Southern Africa Literature Trust (SALT). SALT is a nonprofit organization that has provided Gospel ministry, orphan care, and aid & relief programs to the people of Malawi since 2002. Malawi is held dear in SALT's heart, so, in response to one of the longest and most powerful tropical storms to hit Southern Africa, they will be setting up a feeding station to provide food relief to those in need.
About SALT's Food Relief Program
We are setting up a feeding station this week where we will provide a meal for people with nowhere else to turn in the meantime. Beneficiaries of this feeding station will be nominated by their local village chief, in order for us to ensure that we are helping the most vulnerable.
~ Stephen Harper, Executive Director
With inaccessible roads, severe flooding, and limited access to critical resources, the need for food is becoming highly competitive. As a result, SALT will coordinate with local village chiefs to ensure that those in dire need are prioritized. After determining who is the most vulnerable to the risks of food insecurity, SALT will provide those beneficiaries with an individual barcode. The beneficiaries of these barcodes will be able to access the feeding station once a day.
How Summit One is Helping
Program Management
After we got word of Cyclone Freddy, we asked SALT's Executive Director, Stephen Harper if there was anything we could do to help. Stephen informed us of the immediate need for a Program Management System that could support their food relief efforts. Stephen's hope was this:
Barcodes could be generated and printed out for each of their beneficiaries.
The Salesforce Mobile app could be used to scan these barcodes at the feeding station.
The delivery of a meal could be tracked in Salesforce.
Staff members at the feeding station would be alerted when a beneficiary attempted to scan their barcode more than once per day.
Reports can be generated in Salesforce to see how many meals were delivered to these beneficiaries.
In less than 24 hours, we built and deployed this process and a mobile application for Stephen and his team at SALT.
Generating Barcodes
After the village chief determines who is most in need, SALT will enter the names of these individuals in Salesforce. Followed by this, a unique barcode will be generated for them in Google Sheets where SALT can go to print and hand them out to each of the beneficiaries.
Scanning Barcodes on the Salesforce Mobile App
Alerting Staff Members
Impact Reporting
SALT will leverage Salesforce's Program Management Module to track, manage, and report the impact of their Food Relief Program.
How You Can Help
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with over 70% of the population subsisting on $1.90 / day or less. Every dollar has an impact on the people of Malawi, especially in the aftermath of this storm. Therefore, Summit One has pledged to match every dollar donated (up to max of $500). If you are willing and able to contribute to SALT's relief efforts, please follow this link to donate.
Sources
BBC News, “Cyclone Freddy: Malawi reels in the aftermath of the tropical storm,” accessed March, 22, 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-65006749
World Food Programme, "WFP responds to impact of cyclone Freddy in Malawi as government declares state of emergency," accessed March 22, 2023, https://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-responds-impact-cyclone-freddy-malawi-government-declares-state-emergency