Update on South Africa

Cyclone Idai: Update on HOPE worldwide’s Relief Support in Mozambique

Natural disasters happen around the world, and for many of us, we are touched, we pray, donate support and then we move on with life. But for those directly affected, the effects of the disaster last much longer and impact their lives forever.

Just over two months ago, Cyclone Idai devastated the northern town of Beira, Mozambique and nearby towns, killing around 1 000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands in urgent need of food, water and shelter. Cholera cases climbed due to the lack of access to clean water. A more powerful second cyclone, Kenneth, struck Northern Mozambique six weeks later.

With the wonderful support from Wine to Water, the South African Churches of Christ, the South African Council of Churches, A Better Africa, Makro, the Red Cross, UNHCR, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation and the South African Defence Force, HOPE worldwide SA was able to provide 300 water filters and over 6.6 tons of food to partners on the ground for distribution.

HOPE worldwide SA’s director Dr. Marc Aguirre and his colleague Keith Marais, managed to secure a flight to Mozambique on a SA C130 Defence Force plane free of charge to deliver the food, bought with the donations of disciples and local partners.

On their arrival in Beira, they had just 45 minutes to hand over the food parcels and water filters to selected aid agencies on the ground. Keith said, “It’s truly amazing and heart-warming to see people come together and contribute in whichever way they can, to ensure relief support reaches those in need.”

As the local government is moving the focus from relief to recovery efforts, there are still many people in need of food aid. HOPE worldwide SA will aim to deliver these by road. Please pray that the food will reach those in need . Marc added, “We are planning a larger shipment of over 80 tons of food to affected families in the region in the next few weeks. Please support our Disaster Relief efforts by donating to HOPE worldwide via: www.hopeworldwidesa.org (South Africa Office) or https://hopeww.kindful.com/ (Global office).”

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