News Details
Hundreds of families in Nchalo, in the Lundu area, have now spent their second night on the M1 road as floodwaters fill their homes, rendering them uninhabitable.
This follows days of heavy downpour of rain in the lower Shire Valley districts of Nsanje and Chikwawa. The situation is worsened by the large volumes of water the area is receiving from the Shire and Mwanza rivers as the rains continue to pour in the uplands where these two big rivers flow from.
According to the status report from the Department of Disaster Management Affairs as of 19th March 2026, a total of 1565 households have been affected, with three deaths and two injuries. This follows heavy rain the area has received from the 15th to 18th March 2026. All the TAs in Chikwawa have been affected. The number affected is but a fraction of the country’s total of 9,598.
DoDMA has since begun distribution of relief items, with a full-scale response to follow once the situation eases. As of today, the M1 road between Bereu and Nchalo in Chikwawa is completely cut off, rendering mobility impossible.
The Diocese of Chikwawa, through its Development desk(CADECOM) in the Social Services Directorate, has already begun interfacing with different donor partners and organizations with an aim to raise funds for relief activities.
Meanwhile, the weather conditions in the region give hope as for the first time in four days, there is sunshine. This will offer comfort as water levels are set to go down, offering relief for these victims to return home.
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Tue
17
Mar 2026
People in the Traditional Authorities of Chiputula and Makhuwira are destitute following a heavy storm that hit their area. According to a report by Fr Samson Kayuni, who is the parish priest for Nkhate parish under whose jurisdiction these areas fall, the most affected villages are Dwanya in Chiputulas area and Mphali in Makhuwiras area. According to this report, the damage caused by this catastrophe is of varying degrees. For example, in Mphali village, one person is reportedly to have lost their life, with many having sustained serious injuries due to the effect of the storm. The report shows that Rabecca Mlonya, a girl who is a Standard 8 learner at Phimbi Primary School, got her leg fractured and was treated at Chikwawa District Hospital. In Dwanya, on the other hand, a household is reported to be finding shelter in a chicken kraal. This only shows how desperate the situation and the plight of these people are. The strong wind that hit the area is said to have been of great magnitude, such that big trees have been brought down and houses demolished. In Mphali, elderly people who had just benefited from a recently completed programme of building their houses are homeless again after the storm. Another family in the same village can not believe that after making savings for five years to build a house, that house is now brought to the ground, the roof blown off, and they are living in a kitchen that has survived the damage. These narratives only show a tip of the damage as narrated by Fr Kayuni, who reckons he failed to complete the assessment because of fatigue, since many households have been left without shelter. Fr Kayuni has since made a call to well-wishers to help in alleviating the pain and loss of the people by coming in to help with basic materials for shelter, foodstuffs, and other amenities. The Diocesan Social Services Directorate, through the Catholic Development Commission, from time to time provides interventions where the livelihood and dignity of persons are compromised.
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Mon
16
Mar 2026
His Lordship Peter Musikuwa, Bishop of the Diocese of Chikwawa has hailed the early signs of good preparation as the Diocese gears for the celebration of the 63rd World Day of Prayer for vocations. The sentiments were made on Sunday, 15th March at St Kalemba parish, Bangula, where the Bishop led in the Eucharistic ceremony launching this year’s celebrations. Speaking during the celebration, the Bishop reminded the congregation, including the youths, that later in May at the summit of this celebration, all roads will lead to Bangula and therefore the whole Diocese will be watching with keen interest such a celebration. He therefore called upon parents to encourage young people to prepare for this day. “I am hopeful that we will have a successful celebration. Today, the choir sang well, the organization has been good, and yet this is but the launch. We hope we will have a very good celebration next month,” said Musikuwa. The mass drew together young people from parishes closer to St Kalemba. Among the priests present Fr Stanford Sungani, Youth Chaplain, Fr Bernard Limani PMS Director, Fr Emmanuel Malikebu, deputy Vocations Director, and Fr Tobias Gamera, who is parish priest for Kalemba parish. The celebration for Word Day of Prayer for vocations will be held on 26th April at St Kalemba parish, under the theme “Youth: Be One in Christ, United in Mission.”
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Tue
10
Mar 2026
The Catholic Development Commission (CADECOM), through its subsidiary office in the Diocese of Chikwawa, has come to the aid of families in Nsanje who are going through hunger. The assistance led by the national office for CADECOM is being carried out with the help of CADECOM Chikwawa, offering cash transfer and fortified flour for malnourished kids. This assistance has been funded by The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) at the tune of 200000 british pounds, has been given to support 3100 families in Nsanje, Nkhotakota and Lilongwe rural. Speaking during the distribution exercise at traditional authority Ndamera in Nsanje, Bishop Peter Musikuwa of the Diocese of Chikwawa, expressed gratitude to SCIAF and the Scottish government for the support. “We can only thank SCIAF for this assistance. The support means alot to the families and will help them cope with the lean season until they are able to harvest” Said Musikuwa. He then urged beneficiaries of the program to prioritize buying food for their households, stressing that the fortified flour will help ease malnutrition cases. Fr Patrick Kamba who is National Director for the Social Services Directorate, echoed the Bishops call for the beneficiaries to put the assistance into good use. He further called them to report any abuse that may occur during this time. The exercise was attended by officials from Nsanje District council. Under the initiative, each beneficiary household receives Mk100,000.00 and a 10kilogram bag of fortified corn and soya blend for under 5 children. The assistance will be distributed in 7 centers in Nsanje district in the Diocese of Chikwawa namely; Ndamera, Mbenje, Nsanje, Tengani, Phokera, Bangula and Sorgin.
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Mon
9
Mar 2026
The Diocesan Fundraising Committee has announced the scheduling of a dinner and dance to raise funds for the priests’ medical scheme. Following the committee’s meeting, which took place on 1st March 2026, the fundraising dinner and dance is set to be held on 29th May 2026 at St Matthews hall, Nchalo. Prices for the fundraiser are as follows: 80,000.00 for singles, 150000.00 for couples, and 1000000.00. According to information shared by the Diocesan treasury and the focal person for the medical scheme, priests are on an Executive gold MASM scheme. The treasury indicated that the Diocese needs a minimum of 1000000.00 for each priest every year to be fully covered in this scheme. This will be the first time that the Diocese will have a fundraiser such a health policy for priests. Previously, a fundraiser was held in aid of the fees for major seminarians. The Diocese implores on all people of good will to support this initiative by coming to attend the event. People are also encouraged to send any sort of help that they can through the right channels by reaching out to Fr Francis Mpatsa who is Diocesan Finance Administrator on 0888335752, or Mr Benson Ndenguma who is the Fundraising Chairperson on 0881808199, or Fr John Denis Lockie who is the Communications Secretary on 0996051570. These contact persons will be able to assist in case any well wisher wants to donate towards this course.
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