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Carefully holding onto the branches of a tree above raging floodwaters, Liness Zomba did the unimaginable, she helped a fellow woman deliver her baby in that dangerous situation, even as she mourned the loss of another newborn she had to bury on an anthill. In that moment of courage, she gave life while disaster consumed her own.
Liness Zomba: grateful for the support
A survivor of three catastrophic floods, she now queues for lifesaving non‑food items, her heroism unrecognized, her resilience tested yet again by climate‑induced devastation.
Born in 1955, Zomba is a village headwoman in Chikwawa District, Malawi. Widowed and once a mother of eleven children, three of whom have died, she now cares for three grandchildren. Her life has been defined by survival through three major catastrophes.
“No food. No house. I do piecework harvesting sorghum. The whole area is underwater. I planted sesame and maize, but they are all gone. All our livelihoods are gone including my hard-earned five bags of the staple food, maize, have been washed away,” she narrates emotionally, recalling how she survived the recent floods.
In 2015, she clung to a tree for four days before soldiers rescued her. In 2023, devastating Cyclone Freddy swept away her three‑bedroom house, forcing her to sleep under plastic sheeting. Each time, she returned to her flood‑prone village, still hoping for government support to relocate as she does not have means to restart a new life elsewhere away from her ancestral land.
Her community, once a breadbasket of maize, sorghum, and cattle, is now a floodplain plagued by crocodile attacks and hunger.
“I strongly believe climate change is real, and my village is a living testimony. Water has taken over my village. We used to have large herds of cattle, now we do not have, and we can’t keep them there,” she emphasizes.
Despite the devastation, Zomba is still hopeful of a better life someday. She recalls with pride the child she helped deliver in a tree, a decade ago, now thriving in primary school. Yet she also remembers the heartbreak of failing to save another newborn, buried hastily on an anthill before the waters rose again.
She recalls being rescued by military boats, supplied through DanChurchAid to the Malawi Government, that carried her, the ‘miracle baby’ Chrisy, and her mother to safety in Mwananjovu Village, away from the flooded Shire River.
Recently, she received lifesaving non‑food items (NFIs) comprising a blanket, mat, and aluminum pot from NCA‑DCA’s emergency response.
“This is timely support. I never imagined a life of borrowing a cooking pot from a neighbour each time I wanted to make meals. Today, I have a pot of my own. Thanks to NCA‑DCA,” she gratefully narrates.
Traditional Authority Ngowe of Chikwawa expressed deep appreciation for the support rendered in his area and urged for continued assistance to help the affected population recover once the camps are decommissioned.
With support from the Government of Norway, the NCA‑DCA Malawi Joint Country Programme has distributed lifesaving non‑food items, including blankets, dignity kits, pots, and sleeping mats to flood survivors, easing their immediate suffering. Adolescent girls and mothers have also received dignity kits to restore a sense of safety and dignity in the aftermath of disaster.
Beyond emergency relief, the organisation is mobilizing additional resources to help affected communities recover and rebuild, ensuring that resilience takes root even after the storm.
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