Falkirk woman living in Malawi asks people back home for support for communities after devastating Cyclone Freddy

Robyn Gargan, from South Alloa, has been living in the African country for the last six months volunteering with Scottish based charity Project Trust, which sends young people from the UK on teaching and social care placements to countries across Asia, South America and Africa.

The 17-year-old is living in the centre of Blantyre, Malawi’s financial capital and second biggest city and has seen first hand the damage and destruction caused when Cyclone Freddy hit the area earlier this month. She has been doing all that she can to support local charities provide support to those who have lost everything.

Robyn, a former Larbert High pupil, explained: “Most of the damage caused by Cyclone Freddy has been felt in Blantyre. Mudslides and flooding have destroyed thousands of homes across the region with the most recent figures reporting over 400 deaths and 345,000 people displaced.

"When hearing about the cyclone my family were of course very worried, however I am living in a sturdy, well built house and was able to message and check in every day.

“Seeing the devastation caused was very very upsetting. I felt a deep sorrow and also a great sense of guilt to be sitting in a warm and safe house with access to everything I need and more. I have never been so glaringly aware of how privileged my life is until I visited the camps and saw the devastation caused to people’s lives first hand.

"There are over 500 camps in the affected districts where displaced people are currently sheltering, mostly schools with the schools being cancelled until April 17.

"I visited three of the smaller camps – the biggest I visited had around 350 people whilst the largest in the region has over 4000 – with the Malawian Red Cross earlier this week helping to distribute essential sanitary supplies such as chlorine, water purification tablets and soap to those who need it.

"This was a very sobering experience visiting these camps where people are sleeping on the floors of classrooms and relying on local charities and NGOs for basic necessities as they have lost absolutely everything, including family members and friends for many. Despite this, the people we visited were able to smile and ask how we were and to wish us well.”

With the aftermath of the cyclone continuing to impact on people across the region where she is staying, Robyn is hoping people from around the world including back home in the Falkirk district will offer their support to the local charities on the ground.

She said: “People here are donating what clothes and food they can, however most people in Malawi are living hand to mouth, with over 50 per cent of the population living below the poverty line. Relatives are taking in family where they can and in the displaced persons camps there is a sense of community with people coming together to support one another.

“One local Malawian charity, Road to Relief is providing emergency kits including maize flour, salt, soya pieces, soap, tea, sugar, rice, plastic sheeting, a bucket, water guard and a blanket, whilst another local HIV/Aids clinic is also fundraising to provide similar kits in conjunction with Round Table Malawi.

“I implore anyone reading this at home to donate. From the UK it may seem that there is little you can do to help people over 7000 miles away, however these charities providing people with food, clean water and basic necessities run purely off of donations.

"A little goes a long way here – for less than £30 you can provide an emergency relief package to those who need it most.”

To find out more about how you can help visit the Road to Relief Facebook page here or the Round Table Malawi fundraising page here