Phalombe, June 17, 2015: The Red Cross Society of Malawi through its Emergency Appeal Operation-Recovery Stage will construct 70 houses for displaced flood victims in Phalombe District.
Speaking at the Boma Tuesday during a training workshop for 24 Volunteer Builders pulled from Phalombe, Zomba, Chikhwawa and Blantyre, Assistant Disaster Manager for Red Cross, Roster Kufandiko said the 70 houses that will be constructed will be model houses from which the community can learn how to build disaster resistant houses.
According to Kufandiko, the houses will be constructed using cement bricks made from a Makinga Brick Making Machine thereby assisting in environmental protection in the near future.
“Each house will have three bedrooms and will require at least 50 bags of cement. The total cost for a house is approximately K1.5 million and in total 200 houses will be constructed in the four districts of Phalombe, Chikhwawa, Nsanje and Blantyre,” added Kufandiko.
Commenting on the development, District Commissioner for Phalombe, Paul Kalilombe commended Red Cross for the initiative of rescuing the people that were displaced by floods in Phalombe.
Kalilombe acknowledged the problem of poor building construction being the major problem that saw over 20, 000 houses being washed away by heavy rains in the district saying the new project by Red Cross would ensure that history never repeats itself.
He urged the participants to be active in the whole training process and form relevant committees at grass-root level that would ensure their continued presence in the districts.
According to Phalombe Assistant Disaster Risk Officer, Davie Chibani, all the camps in the district were closed with the displaced people relocating to temporary shelters or living with their friends or relatives.
Currently, the Malawi Government is also in the process of implementing the Cement and Malata Subsidy Project that will see communities benefiting from low cost modern housing structures.
