Please pray for the maize harvest in Malawi. According to the Famine Early Warning System, large swathes of the country are already “stressed”. Much of the Lower Shire is “in crisis” and Anna’s recent burglary reminds us that crime inevitably occurs more frequently when life is so difficult.

Most people in Malawi live off the soil. Last year, President Chakwera said that fertiliser was then unaffordable to 80% of the population. At 2021 prices, a 50Kg bag of Urea cost roughly 30 days’ wages. Since the crisis in Ukraine began, world prices have increased 6-fold! It’s not an exaggeration to say this is a hunger time-bomb in Malawi.

Many people are still suffering from the economic aftermath of the pandemic (there was NO government safety net) and thousands are still living under plastic sheeting following the destruction caused by Cyclone Ana. In Dzaleka, thousands of forgotten refugees struggle to survive – on nothing! They have no right to work, no land to farm, and many have recently had their meagre support withdrawn due to the crisis in Europe. The situation is bleak.

In many places the maize has already failed because of the extreme weather a couple of months ago. Please pray for the crops that survived the storms – the next few weeks are crucial. For hundreds of thousands it will literally be the difference between eating or starving!