Malawi's Nyanthepa Community Radio Seeks Assistance After Cyclone Freddy Flooding

Malawi-The Media Council of Malawi (MCM) has made a plea for help after learning that Cyclone Freddy has caused significant damage to its member institution, Nyanthepa Community Radio in Nsanje district.

The whole building of the station has been engulfed in flooding water as of Wednesday, March 15, but the transmission equipment was saved thanks to the efforts of the personnel.

MCM recognizes the vital role of the media in times of disaster, providing a platform for communities and stakeholders to communicate and share messages through social networking, reads a statement from MCM.

As such, it is calling on all stakeholders, organizations, and partners in and outside the country, the entire donor community, and all people to assist the radio station and other media outlets affected by the natural disaster.

The station's management is currently trying to move the equipment to a secure location where they can temporarily continue to transmit.

Nyanthepa Community Radio has demonstrated its efforts to continue informing and educating people about the disaster risks they are facing, working closely with global, national, and local disaster risk reduction actors, partners, and decision-makers to keep their audience informed, and save more lives and protect more assets against this natural hazard.

"The Media Council of Malawi is appealing to all stakeholders working in Nsanje to assist the radio station and all other media outlets with the assistance needed to cope with this devastating disaster," said Wisdom Nelson Chimgwede, Board Chairperson of MCM, and Moses Kaufa, Executive Director of MCM.

The appeal comes amid a series of floods and landslides that have affected several people in Malawi, leaving thousands of people displaced and without access to basic necessities such as food, shelter, and clean water.