Very sobering update out of Malawi this morning:

Gerrit and Bart were able to visit some districts in the Upper Shire area (not the hardest hit area) and even there, Mulanje for instance has 650 people displaced and staying at a local school. Most districts have not been able to fully complete their assessment reports as they have not been able to reach all areas of their district. These should be completed by tomorrow.

Displaced families seeking shelter at a local school in Mulanje.

And this is north of the river... south of the Shire River, particularly the Chikwawa and Nsanje regions are hit really hard. The roads are broken in many places and most people (if they can travel) cannot travel more than a few kilometers. Any food in the markets have been sold out. Grocery stores are becoming empty and it looks like it will be at least a few days before any road will be fixed enough to travel there to bring in supplies. Many areas have extensive flooding.

In the areas of our three centres, the senior staff is working on getting information in regards to the child care centre's beneficiaries and their families. They are recording what state the house is in, what their crops look like and what they have left of basic materials and food. (Attached are some images of houses of our beneficiary families in MKomabasa). Most crops appear to have been washed away. Most people can not afford to purchase food. The power is still out in the majority of the country. People are lined up at one diesel mill in the south to have some corn ground. Bangula, the "largest" town near our centre is flooded.