REDONDO BEACH, Calif.—Pastor Kurt Dahlin and Los Angeles County-based Breakwater Church are launching a fundraising effort for medical supplies, food, and water purification equipment for victims of a cyclone that hit the East African nation of Malawi in February.
To date, 255 have died since the cyclone wreaked havoc with heavy rains and flooding on the small nation and 41 remain missing, according to wire reports.
For Dahlin, the calling to help Malawians came to him in the 1990s after visiting the impoverished nation on several missionary trips. He subsequently founded the nonprofit Water Wells for Africa, to bring clean, safe water to the region’s villages.
According to Dahlin, since the cyclone, many of the villages he knows so well remain “off the grid” and have yet to report in with their statuses.
According to World Meteorological Organization Tropical Cyclone Officer Anne-Clarie Fontan, the cyclone—named “Freddy”—was an “exceptional weather phenomenon in terms of its longevity, intensity, distance covered and impact.
The scale of the flooding in Malawi, in particular, “has just been overwhelming,” she told The Epoch Times.
The organization additionally said the cyclone may have broken the record for the longest-lasting tropical cyclone in the world.
In the south, some Malawians have taken to Facebook to display photos and videos that showed the larger city of Blantyre with road collapses, major flooding, and property destruction.
Over half the nation’s population lives below the poverty line so the repercussions of the storm will continue to intensify as families lose homes, businesses, and local school buildings, Dahin said.
“After Cyclone Freddy, the rebuilding process is going to take a long time after the extensive damage our friends are facing over there right now in Malawi,” he said. “This is one of the most underdeveloped countries on Earth, and help is needed in these dire circumstances.”
According to Dahlin, his contacts in Africa have told him a number of homes and churches have been destroyed.
A local Blantyre pastor, Davis Galero, told The Epoch Times March 15: “The region of Malawi has been devastated ... many homes and properties are lost.”
“Last night we could hear rumblings, buildings falling, [and] already one of our churches in Machinga, Madalitso Church, has collapsed,” he said.
Those wanting to help can make a donation on the website or send a check to Breakwater Church, P.O. Box 2410, Manhattan Beach, CA 90267 Attn: Malawi Relief.
“Do not ask yourself why [you should help]. Ask yourself why not,” Dahlin said. “The time is now to jump in and serve.”
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