Survival and Rebuilding: Austin’s Story

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When Tropical Cyclone Freddy struck Malawi, Austin and his wife Ginny were caught in the devastating floods that swept through their community. As torrents of water tore through the land, Ginny managed to reach higher ground with their children – but Austin was separated, surrounded by the rising water.

With nowhere else to go, he climbed a tree (pictured below). There, above the floodwaters, he found himself clinging to the branches alongside a dozen neighbours, all of them fighting to stay alive as the storm raged around them.

For three long days and three long nights, Austin held on, to the tree that kept him alive, and to the hope that his family had survived “We all thought we were going to die,” Austin recalls.

From the tree, he could see homes being swept away. People crying for help. The sheer scale of destruction unfolding before his eyes. When the storm finally passed and rescuers reached him, Austin was reunited with Ginny and their children. But their home, everything they had worked for, was gone. The flood had taken not just their shelter, but their sense of safety and stability.

Today, thanks to support from Habitat for Humanity, Austin and Ginny have a new, permanent home. Built with stronger materials and on safer ground, it’s a place where their children can sleep without fear, where laughter has returned, and where hope has taken root once more. 

But thousands of families in housing poverty and across the world are still hoping for a decent place to call home this Christmas and you can help change that. Your gift today will go twice as far, giving families like Austin’s the chance to rebuild their homes, their lives, and their futures this Christmas.

With special thanks to Fidelis Insurance and Europa for their generous support of our work.