“Please share my story. Share my transformation.” - Mary
“I touched the walls on the inside of my home. They were soaking wet. I had a really bad feeling,”
Leading us to a pile of broken bricks and debris, in Mulanje, a small town in southern Malawi, Mary sits on a boulder where her house once stood. These ruins mark the place where one of the deadliest cyclones in history, Tropical Cyclone Freddy, swept away her home. As the storm battered against her home that night, a deep sense of dread filled Mary’s chest. She had weathered many storms before but never one like this. She knew something was wrong.
Mary was faced with an impossible choice: stay in her house and hope it would hold, or head outside with her four children into one of the worst cyclones in history.
“It sounded like a train screeching, crashing off its tracks. I’ll never forget that sound.”
She chose to leave. In torrential rain and wind, the family made their way to higher ground, sheltering in a nearby school. Hours later, an enormous crashing sound tore through the night – the homes around them collapsing, the village destroyed.
The terrifying sound repeated again and again through the night. When morning came, Mary was relieved she and her children had survived. But her relief was shattered by grief. Her father had not.
“Losing my home and my business was painful. But the most devastating thing of all was losing my dad.”
Click to DonateCyclone Freddy claimed the lives of over 1,400 people as it tore through several African nations. Mary says 59 people in her immediate community lost their lives…
53 were children.
Across Malawi, in the days that followed, many of the 508,000 displaced people, including Mary and her children, made their way to refugee camps established by the government. Life in the camps was desperate. Families huddled under damaged tents, with little food and no privacy. No one should have to live like this.
“Whilst we were at the camp, Habitat for Humanity came to visit with the mission of supporting us. They promised they would do all they could to build us a home,” Mary explains.
And it’s thanks to supporters like you that we did just that.
Click to DonateLast year, Mary moved into her safe and sturdy Habitat home. As our visit to her came to an end, Mary paused on the steps of her new home. She had one last thing to share with us, not for herself, but for the families still waiting.
“When you return to Great Britain, please share my story. Share my experience. Share my transformation. Please help those who are still waiting for a home. The good things that I’m experiencing now are because of Habitat for Humanity. I want others to experience the same.”
It was a message she entrusted to us and now, we pass it on to you. Mary understands that we simply can’t do what we do without supporters like you. She asked us to tell you this. Now it’s your turn to help make her wish for others come true this Christmas.
GIVE ONCE. HELP TWICE.
Homes rebuilt. Lives restored. Impact doubled.
Thanks to contributions of £25,000 from Fidelis Insurance and £7,500 from Europa. Every donation made to our Christmas appeal up to a total of £32,500 will be matched pound-for-pound at no extra cost to you!
Give now and double your impact! With special thanks to Fidelis Insurance and Europa for their generous support of our work.
