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    Rafa Francisco Nduvane and her family lost everything during Mozambique’s disastrous floods, but she feels lucky to have survived.When the raging waters engulfed the town of Nwachicoloane in February 2000, Rafa, her husband Filipe and their six children, barely escaped with their lives. The water rose so swiftly that it was already above waist-level as they struggled to climb a water tower — the highest structure they could find. For two weeks, 221 people shared the small space on top of the tower before the waters receded enough to retrieve a boat and ferry everyone to the road. "You cannot imagine the suffering on that tank for two weeks without food or water," Filipe recalled. "We were all in a very bad state when we reached Chiaquelane camp. But once we saw the WFP trucks we knew we would be alright." After heavy rains and a cyclone flooded vast areas of Mozambique, the World Food Programme (WFP) launched a massive emergency aid operation for hundreds of thousands of stranded people. WFP helicopters ferried in food supplies and took part in a dramatic joint international air operation to save survivors clinging to trees and rooftops. At the height of the crisis, WFP was feeding 650,000 displaced people a month in camps such as Chiaquelane. After the floodwaters receded the majority moved back home. However, some 170,000 people in Mozambique still face severe food shortages. Rafa and Filipe are subsistence farmers in a commercial rice growing area where most families work for wages. Some have one or two hectare holdings but, with their crops ruined and land still water logged, more than 1,300 families in Nwachicoloane, including Rafa’s, still need food aid. While in the Chiaquelane camp, Rafa began volunteering to cook for the many malnourished children and adults. "I hadn’t much to do and my family was safe, so I decided to help others," explains Rafa. Back home, she continues her good work. Twice a day she prepares a meal of "pap" for 50 to 80 children in Nwachicoloane using WFP-supplied maize meal, sugar and oil. The World Food Programme is the United Nations' front-line agency in the fight against global hunger. In 1999, WFP fed more than 89 million people in 82 countries including most of the world's refugees and internally displaced people. During emergencies, WFP delivers fast, efficient, life-sustaining relief to millions of people who are victims of natural or man-made disasters. The agency also provides most of the food for refugees around the world and mobilizes funds to cover transport costs for all large-scale feeding operations managed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). FIND OUT MORE about WFP and how the UN works in emergencies. Go to the links next to Rafa. ADDITIONAL STORIES ABOUT EMERGENCIES: Ulrich knows what they need | The Cruz family needs help Agnesa is back home | Ethiel's up and running again Photo credit: WFP |
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