‘Now we will not go hungry’
Agency: Concern
Vat bill - €2m
 Late
in 2002, Concern received a remarkable letter from Malawi. It was
signed by a Sister Modesta, on behalf of an order of nuns that run
a Health Centre close to the capital, Lilongwe. It read:
“Through this letter we would like to thank you all for the
extraordinary response your team in Malawi is giving. Thank you
for your efforts, thank you for your comprehension, many thanks
to those donors who are giving to those who have nothing.”
Earlier that same year, Concern had been approached by a number
of religious and civil society bodies working in Malawi. They requested
immediate help and assistance – chronic food shortages had
left up to a third of the population hungry.
Concern responded to that emergency and there is little doubt that
thousands of lives were saved. Indeed, much of our work was carried
out in conjunction with Sister Modesta.
Over 4,000 malnourished children were successfully treated and
up to 100,000 people grew extra crops to offset the food shortages.
As Maumbeta Kafumbato, one of the farmers involved, explained:
“Now we will not go hungry.”
Today, the situation in Malawi has improved. Over 10,000 families
are growing crops, building seed stocks for next year and starting
small businesses.
None of that work would have been possible without the generosity
of the Irish public.
In 2003, Concern spent some €2.9m in Malawi, just one of the
27 countries we are currently active in.
Yet, in the course of the same year our VAT bill came to €2m.
We can think of far, far better ways to spend that money.
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