ASSESSING THE EXTENT OF THE PROVISION OF PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT AMONG PEOPLE AFFECTED BY FLOODS IN CHIKWAWA DISTRICTS (T/A KATUNGA).

The study was assessing to what extent the provision of psychosocial support among people affected by floods. The specific objectives were; to determine the extent to which the psychosocial support is being provided amongst people affected by floods, to determine the coping strategies used by the people or communities to get away with the psychological torture, and to determine the exposure of the people from the psychological issues relating to the impacts of the floods. The study is descriptive and used both qualitative and quantitative methods to meet the objectives. The sample size was 96 which was calculated using Cochran’s formula, and a snowball sampling technique was used to recruit participants into the study. Quantitative data was collected using a household questionnaire and analyzed using excel and Statistic Package for Social Science and the results have been presented in form of graphs, charts, and tables. Qualitative data was collected using focus groups and key informant interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. The results from the two methods have been triangulated to come up with conclusions. All ethics were followed according to the MUSTREC guidelines. The finding of the study has shown that the majority of people do understand what it means by psychosocial support and that it is not fully provided due to a lack of resources, expertise, and time. The most used coping strategies of psychological torture are; going for prayers, chatting with family and friends. The study has also found out that provision of the basic needs and restoration of the lost properties reduces stress. The study, also found out that the vulnerability of most of the households to floods also plays a role in exacerbating the psychological exposure amongst people. Psychosocial support based on the finding can therefore be considered an important aspect of the humanitarian package for the development of the individuals' lives and the community at large.

The specific objectives were; to determine the extent to which the psychosocial support is being provided amongst people affected by floods, to determine the coping strategies used by the people or communities to get away with the psychological torture, and to determine the exposure of the people from the psychological issues relating to the impacts of the floods. Quantitative data was collected using a household questionnaire and analyzed using excel and Statistic Package for Social Science and the results have been presented in form of graphs, charts, and tables. The finding of the study has shown that the majority of people do understand what it means by psychosocial support and that it is not fully provided due to a lack of resources, expertise, and time. Psychosocial support based on the finding can therefore be considered an important aspect of the humanitarian package for the development of the individuals' lives and the community at large.

The study was conducted in T/A Katunga in Chikwawa district. The area has a population of 32943 contributing 5.83% of the total population of the district (Government of Malawi, 2019b). Chikwawa is located in the southern part of Malawi. It’s bordered by Blantyre city to its north and thyolo district to its east and Nsanje district to its south. Katunga area lies almost in the middle of the Chikwawa district. To the east of the area where Shire river lies and it’s the area which is frequently affected by floods. The area is prone to flooding and drought that affect the livelihoods of people in the communities. The area was among the areas which were heavily affected by the floods which occurred in the 2018/2019 rainy season. Most people from the surrounding village of GVH isso and Kapasule got affected by the event. The disaster caused a lot of damages for example collapsing of houses which led to the displacement of people themselves and loss of livelihood. This is the reason, why, T/A Katunga was selected for the study to assess the extent of the provision of psychosocial support among flood-affected people.

Traditional authority: TA Katunga

District: Chikwawa

Coordinates: -16.09835, 34.76255