CARDENDEN and Kinglassie MP Peter Grant is calling on Fifers who can to donate and assist Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe after the countries were hit by one of the worst natural disasters.

This region was hit by a cyclone and it has been reported that well over 1,000 people have died across all three countries.

Charities are describing towns and cities as being covered by lakes and rivers, and people’s livelihoods have been destroyed. The Scottish Government has announced that it will be sending £175,000 to Malawi to help provide fresh water, and the UK Government has said that it will be sending £6 million of aid to support victims of this deadly cyclone.

Commenting on World Water Day, Peter Grant, MP for Glenrothes, said: “The news that has emerged from East Africa is heartbreaking. These are parts of the poorest areas in the world, and this disaster is now only going to deepen that inequality. And I have no doubt that these freak and extreme weather conditions witnessed right across the world are largely caused by climate change.

“Malawi in particular is a country with very strong links to Scotland. During a brief emergency debate on Wednesday the UK International Development Minister paid tribute to the Scotland-Malawi Partnership and reminded us that almost half the people in Scotland are either directly involve or know someone who is directly involved in fostering these links.

“My concern going forward is the real possibility of disease spreading across these countries, in part due to the lack of available fresh water. Therefore, I want to urge all Fifers who can to donate to the aid efforts in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe to try and mitigate against some of the horrors that the people living there are currently experiencing.”