Before It Happens.

Maandalizi is a family disaster preparedness platform that helps households understand their preparedness gaps and take practical next steps. The name means "preparation" in Swahili. Through a free household assessment, Maandalizi builds a personalized emergency preparedness plan based on who lives in your home, the supplies you have, and how you would communicate or evacuate. It also partners with churches, nonprofits, neighborhoods, cities, and counties to bring household preparedness into the communities they serve.

Generic checklists give the same advice to every household. Maandalizi starts with your specific situation — who lives in your home, what supplies you already have, and how you would communicate or evacuate — then builds a personalized plan that reflects your real gaps and priorities. It also connects household readiness to community partners like churches, nonprofits, and local agencies, so preparedness doesn't stop at your front door.

Start by understanding your specific needs. A family emergency plan should account for who lives in your home, the supplies you already have, how you would communicate during an emergency, and how you would evacuate. Maandalizi's free assessment walks you through these questions and identifies your gaps, then shows you practical next steps and helps you build readiness over time rather than trying to do everything at once. Community partners like churches, nonprofits, and local agencies can also help you turn that plan into action and connect your family to local resources, training, and supplies.

The clearest way to know is to take an emergency readiness assessment. Maandalizi's free assessment asks about the people in your home, your current supplies, your communication plan, and your evacuation options, then shows you exactly where your household has gaps and what to focus on first. Many families discover they are less prepared than they assumed.

A family disaster plan should cover the people in your home and any specific needs they have, the emergency supplies and resources you currently keep on hand, how your family would communicate if separated, and your evacuation options including a meeting place. Maandalizi helps you capture each of these areas through the assessment so your plan reflects your real circumstances rather than generic advice.

Families should keep enough water, food, and medications for several days, a first-aid kit, flashlights and batteries, a way to charge phones, copies of important documents, and any supplies specific to children, seniors, pets, or household members with disabilities. Maandalizi's assessment helps you identify which supplies you already have and which gaps to fill first.

Yes. The full household preparedness assessment is completely free. There is no cost to your family to take the assessment, see your personalized plan, and begin working through your next steps.

Different hazards call for different steps, but every family benefits from a shared plan. For earthquakes, secure heavy furniture and know where to drop, cover, and hold on. For wildfires, create defensible space and a go-bag. For floods, know your evacuation routes and move valuables higher. Maandalizi's assessment focuses on the practical steps any household can take to be ready, regardless of which disasters are most likely in your area.

A family evacuation plan should identify at least two ways out of your home, a meeting place outside the home, a contact person outside your area in case local lines are down, and what to take with you. Maandalizi's assessment walks you through evacuation planning alongside communication and supplies so your family is ready to leave quickly and safely.

Involve children in age-appropriate ways: teach them how to call for help, practice your evacuation route together, make sure they know their full name and parents' names, and keep a comfort item in your go-bag. Maandalizi's assessment accounts for the children in your home so your plan reflects their needs.

Faith-based organizations, nonprofits, neighborhood groups, cities, and counties can partner with Maandalizi to bring family disaster preparedness into their communities. Partners help the people they serve take the assessment, then pair practical household planning with their existing education, training, supplies, or community support. You can submit a partnership inquiry through the form on this page and the Maandalizi team will follow up.

Use flashlights instead of candles, keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed (food stays safe about 4 hours in a closed fridge), unplug sensitive electronics to protect them from surges, and use a charged power bank to keep your phone alive. If anyone in your home depends on electric medical equipment, have a backup power plan and know where to go. Maandalizi's assessment helps you identify these gaps before an outage happens.

Identify the lowest interior room or basement as your safe room, keep helmets and sturdy shoes nearby, sign up for tornado warnings on your phone, and practice your shelter route with children. Store a weather radio and emergency kit in your safe room. Maandalizi's assessment covers tornado preparedness alongside the other hazards most likely in your area.

Know your evacuation zone and routes, gather at least three days of water and food per person, protect windows with shutters or plywood, charge devices and fill your gas tank before landfall, and plan for pets since many shelters do not accept animals. Maandalizi's assessment helps you confirm each of these steps for your household.