Youth NGO donates US$5000 worth of relief items to Chikwawa flood victims
A non-governmental organisation, Umodzi Youth Organization (UYO), with financial support from its partners has donated US$5000 (over K4.5 million) worth of relief items to 20 households at Sekeni Camp in Chikwawa district that were affected by tropical storm Cyclone Ana last month.
In an interview after making the donation UYO project manager, Memory Pondeponde, said the humanitarian assistance is part of their flood relief program in which they are also planning on constructing the damaged houses once the victims are relocated to their respective areas.
“Should funds permit, we should be able to rebuild the victims’ damaged houses soon after the rainy season in April,” Pondeponde said.
According to her, UYO decided to support with food and non-food items to the flood victims to make their life better and ease congestion in the four public tents which could hardly accommodate over 300 families at Sekeni Camp.
“Overcrowding at the camp made the victims become prone to some infectious diseases. We hope that with the additional assistance of tents will somehow ease the problem,” she said.
Welcoming the support, Red Cross district community development facilitator, Sidala M’miriwa, appreciated the support and called for more relief items to meet diverse needs of the victims such as food packs, which she said would help improve the health status of the most
vulnerable victims such as those chronically ill, orphans, persons with disability, and the elderly during their stay at the camp.
“Some of these people here are more vulnerable to malnutrition due to their health conditions. Therefore, such donations as these brought here by Umodzi are most welcome. And we continue appealing for any additional support from well-wishers to make their life easier for the
flood victims,” M’miriwa said.
Sekeni Camp Chairperson, Ibrahim Kambewa, was thankful for the relief items and promised that the valuable tents would be put in good use.
All the cyclone victims that were interviewed at the camp heaped praise on Umodzi and its partners for coming to their assistance in time of need like this.
Group Village Head(GVH) Ngabu also hailed Umodzi for its timely support to the flood victims, saying the assistance would go a long way in alleviating the suffering of the flood victims at the camp.
“Tonight we are going to sleep comfortably as children will be separated from adults and when we wake up in the morning these children will be to eat porridge with flour which Umodzi and its partners have donated to us,” said Ngabu.
One of the beneficiaries, Phyness Nthengani, said the donation came at the right time.
UYO donated the relief items to the flood victims at Sekeni Camp where over 120 households benefited from the donation.
The items included public unit and house unit tents, maize flour, cooking oil, soya meat, salt, plastic buckets, plates and cups.
The Disaster Relief Support items donated were made possible with funding from Lee Ann Bartran and her friends based in Denver, Colorado USA.
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