Saturday, September 17, 2016

Organizations and Indigenes Provide Aid for Flood Victims in Segbwema

Segbwema Flooding
Local authorities, aid organizations and area indigenes have started providing aid to the hundreds of victims displaced by the flooding in Segbwema earlier this week.

The flooding which affected many areas of the town close to the Nyeya river, caused many people living in these areas to be displaced from their homes.

Traditionally, many houses in these areas are built with mud bricks. Many of these mud brick houses were either completely washed away, or left standing, unstable, on weak soggy foundations.

The World Food Program (WFP) quickly responded to the crisis during the week with the provision of supplies of rice, beans, vegetable oil and salt, while the District Health management Team (DHMT) responded by providing bed nets to the flood victims. The supplies were to be rationed out strictly, with each affected household receiving 60 kilograms(kgs) of rice, 9 kgs of beans, 3.75kgs of oil and 0.75kg of salt.

Victims at Segbwema Barrie
Food Aid from WFP
The Njaluahun Development Organization (NJADO), an organization comprising mostly of forward looking indigenes of the Njaluhun Chiefdom which was formed to promote local development, has already raised over six million leone in pledges to donate to the affected victims. Prominent Segbwema politician John O. Benjamin, a native of Segbwema, has also contributed to the NJADO effort and provided personal aid to the affected victims.

Battu Sheriff
Some of the flood victims narrated how the crisis hade seriously upended their lives. Battu Sheriff, an indigene of Segbwema toured the affected areas and talked to some of the flood victims for the Segbwema Blog.

One of the victims, Pa Kabineh Conteh, painfully lamented the loss of his entire six year old house. He said he had gotten out of bed that morning to find himself standing in a knee deep pool of water right inside his bed room. He turned around and observed that the back of his house was completely washed away. He was lucky to get out just in time before the house collapsed.

Aid distribution
Pa Kabineh stated that his house was just six years old, built when he convinced his younger brother, who was working for the road construction company ISU at the time, to join him in building a family house. Many people in this area had lost everything during the war. Pa Kabineh stated that he was at a loss, not knowing what to do and was asking benevolent Segbwema citizens to help him rebuild his house.
Abu Jajua Touring Flood Prone Areas

The local MP for the area Hon. Abu Jajua, who is deeply involved in flood response activities, took some authorities around the affected areas start planning work on how they would provide drainage facilities to prevent the recurrence of this type of incident in the future, or minimize the impact of future flooding in the area.

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