OVER 1000 FLOOD-HIT FAMILIES RECEIVE SUPPORT IN UPPER EAST 24 Oct. 2018
Some 1,700 families across six districts
in the Upper East Region that lost their property including crops and animals
as well as those whose houses collapsed during the floods in August and
September 2018, have begun receiving relief items from the Ghana Red Cross
Society [GRCS].
Speaking on Wednesday in Kologo-Zuo
in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality where the distribution of the items
started, Secretary General of the GRCS Mr. Samuel Kofi Addo, stated that the
relief package was basically non-food items that are meant to help meet the
basic daily needs of the victims. He disclosed that each family, averagely made
up of six people, was to receive three bars of Key Soap, two mats, two blankets
and one plastic bucket with a lid.
The Secretary General further
disclosed that the affected families were spread across 82 communities in the six
districts including the Kassena-Nankana Municipality, the Binduri, Bongo,
Builsa North, the Garu and Tempane districts. He added that the Kologo-Zuo
community alone had 170 families benefitting while a nearby community,
Kologo-Tor had 140 of affected families receiving the package.
Mr. Addo commended the Swiss Red
Cross whose assistance of about 500,000.00 Ghana Cedis made the procurement and
the eventual distribution of the relief items possible. He hinted that other
discussions with the International Federation of the Red Cross has also yielded
positive results and that very soon, a consignment of additional assorted items
shall be arranged for further distribution to the flood victims in the region
and other affected families in neighbouring Northern Region.
He also revealed that 28 families
in Naga, 90 families in Pindaa and 31 families in Dorba were also earmarked to
receive items under the ongoing distribution. Meanwhile in a joint assessment
done with the National Disaster Management Organisation [NADMO], 538 families
have been registered to receive relief items in the Builsa North District, 300
families registered in the Bongo District, 95 in Binduri and 338 in the two
districts of Garu and Tempane.
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| Mr. Samuel Kofi Addo [In Middle], Secretary General of the GRCS Making A point |
According to the Secretary General,
future relief packages will encompass a Water Sanitation and Hygiene [WASH]
component which will investigate contaminated water sources such as wells and
undertake decontamination processes. Additionally, Red Cross Volunteers will move
from house to house to sensitise occupants on personal hygiene and sanitation
issues so as to get the people to adopt prevention methods.
Mr. Addo also revealed that his
outfit was considering a reconstruction component in future relief packages.
This he noted, will assist families with some minimum quantities of cement and
roofing sheets among others, to help rebuild their damaged houses. He pledged
that Ghana Red Cross will table this proposal before its funding partners and
the Government of Ghana and make strong case for its adoption. He advised the
public against indiscriminate tree felling and also, urged people to discard
old and outmoded traditional beliefs which sometimes caused people to continue
living in disaster-prone zones even after warnings from experts.
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| The Items Being Sorted At Kologo-Zuo |
He revealed that in an assessment
report done for his office by the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Food
and Agriculture, there is a food deficit of about 282,700 maxi bags of staple
foods that is required to feed victims of this year’s floods in the Upper East
area.
Mr. Wooma promised that NADMO will
continue to collaborate with organisations like the Red Cross and other
humanitarian bodies by providing technical guidance during disasters in order to
mitigate the sufferings of people in affected areas.
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