Humanitarian assistance
Dear Friends,
On Monday afternoon of 01/March /2010, three villages where washed out by landslides in Budada district, eastern Uganda, where by 80 people are confirmed dead and 350 missing, believed to have been buried by the landslides. Among those were 100 school children who were at school.
Schools, churches, Bridges and peoples houses with their belongings were either buried or washed away. Those who have survived are without accommodation, food or clean water and are lacking medical care.
Therefore, on behalf of Uganda Yearly Meeting, a religious society of friends in Uganda, Disaster committee, we are writing to request for any form of assistance. For example Volunteers, Tents, Medicine, Water purifying tablets and any other form of assistance.
For more information, please contact,
Secretary Uganda Yearly Meeting
Tel: 00256 782 157454
E-mail: wabuulakcrist@yahoo.com
Yours in friendship,
Head of Communications, Uganda Yearly Meeting.
Uganda: UN refugee agency to rush aid to victims of deadly mudslides
4 March 2010 `To help victims of the deadly mudslides in eastern Uganda, the United Nations refugee agency today announced that it will help thousands of people forced from their homes by the torrential rains. First reported on Tuesday, several days of downpours and floods in an area near Uganda´s border with Kenya have washed away people and property. More than 80 people have died and hundreds more are missing.
“This is a human tragedy that we cannot turn a blind eye to,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antònio Guterres. “This is a sad reminder of the suffering that natural disasters are imposing on more and more poor people across the globe.”
A team in Uganda from the agency, known as UNHCR, plans to provide tents and plastic sheeting for emergency shelter to meet the needs of 5,000 people.
Since last October, the Great Lakes nation has been experiencing heavy rains expected to last another month believed to be tied to the El Niño weather phenomenon.
Yesterday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the UN and its partners have dispatched two teams comprising representatives from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and others to assess the situation.
UNICEF has also provided the Ugandan Health Ministry with two emergency health kits and 100 body bags, as the Government leads the humanitarian response.
The disaster area is currently only accessible by foot or air due to its remoteness and lack of any serviceable roads, and the mudslides buried a health centre. OCHA said that immediate health needs include first aid and support in accessing medical facilities.
Relief aid begins to trickle in Bududa
Posted Friday, March 5 2010 at 00:00 In Summary
District officials said that they had received 500 and 160 bags of flour and beans respectively, from the Office of the Prime Minister plus a cheque of Shs35 million.
Bududa
Distribution of supplies for Bududa District residents affected by landslide began Thursday; four days after the soil avalanche buried three villages.
By 3pm, more than 600 residents had received blankets, utensils, jerry cans/saucepans and water purifiers from Uganda Red Cross Society at its relief distribution centre at Bukalasi Sub county headquarters.
The society’s Secretary General, Mr Richard Nataka, said about 1, 500 people were supposed to get aid by yesterday.
Ms Aida Khainza, a resident of Nametsi the centre of the destruction, said “The humanitarian assistance is little and does not address our immediate need, which is food since all our crops have been buried.”
By some fortune, Mr Onapito Ekomoloit, the Nile Breweries director for corporate affairs, arrived with a truckload of 100 cartons of energy biscuits, 500 cartons of bottled mineral water and 4, 000 blankets plus 50 tarpaulins.
Metres away, hundreds of residents queued on the afternoon downpour to pick their package that seemed a prized thing in the area. Ms Florence Nandutu, 52, trekked 10 kilometres from Bukitoyi village in Bumayoka Sub county, which was not directly affected by the killer mudslides. Her tale, underlines the burden awaiting aid workers to sieve the most needy in a community where majority residents are in a state of need. “We heard that they were giving out aid and we were mobilised by the Local Council officials to come and get assistance. That‘s why I came, ” she said. Mr Mark Choenoo, the Unicef emergency specialist, told Daily Monitor that they had dispatched trucks carrying medical and other non-food supplies to cater for 10, 000 people in three months.
District officials said that they had received 500 and 160 bags of flour and beans respectively, from the Office of the Prime Minister plus a cheque of Shs35 million. Maj. Gen. Julius Oketta, the director for emergency coordination and operation centre in the Office of the Prime Minister, said the response by all actors to the Bududa disaster had, up until yesterday, been “ad hoc”.
“A lot of contradicting information has been given out,” said Gen. Oketta, adding: “There are opportunists who want to use the misinformation either for economic gain or political reasons and this must stop.”
South African President Jacob Zuma, yesterday sent a message of condolence and support. While the Danish government announced a contribution of 200,000 Euros.(aboutShs554m). Tullow Oil Uganda Ltd General Manager Brain Glover gave a Shs100 million cheque to the Prime Minister Prof Apollo Nsibambi. CNOOC International Ltd, a Chinese oil company, also pledged Shs100 million. AON, an insurance agency, has donated blankets. Euroflex has donated 50 mattresses to the survivors. Nation Media Group has also launched a campaign for collecting items for survivors.