Emma Scullion
I have received an update from Festo Majinjach, my colleague in eastern Uganda who is managing the school build in Giriki. He reported:
We have been experiencing heavy rains over the last three weeks and many parts of the roads in Eastern Uganda are inaccessible. The onset of heavy rains is causing severe flooding and mudslides but I want to reassure you that the children in Giriki are all safe.
The first instance was reported in Kaabong district in Karamoja region in early August and now Bulambuli, Kapchorwa and Kween districts have been affected.
On the 28th August these areas experienced heavy rainfall that lasted many hours followed by another heavy rain on the upper belt of the district (as you know these areas are in the foot hills of Mt Elgon).
This resulted into flooding of rivers-Ngenge and Atari. At least 330 families with a population of about 1,320 have been affected by the incident. Our colleagues are there now making an assessment of the situation.
As you can see from the photos I have sent you, many roads are impassable and we have not been able to reach Giriki from Kapchorwa.
I have just contacted the community management committee in Giriki, we were saddened to hear that one life was lost at night while the river had flooded its banks.
The rains have not damaged the building or the gardens. They hope that in the long-term rains will good for the crops planted in the school.
The current construction of the school is unaffected but we do expect this to cause delays to the completion of the project, which was originally due to be finished at the end of October.
The challenge is the transportation of materials to the site in Giriki from their source as bricks and materials are collected from Mbale and sand from Karita in Amudat.
There is currently no credible or reliable way of predicting weather patterns so we can’t judge when the heavy rains might stop or tell you when the roads will be passable again. We are monitoring the situation and will be in touch as soon we can tell you more.