Written by Catherine Ntabadde
The Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) will distribute essential households items to 4, 000 households (28, 000 people) who were affected by landslides and floods in 2011 with support from the UK Department for International Development. (DFID) and the British Red Cross.
Building on work that has already been done to reach affected communities, URCS will target people who still need help to rebuild their lives. With £244,000 from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the British Red Cross (BRC), the URCS will support the affected communities in Bulambuli, Sironko, Kween, Amuria, Katakwi, Nakapiripirit and Kisoro districts.
The families to be supported are those who lost shelter and essential items during the landslides/floods. Also to receive support are vulnerable families who are hosting the affected people who can’t go back to their original homes because they were partially or completely destroyed.
The Head of DFID in Uganda Jane Rintoul said, It is a tragedy that disasters are continuing to happen in Uganda and affecting the livelihood of most vulnerable and poor people. “We have been working with URCS for decades now in Uganda, not only to provide emergency relief, but also to find sustainable ways of helping the affected people and their families live a decent life.”
In addition to this support, the UK Government has provided £2.6m to URCS from 2011-14 to help reduce vulnerability to disaster in 30 villages in Bududa, Manafwa, Bukedea and Bulambuli in Mount Elgon and Teso Regions. This funding will go towards increasing the resilience of natural disaster prone communities through contingency planning and early warning systems.
Each household is to receive essential household items that include blankets, saucepans, bars of soap, cups, plates, jerry cans and mosquito nets.
URCS has been supplementing government’s effort by responding to various disasters in country through provision of essential household items, health and hygiene sensitization, managing camps and relief distribution in the affected areas, providing tracing services.
In 2011, URCS supported 10, 741 households (46, 861 people) who were affected by the floods and landslides, with the new UK Government /BRC support, the number reached will increase to over 14, 000 households.
According to URCS assessments, in 2011 more than 655,000 people were affected by disasters of various sorts across the country.
The Red Cross appeals to donors, partners and the public to invest more in disaster risk reduction so that the impact of such events can be reduced. But when disasters strike, they are urged to provide greater support to enable the affected communities rebuild their lives.