Kasese Flood Victims Struggle to Come to Terms with Disaster
Disaster Minister Musa Ecweru at one of the staff quarters destroyed by the floods
Flood victims in Kasese district are living in a state of desperation as they come to terms with last week’s disaster.
Two camps for the victims have been set up at Kasese Primary School in Kasese municipality and Kyanjuki in Kilembe.
At Kasese Primary School, there are more than 3,000 flood victims. The victims look miserable as they ponder their next move.
The victims have occupied the classrooms, where they spend the night. They sleep on the floor with no beddings or mattresses. The sanitation at the camp is also appalling. The latrines have all filled up, forcing the victims to use the toilets of the town council offices.
Geoffrey Muhindo (65), a resident of Kilembe quarters, says that he had never imagined that he would spend the night in the cold. Muhindo’s property was all washed away by the floods. He pitifully recalls the comfortable life he lived with his family as he surveys their new surroundings.
Muhindo also says that he has lost hope following the destruction caused to his crops by the floods. He says that even if the situation stabilizes, it will become next to impossible for him to send his children to school because he has nothing to sell.
Gertrude Masika (46) says that she has no hope of returning to her home in Kisenyi village, Karusandara Sub County soon. Yet Masika is having a hard time adjusting to life in the camp. She says that there is inadequate water supply, food shortage and lack of privacy especially for the women.
Masika however says that despite the suffering at the camp, she is happy that she is alive, unlike three of her friends, who have been missing since the flood struck last week.
Some of the displaced children at the camp have also resorted to begging on the streets of Kasese.
Timothy Masereka, the head of the camp, says that some of the flood victims have threatened to abandon the camp, because of the conditions. He says that many people fear they could starve to death, because of limited food supply.
Masereka says that they have requested the Red Cross and district authorities to send more food to the camp and provide mobile toilets, since the number of displaced persons keeps on increasing every day.
According to the Uganda Red Cross, more than 15,000 people have been displaced by the floods.
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