During the first week of September, surprise flooding shocked the people living in the Mbale area of Uganda. This flood affected several KKSY community members, many of whom had their little simple houses damaged, and their gardens washed away in minutes. These gardens were used to grow fruit and vegetables for the family to eat. Some crops in the main fields were ruined, cars were overturned, bicycles washed away, and people ran for their lives.
The waters are beginning to subside so the exact extent of the damage caused with be seen.
World Jewish Relief in UK, who work closely with the KKSY community has sent funds to help rebuild homes and replant crops.
SJUA will also offer its support.
‘Words as provided by World Jewish Relief’
Beginning on July 30, recent heavy and sustained rainfall in the Eastern Region of Uganda caused serious landslides, floods, and river overflow. This flooding has led to the loss of lives, crops and livestock, lack of access to potable water, and damage and destruction to homes, bridges, schools, and sections of local road networks. There have been reports of river overflow in the Nabuyonga, Namatala, Nashibiso, and Napwoli Rivers, and that the city of Mbale has also been severely affected by flooding.
According to the European Community Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), due to the flooding and landslides there have been at least 30 fatalities (including 23 in Mbale City). In addition, UNICEF estimates that over 600,000 people have been affected by flooding and landslides – including over 5,600 people who have been displaced and hundreds of thousands who have been cut off from the national water grid.
Moreover, it is also reported that those in affected districts run a high risk of becoming food insecure, as over 5,000 acres of farmland were destroyed by the flooding. This has been corroborated by our local partner, JRU, who has informed us that due to the flooding and landslides, those they will be reaching with the proposed project activities have lost crops from their current growing season, food stored in houses, and cash.
World Jewish Relief will provide funding for emergency relief which will be implemented by Jewish Response Uganda (JRU). The proposed project activities will be implemented by JRU in Namakwekwe and Namatala of Mbale district and also reach some participants who were affected by flooding in Nyanza Parish of Budaka District. The project activities will specifically focus on providing 865 participants with a variety of humanitarian support. The items that will be distributed will be: 1) Food packages, 2) Household items, 3) Livelihood inputs, and 4) Providing rent payments for particularly in-need elderly participants.
The food packages contain maize flour, rice, and beans and will sustain each family for an estimated one month. The household items will be delivered will include a mattress and bars of soap. The food and household items will support 120 families. The livelihood inputs provided will include seeds, fertiliser, and farming tools. Livelihood inputs will be provided to 40 groups – where each group will be made up of three participants (with one participant coming from each family). Moreover, due to JRU’s vast experience in delivering agricultural livelihood projects with World Jewish Relief, JRU will be able to provide additional ad-hoc technical support to participants, allowing them to hopefully secure successful future harvests. Lastly, rent payments will be made to elderly participants who lost their housing to the flooding. This project activity will reach 25 elderly participants to cover their rent for at least three months. JRU will work with local leaders to find suitable accommodation to rent.
Regarding project participants, the project will specifically target vulnerable groups and those most affected by the flooding. Targeted households will include those with: pregnant and lactating women, children under the age of five, elderly persons above 60 years, and female-headed households.
During the project, the JRU implementation team will regularly check in with project participants to assess how the project is developing and if the activities are meeting participants’ needs, and evaluate the impact the project is having for them.
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