In May 2020, floods ravaged Kasese District as River Nyamwamba, Mubuku and Nyamugasani burst their banks again.
Thousands of people were displaced, others lost their lives and many were left helpless with no shelter. Hospitals, schools, bridges and property were destroyed.
The floods also destroyed the people’s gardens and work stations where they got their day to day bread. It is for this reason that many natives are either facing starvation at the moment or they will in the near future, if a solution is not found and fast.
Johnson Thembo, a resident of Kasese says life is very difficult at the moment and most of the people are still staying in the gazetted areas.
“Most of our people are internally displaced people, which is giving them a terrible life experience. This is because government has not done enough to help them and there are limited basic needs of life like accommodation and food,” he revealed.
He added that immediately after the occurrence of the disaster, government and partners provided some food and other simple basic needs, but these were not enough.
“Right now, several people are starving in these places since their gardens and homes were washed away. Also, their domestic animals like cows, goats, sheep, hens and many others were killed in the floods,” Thembo said.
People who are food secure get three meals a day including breakfast and the others who get two meals are referred to as minimal phase. When people only get one meal or half a meal a day, they are in a stressed phase.
A report by the Kasese District Disaster Management Committee indicated that a total of 123,800 people, mostly women and children from more than 24,760 households were affected by the floods.
The most affected areas were Kilembe, Karambi, Bugoye, Maliba, Mpondwe Lhubiriha Town Council, Karusandara, Kyarumba, Mubuku Town Council and the three divisions of Kasese Municipality.
Five Bridges leading to people’s homes and gardens were reported to have been destroyed and hydropower plants destroyed as well.
Interventions
Residents were made to camp at Kyarumba Catholic Church in Kyarumba Town Council, Kaghema in Kyarumba Sub-county and Ibanda Primary School in Busongora North Constituency creating a safe space for the people.
Many political leaders organized for relief food and basic needs for the natives of Kasese District which were delivered to the people.
The Ministry of Disaster Preparedness assessed the situation and is rehabilitating Kasese hospital, the destroyed bridges and schools.
Even though the situation in Kasese District is worrying up to today, other parts of the country are not in a famine phase of food insecurity.