Saturday, August 9, 2014

Burundi flood victims need more help

IRIN: Thousands of people displaced by floods and a mudslide in the Burundian capital Bujumbura and surrounding areas in February 2014 need more help to reconstruct their homes and livelihoods, aid workers say.
 
“These people who haven’t been resettled and even those who have gone back to their homes are in need of proper shelter, food and blankets,” Methode Niyungeko, coordinator of the Platform for the Prevention of Risks, a  local NGO, told IRIN.
 
“The government is working with partners to identify those who need help with reconstruction and is mobilizing resources towards that. We realize and appreciate many of those who were affected were orphans and widows who cannot reconstruct their homes on their own,” Divine Claudine from the deputy vice president’s office, told IRIN.
 
The government says it needs 166,236 iron sheets to help reconstruct houses for 7,556 vulnerable households.
 
“There were those who were living in rented houses before the floods [and who lost their own homes]... They are now living with relatives and these host families are facing a lot of hardships in catering for them. We know of about 800 such families,” Deogratias Niyonzima, a representative of the Christian Community Development of Burundi (CCDB), told IRIN....

A loft of view of Bujumbura, public domain

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