Restore Hope in Climate-Affected communities

May 2020 will forever remain in the minds of the people of Kasese district in western Uganda The district was hit by disastrous floods that happened on the 7th of May and peaked on the morning of May 10th. Another disaster followed on May 21st in the areas of Mpondwe-Bwera where flash floods and landslides further destroyed bridges and infrastructure leading to the death of more than 10 people. The flooding started with river Nyamwamba bursting its banks in the areas of Kasese Municipality sweeping away Kyanjuki-Katiri and Kilembe mines hospital. Simultaneous floods also occurred along rivers of Lhubiriha in Bukonzo west with impacts in the sub-counties of Kitholhu, Karambi and Mpondwe-Lhubihira town council. Following the outbreak of these landslides, hundreds of households were displaced and in December 2020, the office of the Prime Minister together with Kasese district local government temporarily relocated 289 households on Muhokya government land. Among them is 90 year old Rose (not real name) who lives with another old lady in a small semi-permanent structure. “I stay with another old lady but she has is not around today. We came from Kabukera camp when the flood waters destroyed our house, am disabled and all my five Children passed on,” She says. The pain and sadness in her eyes speaks volumes as she narrates her experience outside her semi-permanent house. Her grand children live with a Good Samaritan in Kasese town. “I want to go hospital and get medical care but I don’t have the money, I recently got sick and my stomach was swollen and about to shatter. I was able to get to hospital with the help of the Camp chairperson who literally carried me on his back”. She asserts.. Life is evidently not easy for the 90 year old. However, she is positive about the future and trusts in God in better her situation. She says recites her rosary before retiring to bed every night. The Camp Chairperson Mr. Kule Julius says the major challenge in the camp is lack of food and Tarpaulins. “We are lacking Tarpaulins in this camp, when it rains the water flows in and enters the houses, we also have a problem of fire wood and even food. People have been reaching to my office for food but I have been telling them to wait since I have been trying to make an advocacy to NGOS for relief”. He says. The harsh conditions in the camp do not necessitate the implementation of covid-19 prevention measures; the displaced persons housed in semi-permanent structures generally have limited access to safe clean water, proper sanitation, constant food supply and health care. Social distancing may be hard to enforce in the camp. Joy for Children-Uganda, a child rights advocacy organization visited the camp on Thursday 6th 2021 and delivered food items to the most vulnerable households currently residing in the camp. The selected households were identified by the area chairperson Mr.Kule Julius who appreciated the effort of the organization in restoring the lives of the Flood survivors. “I really appreciate Joy for Children-Uganda for the advocacy and the food relief given to us and i request you to go and mobilize others to also come and assist us with food. Generally here we are suffering and not forgetting to tell the government”, he concludes. Key findings and observations. • Muhokya internally displaced camp faces barriers to implementing covid-19 prevention measures due to the overcrowded shelters, limited access to hand washing facilities and proper sanitation. Frequent movements of persons in and out of the camp in search for food and work. • The camp lacks proper waste management thereby contributing to additional threats to the environment. • The children in the camp do not attend school and those that were in school before the floods are no longer in school, it is not because they do not want to attend school but the situation derails their chances of attaining an education. • There is sufficient and unutilized land in the camp that could be used for cultivation. Key Recommendations. • The government of Uganda should consider providing proper housing facilities to the displaced persons to allow physical social distancing, separate quarters for individual families should be provided. • Government and international agencies should provide consumables such as food, soap and washing facilities to the displaced persons. • Primarily, there should be a concrete plan to relocate the displaced persons or better yet allocate land for cultivation so as to improve on their household incomes.