During the rainy season flooding is frequent in Freetown. Our in-county manager Ishmeal Charles describes what this flooding is like and the toll it takes on the people.
Report on flooding in Freetown
Driving along the streets of Freetown makes one worried. Freetown residents are crying. If higher grounds flood like this, imagine what’s happening in the slums and lower ground areas. My city underwater. My spirit prays. My heart breaks. My people suffer.
The rains fall so much that many people who are into petty trading, street hawking and many other means of survival have had their livelihoods seriously interrupted and this increases poverty further.
As rains intensify, desperation rises. Consequently, hunger increases and the difficulty to fend for oneself surges. Ebola survivors are one of the most vulnerable groups in post Ebola era Sierra Leone and need support in order to overcome their sufferings.
Rice delivery to Ebola survivors
Among the greatest need for this population during these trying times is food. As a result, the Buddhist Compassionate Relief Tzu Chi Foundation donated rice to help. With support from Healey International Relief Foundation the rice was shipped to Sierra Leone. Finally, Caritas Freetown cleared the rice through Customs and coordinated all the distribution.
Several meetings with the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, the Sierra Leone Ebola Survivors Association National, and District Executives were held and a comprehensive list of all survivors was developed.
The distribution began at the Goodrich community center on 25th July 2016, serving a total of 50 survivors. They received a minimum of 30 kilograms of rice (3 bags of 10 kilograms) and a maximum of 40 kilos (4 bags of 10 kilograms each). Women, 16 years and older receive more because in Africa, they run the food affairs at home.
Holding additional distributions to Ebola survivors another 3,500 individuals will receive rice.
