Lisikili
lies about 30 km from the north-eastern town of Katima Mulilo,
in Namibia. Homes and schools are now completely immersed in
deep waters and its inhabitants displaced.
“The situation is very bad, as you can see we have moved
away from these waters, however our children need to go to school
and even if the school is heavily flooded, we continue to take
them by means of mikolo (wood dug-out canoes),” says Julia
Situnda, a home-based care volunteer from Namibia Red Cross
Society who assisted her community in their relocation efforts.
In this area, the community has made use of Red Cross tents
from previous years and newly distributed tarpaulin sheets.
“My people are sleeping in open spaces because we have
no access to shelter. The tents although helpful, are just not
enough.
Our crops have been destroyed, diseases are rife and the water
is contaminated and dangerous for us to drink. The water purification
sachets provided by the Namibia Red Cross Society are not enough
and we sincerely appeal for more assistance,” explains
Lisikili village’s headman, Imukusi Libongani.
“Red Cross mosquito tents are only given to children under
5 and to pregnant women, now what will happen if the Namibia
Red Cross Society does not give mosquito nets to the elderly
too? After all, it is the elderly who are looking after everyone
in this community,” he adds.
People living with HIV and AIDS are also facing a difficult
situation. The Caprivi region which has an HIV and AIDS infection
rate of around 42.8% is the region with the highest HIV infection
rate in Namibia.
As the Namibia Red Cross Society team travels further into Lisikili,
we realize that the income generating activity projects have
been flooded as well. With a considerable amount of crops lost,
the situation is critical.
The Namibian government has begun its disaster response activities.
Amongst others, the government has released a budget of N$10million
for the flood operation.
The government has also mobilized trucks to lay sand alongside
the road, in order to curb off the flood water and has begun
relocation of affected people to safer sites, however some communities
remain reluctant to leave their homes and fields behind, in
that way compromising evacuation efforts.
The Namibian government has identified various sites to relocate
communities. One of them is the Kabbe Camp C, in the Kabbe village.
A team of Namibian Defense Force soldiers were at the site,
assisted by local volunteers to clear the land for about 300
people. Evacuated people will be relocated to this camp for
the next 4 to 5 months until the water in their villages subsides.
Relocated people will have to return to their flooded villages,
because the land on this ground - temporarily given to them
by the local headmen - is not fertile and will not be able to
sustain life.
“This is the way they live, they cannot be expected to
live on infertile ground and risk their livelihoods. It is unfortunate
that they will have to return to their destroyed homes, but
do they have a choice?” explains Cletius Mubita, the Caprivi
regional development planner.
An estimated 4500 families need to be relocated. The Namibia
Red Cross Society intends to target assistance to 3000 families.
Basic relief items such as shelter materials, food and water
are needed without delay.
The Society continues to assist the government with registration
at relocation sites and distribution of relief items. On the
other hand, with a confirmed number of 7 people who already
lost their lives since the beginning of the floods, the situation
could worsen and many lives could be at risk, if effective evacuation
is not taking place immediately.
On February 26, the International Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies released CHF 112,000 from its Disaster
Relief Emergency Fund to help the Namibia Red Cross Society
respond to parts of the needs.
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The
government has also mobilized trucks to lay sand alongside
the road, in order to curb off the flood water and has
begun relocation of affected people to safer sites. (p15464)
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A
man looks at the flood water running quickly towards his
village’s borehole. (p15465)
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Lisikili
lies about 30 km from the north-eastern town of Katima
Mulilo, in Namibia. Homes and schools are now completely
immersed in deep waters and its inhabitants displaced.
(p15467)
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An
old namibian Red Cross tent in Sayili, Lisikili.
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An
estimated 4500 families need to be relocated. The Namibia
Red Cross Society intends to target assistance to 3000
families. Basic relief items such as shelter materials,
food and water are needed without delay. (p15466)
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