Yvonne Kabagire, Rwanda Red Cross Information Officer
At 9.34am on 3 February, an earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale struck the Democratic Republic of Congo. The epicenter was in Birava but severe tremors were felt for miles around, including Rusizi and Nyamasheke districts in the Western province of Rwanda.
It was Sunday morning and many families in these predominantly Christian districts were at church. Many were in the Catholic church of Nkanka in Rusizi, where 12 of the congregation died immediately when the steeple collapsed. Another died later in hospital.
Joseph had left his wife and eight children at home on the island of Nkombo to buy supplies at the market. As the earthquake hit, he was sure they would all have been killed. Returning home, he was delighted to find them alive but his home and possessions were gone. His neighbour, Minani, lost his wife while his younger daughter was left seriously wounded. Pierre and his six children spent the night in his banana field.
Hospitals, health centres and schools were damaged or destroyed in the chaos. An estimated 1,201 homes were left uninhabitable. On Nkombo alone, 300 properties, nearly the whole community, were reduced to rubble. In total, 36 people lost their lives, 643 were wounded and 276 were left traumatised. Today, 480 families are sleeping in the yards of their collapsed houses.
Fear persists among the population of the two affected districts. Many whose homes survived the quake are frightened to return in case further tremors strike and they are killed in their beds. Usually farming or trading, today they gather outside their homes or on verandas talking to friends and neighbours, alert and ready to flee.
Together with the local authorities, staff and volunteers from the Rwanda Red Cross have worked hard to bring calm, repeatedly explaining that the worst has passed. They have also distributed tents, blankets, kitchen kits and medical supplies.
Children at damaged or destroyed primary and secondary schools are unable to continue their studies. Secondary pupils will be integrated in other schools that remain intact while primary children under the age of 11 will be taught in tents. Another priority is providing shelter – now is the rainy season.
Perhaps most important of all, though, is for the government to repair tap stands and encourage the inhabitants of Nkombo to build and use latrines. This is vital to prevent illness in an area where traditionally the population use the water from Kivu Lake for cooking and their fields as toilets. Without real effort to promote hygiene and sanitation, the population of Rusizi will face another disaster: cholera.