Photo by Davis Langat.
Hundreds of families affected by floods in Homa Bay County have benefited from food and non-foodstuffs through the support of the County Secretary, Isaiah Ogwe.
The beneficiaries were rendered vulnerable after floods displaced them from their homes and crops destroyed due to floods and back flow of Lake Victoria waters.
Ogwe and his friends began the food ‘Mashinani Programme’ to assist residents whose economic stability was affected by floods and outbreak of covid-19.
“Many families have been adversely affected because of covid-19 pandemic and floods. They are hard hit economically hence our call for their assistance,” Ogwe said.
Speaking on Tuesday, during their second day of distribution of cooking oil, rice, beans and maize at Waringa and Ogando villages in Suba North, the programme’s team leaders Michael Okuthe and Kennedy Onyango said the affected people include widows, elderly persons and disabled.
Okuthe said the targeted people have been undergoing a lot of difficulties due to floods disaster and the pandemic.
“We hope the initiative would cushion the less fortunate families to put food on the table as at now,” Okuthe said.
Noting they are also giving a bar of soap to elderly persons and disabled people, Onyango said they distributed the items in five villages in Kochia Ward, Rangwe constituency on Tuesday.
He added that many targeted groups cannot afford basic needs because they either don’t work or the people they depend on have had their businesses interfered with due to covid-19.
“The beneficiaries depend on others for basic needs. Those who help them can’t run their daily businesses because of the virus,” Onyango added.
Beneficiaries Helen Anyango and Peres Aoko said that they are facing hardship after their crops were destroyed by floods. Anyango said the situation has been worsened by the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic.
“Many of us face starvation because floods destroyed our crops,” she said. Aoko said she stays with seven children who are also orphans.
“We appeal for more help including reconstruction of houses which were destroyed,” Aoko said.
