KETASCO, Pencils of Promise donate to flood victims
The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has said the management of the flooding disaster that hit eight districts is now in the recovery state.
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A Deputy Director-General of NADMO, Seji Saji Amedonu, who declared the stance of the organisation, said currently NADMO was working with various stakeholders towards restoring existing facilities, while ensuring that access roads became passable, all in a bid to restore the people to their normal life.
“However, we will continue to hold people in the safe havens until a proper assessment of homes that were submerged over the four-week period can be completed to ensure they are safe for habitation,” Mr Amedonu said.
He made the remarks when the national executive of the past students association of Keta Senior High School (KETASCO) and the not-for-profit organisation, Pencils of Promise, presented relief items made up of 3,000 packs of sachet water and sanitary pads to three communities in the North and Central Tongu districts in the Volta Region.
Mr Amedonu, who, together with the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Central Tongu, Thomas Moore Zonyra, received the items on behalf of the beneficiary communities, said although they had been receiving quite a lot of support from institutions, the relief administration management might continue for a while because they were not too sure when people could return to their homes.
Mr Amedonu also briefed the team on happenings since the onset of the flood to date.
communities
“The nature of the affected communities is also such that there are several KVIP toilet facilities scattered across, which also got submerged, in addition to some public cemeteries,” he said.
"Although the water in the affected areas is receding, there are still quite a number of areas that still continue to hold water and are inaccessible, making it difficult for people to return to their homes and livelihoods," Mr Amedonu added.
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Thus, he said, the UN Inter Agency Working Group on Disaster Preparedness was assisting NADMO to establish the extent of contamination within the affected areas so they could propose solutions that would determine when the people could be allowed back into their homes.
He commended the KETASCO group for the gesture, which, he said, would improve feminine hygiene, particularly among adolescent girls in the holding shelters at Mepe, New Bakpa and Adidome Farm Institute, all in the Central and North Tongu districts.
Ketasco
The President of the KETASCO Past Students Association, Dr Stanislas Adiaba, said the donation was its show of support and solidarity to the displaced people.
"This is our own small way of letting them know that there are people who care about their predicament, and this assurance, we believe, is important for their mental and emotional well-being," Dr Adiaba said.
He expressed the hope that the donation would help to make a small difference in the lives of those who had been affected by this disaster.
DCE
The DCE for Central Tongu, Thomas Moore Zonyra, in his remarks, said the group was the first past students group to make such a donation in the district.
Mr Zonyra said getting children back to school had been a challenge owing to the total collapse of two major schools and the closure of eight others in some of the affected communities.
"While we are conducting an assessment on the school facilities that got flooded, the decision presently is to seek resources to immediately construct new classroom blocks within the shortest possible time," Mr Zonyra said.
"I want to appeal to your association that if you have any plans to help reconstruct schools in some of the affected communities, please do prioritise Central Tongu so the education of the displaced children will be quickly restored," Mr Zonyra added, while also appealing for additional drinking water for the people, owing to the contamination and collapse of the water systems in the areas.
He expressed hope that schools will reopen in the next three weeks, when the structural assessment of the school structures is completed.