Too Much Rains!

Rain. People love it. People hate it. It is essential for life. It can destroy people’s livelihoods.
Last year in Monze at this time, rains were a scarce commodity. They had started late (mid-December) and were infrequent. This year, the opposite has happened. Even though farmers lost some of their crops with the inadequate rains in 2007, many were still able to sell excess maize to the Food Reserve Agency (a government organization in Zambia that buys maize from farmers to store and distribute in the event of a food shortage or sell to foreign buyers). This year, though, the rains are ‘too much’. Maize plants are turning yellow even before the maize cob has started to grow. Fields are under water and fertilizer has been washed away. The flooding has made national and international headlines. Just last week, Zambia’s President Mwanawasa came by helicopter to visit our district to assess the damage caused by the daily downpours. Besides ruined fields, he saw fallen houses, bridges washed away and schools that have been closed in order to provide refuge to the homeless. Unfortunately, it is the vulnerable who suffer the most from this destruction. They are the ones whose houses are built from soil and grass. They are the ones who rely completely on their maize crops for food and income.

So what happens when your house has been washed away and your fields submerged under a metre of water? Stories of people sleeping on the side of roads, being squeezed into schools and health centers, migrating toward town have become common. Our district has organized a disaster management team comprised of representatives from NGOs, government, religious groups, and businesses in Monze, WaterAid Zambia included. The floods have become a cross cutting issue, affecting many sectors. Latrines have collapsed and pits have overflowed, increasing potential for cholera and diarrhea outbreaks. Children’s education has been put on hold due to closed schools and people living with HIV/AIDS are unable to access their medication due to washed out bridges. The disaster management team collects reports from the different sectors and then allocates resources they’ve received from the central government accordingly. The whole process is bureaucratic and slow, but there are committed and determined people who will work to ensure that as many people as possible receive the support they need. The government has even suspended their fertilizer subsidy programme in order to redirect those funds toward disaster relief. It will take a lot of time, and the effects of the floods will last long after the media attention has disappeared and the government’s priority shifts to other issues. It’s the responsibility of the local authorities and the people on the ground to continue advocating for those who have been forgotten but still need support.

Until next time,
Lv Jenn