By SulaymanWaan
A physically challenged man whose home got swept in October’s rain flood in Madiyana village has received some bags of cements worth D30, 000 from the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA).
The support is expected to help in rebuilding his resilience to transform his family after the destruction.
Presenting the bags of the cements to the victim, Lamin Y Darboe, programme officer for NDMA said the country’s disaster coordinator agency made the gesture following a heavy flood which hit the community in October. The flood affected over thirty-five (35) homes including the disabled, Mamadou Alieu Jallow.
“There are many victims that were severely affected but the severity differs. Because there is a special person that is disabled and the damages in his house is definitely devastating, based on that when the NDMA executive director visited this community and promised to respond to this special victim,” he said.
He added that as a result of this disaster, the agency deems it necessary to present the cement to build Mr Jallow’s resilience.
“These bags of cement coupled with community participation would boost his ability to start reconstructing his house,” he said.
The NDMA’s SITREP 004 of Disaster Situational report has indicated that over 61,665 persons from 3,391 households have been affected by natural disaster in The Gambia such as flash floods, windstorms, and fire outbreaks as per September 29, 2020.
Consequently, he said the agency wants to help Mr Jallow entirely but currently it only presented the cement as other resources are lacking. He added if NDMA gets sufficient resources from development partners it would support many disaster victims across the country including Mr Jallow.
However, he called on all and sundry to help NDMA in supporting disaster victims.
Mamadou Alieu Jallow, beneficiary commended the disaster management and coordination agency for the support, saying the gesture would help him to reconstruct his fallen house.
“The flood affected me severely because it fell down my house. But shortly after the flood, NDMA visited the community and met me in a terrible condition. They promised to support me,” he said.
While expressing delight over the NDMA assistance to him, he appealed for more support from both government and philanthropists justifying that cement alone cannot build a house. “I have no money to complete the construction. So, I need extra help,” he said.
Sulayman Badjie, chairman for the village development committee (VDC) described the donation as paramount, saying “The victim’s condition is very bad at the moment. So helping him would go a long way in making his life easier.”
In October flash flood affected about 35 households fallen down houses and submerged valuable materials.
Therefore, Badjie called on all to support governments in helping Madiyanna disaster victims.
