Obongi flood victims seek gov’t support two years after disaster

Obongi, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Hundreds of families in Obongi town council, Obongi district are struggling to recover nearly two years after river Nile burst its banks and submerged property worth millions of Shillings.

The most affected were people in Ewaffa, Aliba, Palorinya, and Gimara sub-counties in Obongi town council among others. The floods affected fishing and various economic activities in the affected areas. It also displaced more than 500 pupils who were studying at Obongi Town Council Riyad Mosque and 10 health workers.

According to the locals, their pleas for help from the government have not yielded any results leaving them to struggle on their own for survival. Some of the flood victims have taken over casual jobs to earn a living. Some of the flood victims told URN over the weekend that life has become difficult for them since the floods disrupted most of their activities.

Siraj Karala, the LC 3 chairman of Itula sub county and chairperson lower local government association in Obongi district, where over 100 people were displaced by the floods, says that their efforts to seek help from the central government and donors have not yielded any positive response. He says that as local leaders, they cannot help the flood victims due to resource constraints.

Habib Buga Khemis, the Obongi LC 5 chairperson says that in the last financial year, the district raised only Shillings 15million, which could not offer any tangible help to the flood victims. Khemis says there is an urgent need for help from the central government and development partners to come to aid the affected households.

According to reports, some of the flood victims have moved to towns like Yumbe and Arua to look for alternative means of survival while others are said to have migrated to work in farms in Kiryandongo district.

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URN