December 11, 2006 - The Flood in Garissa, North East Kenya.

The Flood in Garissa, North East Kenya.

The Flood in Garissa, North East Kenya.

People waiting for assistance in Garissa, North East Kenya.

The Tana River has been swelling for the last few weeks. The high rainfall in this area, as well as higher upstream is the cause of this swelling. It came to a point of breaking the banks on 17th November 2006. Due to the high rainfall in the catchments area, the hydroelectrically dams higher in the river is also full to capacity and they where forced to release some of the water. This increased the problem.

On 17th November the water reached so high, that it burst its banks causing hundreds of people to flee from their homes due to the floods. The waters caused people to drown in the river, leaving many people homeless and in despair. In many villages along the river, pit latrines have been filled with water and washed away, causing health hazards to the population.

This intervention is dealing with a specific target area in north eastern Kenya, where IAS partner, Life Ministry, is working. The area is a stretch of 85 km’s between Sombo village and Korati village, along Tana River far into the interior, away from the main town centres and main road of Garissa / Nairobi.

Construction of toliets.

The following activities will take place

1) Scouting & Rescue
- Displaced persons rescued and taken to the camps.

2) Returning & Resettling
- 1,100 blankets distributed.
- 2,100 jerri cans distributed.
- 550 utensil kits distributed.

3) Sanitation
- 15 toilets have been established.

4) Water purification
- 1,350,000 litres of drinking water treated.

5) Shelter & Mosquito nets
- 5,500 plastic sheets for shelter distributed.
- 6,400 mosquito nets distributed.

6) Treatment of stationary water
- Stagnant pools of water sprayed.

Provision of food to hungery people in Garissa, North Kenya

Dead cattle

The most urgent needs are food support due to the immediate hunger situation. But in a longer perspective there is a need to give support to the communities such as simple irrigation systems in order to support the farms along the Tana river. This will secure long term help and give the pastoralists the option of farming to supplement the livestock trade.

IAS has received funds from Danish Mission Council (DMC) and Läkarmissionen (Sweden) for these items and activities: Maize, Beans, Oil, Manual irrigation pumps, Irrigation pipes, Seeds and Clearing of land.

NAIROBI, KENYA, November, 2002 - Life Frontier School is located in a Muslim dominated area of Kenya bordering on Somalia and Ethiopia. The school was founded by IAS in 1998 in co-operation with Life Ministry, which is based out of Nairobi. The goal is to help poor children of nomad families to get a basic education.

In November 2002 the nearby Tana River overflowed its banks as a result of a violent cloudburst. The school and the area were flooded and comprehensive repairs would be necessary to recondition the damage. Danish Mission Council Development Department (DMCDD) donated the maximum amount from their Emergency Fund, after which the place was normalized and families were moved to a temporary camp. However, the funds donated were not sufficient to ensure a repetition of the situation.

During 2003 it was estimated that it would be necessary to undertake measures to regulate the flood banks. For this purpose an amount of 119,000 DKK was collected as volunteer donations, and again DMCDD granted 100,000 DKK. For the total amount it was possible to build banks around the river and families evacuated during the flood were moved back into the area.