Flood victims living in temporarily established Internally Displaced Units- IDUs in Kyarumba Sub-County and Kyarumba Town Council respectively in Bukonzo County East, Kasese district are worried about the outbreak of communicable and non-communicable diseases that have started hitting their camps.
Following the recent landslides, mudslides and floods are hit the district few days ago that left at least 13 people dead and others losing their property especially in Kyondo, Kyarumba, Kyarumba town council, Bugoye, Buhuhira and Bwesumbu sub-counties, most victims had no any other hope of living than being encamped in camps.
Kyarumba Sub-county alone has a total of six temporarily established IDUs at Kalonge I primary school, Buhanga Church, Kaghema C.O.U, Kabingo C.O.U, Kiduku Roman Catholic Church and St. Michael Mughanza Primary school. While Kyarumba Town Council only two camps have been established at Bwitho Primary school and at the Kyarumba Catholic Parish Headquarters.
Clofas Kabugho, the Chairperson for the internally displaced persons at St. Michael Mughanza primary school, said that her camp has so far registered cases of red eyes.
And she is very scared that the infection may escalate to everybody in the camp since they always share most of the domestic utensils as well as sleeping very compacted.
She was speaking to our Reporter who was in the area with the Bukonzo County East Parliamentary hopeful who is also the NRM Chairperson for the same constituency, Dr Julius Bwambale Monday Rude, who had paid a courtesy visit to the flood victims who are now living in various camps in the two lower administrative units to sympathize with them as well as condoling with the families that lost their dear ones in the tragedy.
Kabugho’s case was not different from her counterpart, Joseph Kule, the Chairperson of those encamped at Kabingo C.O.U, who also reported that he has also registered cases of red eyes in the camp.
On his part, Kule quickly appealed to the Kasese District Disaster and Preparedness Committee together with the District Health Department to go and ascertain the situation before the situation is out of hands.
At Kalonge I Primary school, Mr. Mayani Mbusa, the Camp Chairperson, also reported that his people are undergoing malaria since they don’t have and sleep under treated insecticide mosquito nets in order to curb the spread of malaria fever.
Kule also said that he is worried and very suspicious that there could be cholera outbreak in various camps and in the affected areas since they are now drinking unsafe water and their latrines were swept away.
Other camp occupants who managed to speak to our Reporter appealed to the government of Uganda through the Office of the Prime Minister to secure them a safer land where they can stay comfortable especially the already government gazetted lands within Kasese district and elsewhere in Uganda.
Now, Dr. Julius Bwambale Monday Rude, who visited at least four camps including Kalonge I primary school, Kabingo C.O.U, St. Michael Mughanza Primary school and Bwitho Primary school, told the victims that his visit was aimed at sympathizing and condoling with them as well as to ascertain the magnitude of the disaster so that he can join other local leaders and partners to inform the relevant government Ministries for relief donations.
Dr Rude, who delivered his relief to the camp occupants in form of cash money, used the same podium to appeal to them and the general public to embrace tree planting and terraces applications in their plots of land.
According to the statistics obtained by our Reporter, Kalonge I Primary School has 30 households with over a 100 occupants, Kiduku roman catholic church has 250 households with a total of 2459 persons, Bwitho Primary school has 229 households with a total of 1502 persons while at St. Michael Mughanza primary school has 179 households with 529 occupants altogether.
