NGO donates food, essential commodities to flood victims in Kogi.
IDRIS AHMED, LOKOJA.
Relief materials worth over N5 million were handed over to Ikumo and Onumaye communities in Kogi local government area of Kogi state on Wednesday, by a Non Governmental Organisation, Lift Up Care Foundation as donation to ameliorate the harsh conditions of the victims of the devastating flood that rendered them homeless.
As the people of the area affected by the flood continue to face major humanitarian crisis, help from kind hearted individuals, organisations and agencies across the country continue to come the way of the victims who have lost their properties and farm land to the disaster.
Speaking during the distribution at one of the IDP camps at Okumi where the people of Onumaye are now taking refuge, the Executive Director of LUCAF, Mrs. Lami Ahmed, said the organization discovered that some camps have not received any assistance since the advent of the deadly flood.
The Executive Director who was represented by the program manager of LUCAF, Mohammed Sumaila Onudoga, stated that the organization decided to visit the hard hit communities directly, as such group of persons were often forgotten in view of accessibility, despite their needs.
He particularly observed that the people of the affected area have no access to clean drinking water, thereby exposing them to major health crisis, hence the decision of the organization to donate over five hundred bags of packaged pure water, rice, noodles, groundnut oil, maggi, sugar, salt and detergent among other essential commodities.
The NGO also called on government and other similar organizations to come to the aide of the people, who are in critical need of food, water, shelter and other consumables which will make their stay at the IDP camp comfortable.
She noted that LUCAF have spent over N15 million providing support for displaced persons who could not reach the IDP camps within the state in the last one month and counting.
Speaking also during the visit, the facilitator, who also doubled as the chairperson of Kogi NGO’s Network, (KONGONET), Ambassador Idris Ozovehe Muraina, revealed that their assessment showed that over 500,000 persons were affected by the flood which sacked about nine LGAs in the state.
“Over 500,000 persons were affected by the flood by our assessment. We have decided to visit them in their various IDP camps directly. That is the only way they get what is due to them.
“We will continue to call on relevant agencies of government and other private organizations to come to the aide of these people. This is a major humanitarian crisis which requires that all of us must come together to provide intervention”.
Speaking at Okumi IDP camp, the Chief of Onumaye community and his counterpart from Ikumo, Yahaya Abdullahi and Yakubu Muhammed, respectively appealed to the state government to relocate them permanently.
They lamented that due to the effect of mosquitoes, snakes and scorpion bites, they have spent so much money to treat those affected and called for urgent government assistance.
For Fatima Abu who gave birth recently at the Owureta IDP camp where the Ikumo people are now living, commended LUCAF for coming to their aide, saying this is the first time they are being remembered since the flood started a month ago.
According to her, they have suffered untold hardship as a result of the displacement occasioned by the ravaging flood and called for more support from the government and other private organizations like LUCAF.
At the People With Disability (PWD) office where their members who were affected by the flood are housed, their chairman, Daniel Arome, commended LUCAF for being the first organization to come to their aide.
“I want to thank you for identifying with us in this trying period. Those who have legs and can see are finding it difficult to cope with the problem, not to talk about those of us who are challenged. As you can see this is double tragedy for us.
“I am calling on government and others to extend their assistance to us. It
