Over 70 schools affected by floods in Tana Delta

More than 70 schools have been affected by floods in the Tana Delta subcounty of Tana River county.

Those affected include 33 primary schools, 34 early childhood centres, and four secondary schools, some of which were completely submerged, forcing children to be relocated to safer grounds.

Some of the children are forced to learn under trees, while others have sheltered in temporary tents.

Kenya Red Cross Society officials, who are on the ground providing humanitarian support, said they are currently giving psychological and social support to the victims and helping families with non-food items.

The team is also distributing non-food items to flood victims who were completely inaccessible and are living on higher ground after their houses were submerged.

Officials from Kenya Red Cross reached out to 600 families from four completely inaccessible villages and provided them with humanitarian aid.

The flood victims from Galili, Komesa, Maliangeti, and Kikomo had to walk along the flooded area to Ngao village, where the items could be delivered.

Kenya Red Cross Society Coast Regional Programmes Coordinator Mohamed Rajab said the families urgently need support for relief food, proper shelter, clean water, and drugs as they relocated from their homes to higher grounds.

Rajab said they were forced to provide the non-relief food items in Ngao village as the four villages are inaccessible, and they relocated to higher grounds in the same area.

He said they gave the victims blankets, mosquito nets, tents, blankets, kitchen sets, and soap, among other items.

“Most of them relocated from their homes and moved to higher grounds; the majority have humanitarian needs such as food, water, and medication,” he said.

Rajab said the communities want to be supported to permanently move to higher grounds and need help to build houses.

Kenya Red Cross Society County Coordinator for Tana River Abubakar Roba said his area is currently on active emergency and the effects of the floods would take longer.

"Currently, we have around 33 primary schools, 34 ECD centres and four secondary schools that have been affected by floods. Some of the schools have been relocated,” he said.

Roba said they have supported some of the schools, such as Imani Primary, but the majority of children are learning under trees, adding that they require help to enable them to access learning.

He said currently, they are targeting schools for psychosocial support, but still there were a lot of needs, especially shelters and classrooms, and they called on well-wishers to intervene.

The county coordinator said generally, Tana Delta has been affected, and some villages are completely inaccessible and require boats to supply relief food, which is expensive.

“In a village like Hewani where we will go tomorrow, we are trying our best, but we still call for support,” he said.

At Ngao village, the flood victims from Galili, Kikomo, Komesa and Maliangeti thanked the Kenya Red Cross for coming to their aid and called on the government to urgently help them with relief food, shelter, drugs and clean water.

They said their children have yet to report to school as they are still submerged.

Hadija Dado, a flood victim from Galili, said they have suffered since the El Nino rains last December, and this time their homes were submerged again.

“This is the organisation that has come to our aid, but no one else has the means to help us. We have many problems with food, shelter and hospitals,” she said.

She said they drink the flood water directly where they fetch it and do not have toilets, making them at a high risk of contaminating diseases.

Daqdo said they lost everything  and want the government to allocate them land so as to begin a fresh life on safer grounds.

“We appeal to the county and national government to help us build homes on safer grounds," she said.

Joseph Kahindi from Milimani village said they have nowhere to go as their village is submerged and cannot access health services.

“We have no toilets, we go to the forest, which  is flooded too, and it’s the same water we drink and bathe in, which is not safe ,” he said.

Ibrahim Rufo from Galili village in Tana Delta said the Red Cross helped them with tents and other equipment.

He said that to date, Galili Primary has not opened and their children are yet to report to school, adding that the government should come in to help their children go to school like their peers.