Mepe flood victims appeal for direct relief supplies

Flood victims taking shelter at three camps at Mepe in the North Tongu District in the Volta Region have appealed to relief donors to attend to them directly to save them from further starvation.

They said the procedure to access the relief items meant for them was long and cumbersome. Currently, the items are channelled through the emergency operations centre at the district capital, Battor.

“In the abundance of donated relief items through the assembly, we are still going hungry, without knowing when our next food supplies will reach us,” the Mepe RC Primary camp leader, Kofi Amedzor, said.

He said the camp was holding 110 people displaced by floods from the spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong dams.

Mr Amedzor added that requests by the displaced persons for food and other relief items from the assembly were not readily responded to, making life difficult for the people.

He made the remarks when insurance brokers, Edward Mensah Wood and Associates, donated various relief items to the camps last Tuesday.

The items, valued at about GH¢50,000, included mattresses, bags of rice, boxes of tinned fish, cooking oil, tomato puree and bales of clothes, among others.

He thanked the company for the donation which he described as timely and a huge relief for the people at the camp.

“We hope other organisations and individuals would follow suit to keep us on our feet,” the camp leader added.

The Managing Director of Edward Mensah Wood and Associates, Yasmin Essilfie-Mensah, who presented the items, said the gesture was in line with the corporate social responsibility of the group.

She commended the displaced persons for their resilience and strong sense of courage in times of difficulty, saying the company was highly touched by their situation.

The managing director said in times of such disasters, it was only proper for all to assist the victims in the broader interest of the nation and for the sake of humanity.

Other camps

The story was not different at the Mepe D. A. School camp which held 108 displaced persons.

The camp leader, Edem Anaglate, revealed that the people had been without clean water for many days, for which reason they were unable to cook.

Further, he said, relief supplies from the assembly’s emergency operations centre were woefully inadequate and irregular.

Mr Anaglate expressed gratitude for the items, saying the gesture was overwhelming.

He appealed for mosquito nets for the displaced persons taking shelter at the camp.

At the Mepe Holy Christ Camp which held 42 flood victims, the leader, Dodzi Kuhle, made a similar appeal for direct relief supplies to the people, saying relying on the assembly for food and other relief items was creating serious discomfort and anxiety among the people.
                                         

NADMO

The North Tongu District Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mark Anthony Todzo, when contacted explained that some displaced persons moved from one camp to another for relief items.

For that matter, he said beneficiaries of the items needed to be screened again before they were supplied the items and that accounted for some delays in reaching out to them.