October 15, 2021
By Ilyasa Baa
As the globe observes International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR) every 13th October, over nine hundred mudslide survivors at the New Resettlement community in Mile Six in Koya Chiefdom, are faced with numerous challenges ranging from food scarcity, lack of pure drinking water, insufficient market place, Poor school buildings and lack of community center.
In an exclusive interview with A-Z newspaper, following IDDRR, the Chairman of the New Resettlement Community for Mudslide victims, Abu Bakarr Kamara aka Game Change disclosed that life has not been easy for them since their relocation in 2017.
He said the population size has increased over the years with numerous challenges faced by them. He mentioned that their children have to cover miles to go to school amidst fear of being kidnapped as there is some amount of panic in the minds of parents/guardians at the moment, he revealed. “The lack of a community centre is a challenge we have raised times without number”, he lamented, adding that there is need for intervention by the government and well-wishers. “We don’t want our current status to keep reminding us about the past”, said Game Change.
The number of women in the resettlement community has expanded hugely over these four years. According to the Chairlady of the Mudslide Resettlement Community, Anita George, they have to cover miles to get to the Waterloo market where they do their shopping for survival and business wise.
She said there is need for a market to be provided as a basic amenity to ease the transportation burden on them especially for those who are single parents.
She stressed that the building of a market should go along with micro-credit loans for them because without the cash to buy the wares, trading cannot go on.
Having been rescued from the mudslide debris after three stay underground, Ferenke Jalloh has been faced with severe health complications. “I have to assist in brushing farmland to get Le 10,000 or LE 20,000 (less than $2) for me to survive”, he cried out, noting that he felt neglected having lost ten of his relatives including his mother who was pregnant. He was found and taken to the mortuary where he regained consciousness.
“We want to give assistance to the mudslide survivors from the proceeds of the first ever Make Sierra Leone Green festival to be held on 13th and 14th November, this year, said Sorie Obai Kamara who happens to be the Head of the Sierra Leone Consulate Planning Team in Finland and Ripsta Culture. As a way of reducing disaster risk, this organization will target to plant 50,000 trees in certain communities across the country.
It could be recalled that hundreds of people perished as a result of the August 14 mudslide disaster at Matormeh in Sierra Leone which is ranked among countries prone to natural disasters due to climate change.
The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction had begun in 1989 after a call by the United Nations General Assembly for a day to promote a global culture of risk awareness and disaster reduction. The theme for this year is International Cooperation for developing countries to reduce disaster risk and disaster losses focusing on target (d) of the Sendai framework: Reducing disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services.