The Salvation Army in Uganda is resopnding to drought conditions that have taken hold across much of the Horn of Africa. Children and particularly vulnerable, with malnourishment among under-fives having increased dramatically.
In one district the government has two health centres - Magada and Nzinze Clinics - solely for the purpose of dealing with malnoursihed children. The Red Cross and UNICEF are providing food but children and their families are sleepingo n the ground, there is no water, and hygiene is a major problem.
When Salvation Army assessment teams became aware of the situation they stepped in to provide 200 mattresses, 200 jerry cans, 200 wash basins, 500 long bars of soap and 100 jerrys of liquid soap. Plans are under way to sink a borehole so there is a constant supply of clean water. The Salvation Army's support is greatly appreciated. It is making a small but significant difference to the children and their families.
The staff in these compact health centres work day and night to look after more than 250 children. The night before The Salvation Army had delivered the mattresses a child died. Another nine were buried only a few days earlier. But the problem seen in the health centres is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a large number of malnourished children in the surrounding villages. The local government has started a campaign asking families to bring their children to the clinics before it is too late.
In one of the villages The Salvation Army project officer met a young woman, Malongo. Her name means 'mother of the twins'. She told him that her breast milk had run dry, probably because she had not eaten sufficiently. Once a day she tries to feed tha babies porridge made of cassava flour, which is not very nutritious - but it's all she can afford.
Mothers like Nalongo are in a very difficult position. The porject officer encouraged her to go to the loval health centre with her children. In the meantime she was one of more than 700 families who benefited from food provided by The Salvation ARmy. Each family received 15kg of maize and 10kg of beans.
More projects are planned and an international Salvation Army team is on its way to assist the Uganda Command. The drought in East Africa is set to last for some time.
Donations to The Salvation Army's Africa Disaster Fund will allow teams in Uganda and other East African countries, including Kenya, to provide vital assistance. Support has been offered from around The Salvation Army world with donations already coming in from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa and US headquarters.
At Marion Corps we will be setting aside time in both worship services on September 18 for people to make a special offering to the East Africa appeal. Information will be available this Sunday (September 11) to help facilitate this.
No comments:
Post a Comment