As the people affected by the devastating flood in Kogi state continue to face major humanitarian crisis, help came the way of the people of Onumaye and Ikumo communities in Kogi LGA of Kogi state and People With Disability (PWD) when a Non Govetvental Organization, Lift Up Care Foundation, (LUCAF), distributed items worth over N5 million to the victims.
Speaking during the distribution at one of the unstructured IDP camp 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 ED who was represented by the program manager of LUCAF, Mohammed Sumaila Onudoga, noted that the organization decided to visit the hard to reach communities directly, saying that these group of persons are often forgotten in terms of their needs.
He particularly noted that the people have no asses to clean drinking water, thereby exposing them to major health crisis, hence the decision of the organization to include over five hundred bags of packaged pure water. Other items distributed are rice, noodles, groundnut oil, maggi, sugar, salt, detergent etc
The ED called on government and other similar organization to come to the aide of the people, who she said 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 with hard to reach unstructured 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, noted 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 the effect of mosquitoes, snakes and scorpion bites, saying that they have spent so much money to treat those affected and called for urgent government assistance.
For Fatimoh 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 caused by the ravaging flood and called for more support from the government and other private organizations like LUCAF.
At the 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’s a major crisis for me and my members.
Other beneficiaries of the kind gesture from LUCAF food and Non-Food items distribution were police officers from Division C police station, displaced from Texaco area in Ganaja village, Gadumo and Adankolo IDP camps respectively.