In recent months, Tanzania, together with other East African countries, has been severely affected by violent floods.
CADIS Tanzania and CADIS International immediately mobilized an emergency operation. Relief operations focused on the Rufiji district. Below is the report of the intervention released by the CADIS Tanzania team.
Implementation
The CADIS team met on May 6, 2024 to discuss and agree on the activities to be carried out. It was decided to visit the affected people in Rufiji again to find out their urgent needs. On May 9, 2024, a team of five people arrived in the area to meet with the relevant authorities and visit the affected people. A large area of Rufiji was still submerged in water and difficult to reach. After visiting the Chumbi displaced persons camp, we were invited to visit the District Commissioner, Major Gowele, at his office in Ikwiriri. He then put us in touch with the District Welfare Officer (DWO), Dr. Khamis, and with Mrs. Batuli Mituro, who tasked us with providing the names of the women and children affected in the Chumbi and Muhoro areas.
On May 23, we returned to Rufiji. We learned that there had been another disaster due to storm Hidaya, which caused flooding in the Muhoro camp. All the displaced people had to be transferred to the Chumbi camp, which was overcrowded and lacked lighting and electricity. We were told that the camp needed electricity in the tents, rice, and personal hygiene supplies such as soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and clothes.
The camp had 204 displaced people occupying nine crowded mini tents. Most of them were women and children; the men were under 10 years old. We were told that we could give all the supplies to the individuals in the camp, but since the food was prepared together, we delivered them to the store in Ikwiriri. So we went to the shops in the town of Ikwiriri and bought the supplies.
We contacted an electrician and bought the necessary electrical material for the camp. Each tent had 5 cubicles, so 45 bulbs, wires, sockets, extensions, etc. were needed.
We bought 4 tons (4,000 kilograms) of rice and delivered them to the store in the town of Ikwiriri. The rest was distributed to the survivors in the Chumbi camp.
CADIS Tanzania also managed to raise funds for clothing for women and children. The team went to Ikwiriri on May 28, 2024 and delivered the supplies to the survivors, including 4 tons (4,000 kilograms) of rice.
Challenges
The biggest challenge of this operation was the lack of funds. The program received only a quarter of the necessary funds. There are displaced students living in school buildings who need a lot of help and supplies, especially female students, with hygiene kits. There are people with communicable diseases who were not accepted in the displaced persons camps due to the risk of transmission. The building needs more latrines and many other activities, as indicated in the project document. While people have gradually returned to their normal lives, there is still the danger of the onset of waterborne diseases, schistosomiasis, and malaria, due to stagnant water around their areas.
Conclusion
CADIS Tanzania boasts years of experience in humanitarian assistance to disaster victims, internally displaced persons, and local communities in Tanzania. To date, several people affected by disasters have benefited from the support of CADIS in Tanzania, and the Rufiji flood disaster has been added to the list. CADIS Tanzania has strong working relationships with local communities in the country, including those in Dar es Salaam, Morogoro, Ifakara, Mlimba, and now Rufiji. The President of Rufiji has called several times to thank CADIS Tanzania for its help and has promised to do the same in writing once the situation is resolved.
Huge difficulties persist in Rufiji, as the district is recovering from one of the worst humanitarian crises. Hundreds of victims are homeless and without food, so they have no place to return to or call home. Some will be taken in by friends and relatives, others will remain without help, and most are single mothers. We were told that some were denied a place in the camp due to communicable diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), who will need to be followed up and have access to assistance. The community will need to be educated in terms of public health, nutrition, use of clean and safe water, and sanitation. Given the severity of the situation, the humanitarian disaster caused by the flood in Rufiji is far from over.
