Chronicle Editor
Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Reporter
WHEN every man and woman in the tiny village of Kabongo in Binga scurried for cover as a raging thunderstorm roared through the village, Ms Catherine Parirahungwe’s maternal instincts conquered that fear.
She instead stormed out of her kitchen hut and swiftly acted to save her three minor children from the frightening thunderstorm and violent strong winds which were preceded by heavy rains in the area last Sunday.
Ms Parirahungwe, a mother of eight, managed to rescue her children aged six, four and two months from the devastating thunderstorm.
The two-month-old baby was screaming hysterically after it was abandoned by the its equally frightened and confused siblings.
Ms Parirahungwe confirmed the late renowned Italian paleontologist and author Professor Ulisse Aldrovandi’s observation that at the first sight of a predator, a hen will immediately gather its chicks “under the shadow of its wings.”
The Professor wrote that with this covering, the hen puts up such a very fierce defence — striking fear into its opponent in the midst of a frightful clamour, using both wings.
Ms Parirahungwe tenaciously displayed an amazing heroic act to save her three minor children from a ravaging and violent thunderstorm.
Fragments of asbestos roofing sheets flew in the air, lightning strikes destroyed long- cherished trees in the landscape, tree trunks failed at their weakest points, causing them to snap or break.
“It was on a Sunday afternoon and my three minor children were playing outside when it started raining. I was in the kitchen hut cooking when all of a sudden, I heard a deafening sound of thunderstorm and the next thing I saw were roofing sheets flying everywhere.
I sprung from my small chair and rushed outside to fetch my children and two of them aged six and four, were already fleeing in different directions, leaving behind the two-month-old alone and screaming in the midst of thunderstorm,” she said.
“Normally I am a faint-hearted person, but I don’t know how I managed to bolster my courage on that particular day to save my three children.”
Ms Parirahungwe said she ducked zinc roofing sheets which had been blown off a neighbour’s house and she rushed outside to rescue her children.
“I spotted roofing sheets flying in the air amid the ravaging thunderstorm and strong winds. In fact, one of the roofing sheets blown off a neighbour’s house nearly landed on my head as I rushed to a place of safety with my three children helplessly clutching on my chest and back,” she said.
Her husband who had just arrived home shortly afterwards watched helplessly as the roofing sheets from their newly-constructed main house collapsed.
Their household property, which included beds and couches were soaked in water. The granary where they kept maize had its thatched roof blown away.
“We are now in a state of dilemma and don’t even know where to start after all this misfortune. All our roofing sheets are now a write-off and the buckets which contained maize meal were soaked and it means starting afresh,” said Ms Parirahungwe.
She said her plight has been further worsened by the fact that she is struggling to feed her eight children.
Ms Parirahungwe is a staunch member of the Apostolic Faith sect. Her story forms part of the sad tale of what unfolded at Lusulu where more than 30 families comprising more than 200 were affected by the natural disaster that struck the area last Sunday in Lusulu under Chief Sinamagonde area in Binga district.
Villagers were left counting losses after the heavy downpour preceded by violent thunderstorm and strong winds damaged their homes following rains experienced in the area recently.
Although no lives were lost, some villagers were left homeless and traumatised following the sad development in the area. Widows, and orphans were among those affected.
Chronicle last week visited the affected families and the victims gave harrowing experiences of how they scurried for cover as their roofs were being blown off by the strong winds.
At least 31 homes were extensively destroyed. Another victim, Ms Tryphine Ngwenya (24) said fear engulfed her as the incident unfolded shortly after 1PM. The roof of her three-roomed house was blown away.
She said when strong winds started she was inside her house with her two-year-old son. “I watched helplessly as the roof and trusses of my entire house were blown off and my son was screaming. I thought of rushing to my in-laws’ place but couldn’t because the winds were very strong and violent” she said.
Ms Ngwenya lost buckets of maize meal and the entire roofing sheets were damaged beyond repair. She is now staying with her in-laws. Another victim, Ms Fortune Javure, a widow, said her entire roof was blown away.
Neighbours helped her remove some of the household property, which had already been soaked.
“We had to quickly remove the furniture which was in the affected rooms. Some of the property was heavily soaked while some of the electric gadgets were also damaged. It’s a relief that I was not injured as I managed to escape together with my four children,” she said.
“The rains lasted for about 15 minutes, but they caused severe damage and I am still in a state of shock. I don’t even know how I will raise money to replace the damaged property since I am a widow.”
Government’s rapid response teams led by the Civil Protection Unit (CPU) donated a 50kg bag of maize per household to all the affected families. The village head Mr Steve Nature said the strong winds, which were preceded by heavy rains had never been experienced in the area.
He said some villagers lost grain and medication after they were washed away by rains.
“This has never happened in this area and it’s sad that we have people who lost their property and food. Most villagers will not recover after this disaster, ” he said.
Ms Sanelisiwe Ngwenya, who is seven months pregnant said: “I was busy washing dishes when the rain started and all I could see were pieces of roofing sheets being blown as I watched from my kitchen hut. It was like a movie and even up to now I am still traumatised.” Another victim Ms Sophia Ndlovu, a widow said she lost three bags of maize which were kept in the granary.
Acting Binga District Development Co-ordinator Mr Farai Marinyame said they were still mobilising resources to assist the victims. He said food aid was urgently needed to avert starvation. — @mashnets
Online Reporter