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Patrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
While the world has been focusing on Chimanimani and Chipinge where over 200 people perished, while hundreds are missing after Cyclone Idai ravaged that part of the country, there are also cries for assistance coming from the Midlands Province.
The cries are coming from villagers in resettlement areas of Chirumhanzu- Zibagwe and Chirumanzu South especially in Ward 2 under Chief Chaka.
While there haven’t been fatalities in Chirumhanzu- Zibagwe and Chirumanzu South, while there are no villagers missing or lie buried in debris the survivors here are in shock and in dire need of food, shelter, medication and clothing.
The most critical are those infected and affected by HIV and even women and young girls in need of sanitary wear.
These people have been receiving relief aid such as blankets, clothes, tents, basic food commodities among other items but the girl child in need of sanitary pads or the one affected by HIV in need of anti-retroviral therapy seem to have been forgotten.
Yesterday, the Zimbabwe Red Cross brought some relief when it donated sanitary wear to woman and girls.
One of the recipients Mrs Maria Nyoni from Netherburn Ward in Chirumhanzu-Zibagwe could not hide her joy after she received four sanitary pads donated by the Zimbabwe Red Cross.
She said from the night of March 16 when she left her bedroom in a huff to avoid being crushed by falling debris/ bricks and timber- she has had no access to sanitary wear and has been using tree leaves or pieces of clothes. She said when her house was flooding and soaking everything – she had no choice but to leave her sanitary wear.
“The past weeks since Cyclone Idai destroyed my home have been a night mare because we have been using cloths and tree leaves in place of sanitary wear. However we are grateful to Zimbabwe Red Cross and well-wishers who donated sanitary wear. Now I have four and will share them with my daughter,” she said.
Mrs Nyoni said a lot of school going girls had not been going to school because of the effects of Cyclone Idai.
Zimbabwe Red Cross communications manager Mr Stambuli Kim said as an auxiliary to Governments humanitarian intervention, managed to mobilise resources locally and internationally from individuals and corporate.
“The sanitary wear, the blankets, tents and food donated to victims of Cyclone Idai in Chirumhanzu- Zibagwe and Chirumhanzu South is there to change lives for the better. We are working hand in glove with the Government and our partners so it fit for us to have sanitary wear since it is known that these people left behind or rather had their belongings destroyed in by the Cyclone,” he said.
At the same time- there is also relief, joy and happiness for the people living with HIV as National Aids Council (NAC) has also come in to make sure that no one defaults.
NAC provincial manager for the Midlands Province Mr Mambewu Shumba said discontinuation of ART may result in viral rebound, immune decompensation, and clinical progression.
“Cyclone Idai caused unplanned interruption of ART and we have moved in to avert any defaulting that may occur since they lost their medication during the Cyclone. We have teams across Chirumanzu- Zibangwe and Chirumhanzu South who are busy making sure people have their medication,” he said.
The Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs Larry Mavima said 120 victims had been affected by Cyclone Idai in Chirumhanzu-Zibagwe and Chirumhanzu South Districts adding that 89 families were the most affected as they had their houses destroyed during the Cyclone which savaged Manicaland and Masvingo provinces.
“The Government led by President Mnangagwa will not let you die of hunger or let you live in squalid conditions after some of you lost homes. We are here today and we are going to come back with more relief aid in the form of sleeping tents, basic food commodities and clothes,” said Minister Mavima as he handed over the relief aid.
Minister Mavima said Government was going to be involved to make sure that the houses being built are strong and can withstand strong winds and rains.
“When you start constructing new homes Government will be involved so that you have strong or standards structures which can stand strong winds and rains. It very unfortunate that a lot of structures were destroyed but it seems like most of they were substandard and therefore the need to have standard structures,” he said.
Cyclone Idai brought strong winds and caused severe flooding in Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, which killed 856 people – 534 in Mozambique, 299 in Zimbabwe, 60 in Malawi, and one in Madagascar – and affected more than 3 million others. Catastrophic damage occurred in and around Beira in central Mozambique.
Infrastructural damages from Idai across Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and Malawi were estimated to be at least US$1 billion, making Idai the most expensive tropical cyclone in the South-West Indian Ocean basin.
Online Reporter