Red Cross comes to the aid of Cyclone victims

Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief

While the world is focused on Chimanimani and Chipinge where over 180 people died, hundreds are still missing and infrastructure destroyed after Cyclone Idai ravaged that part of the country last month, there are also cries for help coming from the Midlands province.

Villagers in resettlement areas of Chirumhanzu-Zibagwe and Chirumanzu South especially in Ward 2, Chief Chaka, are in desperate need of help after they were affected by the weather phenonemon too though at a lower scale than witnessed in Chimanimani and Chipinge in Manicaland Province.

There haven’t been fatalities in the Midlands; there are no people missing or lying buried under debris but people here are in shock and in dire need of food, shelter, medication and clothing.

Of these, in need of assistance are those infected and affected by HIV and even women and young girls who need sanitary wear.

These people have been receiving aid such as blankets, clothes, tents, basic food commodities among other items but the girl child in need of sanitary wear or the one affected by HIV in need of antiretroviral therapy seem to have been forgotten in Chirumhanzu-Zibagwe and Chirumanzu South.

However, yesterday the Zimbabwe Red Cross brought relief when it donated sanitary pads to women and girls.

Mrs Maria Nyoni from Netherburn Ward in Chirumhanzu-Zibagwe was full of joy as she received four packets of sanitary pads donated by the non-governmental organisation.

She said since the night of March 16 when she left her bedroom in a hurry to avoid being crushed by falling bricks and timber – she left behind her sanitary wear. She said as her house was flooding, soaking everything, she had no choice but to leave her sanitary wear among other belongings.

Mrs Nyoni is one of many women and young girls who have been using tree leaves or pieces of cloth in place of proper sanitary wear.

“The past weeks since Cyclone Idai destroyed my home have been a nightmare because we have been using pieces of cloth and tree leaves in place of sanitary wear. However, we are grateful to Zimbabwe Red Cross and its well wishers who donated sanitary wear. Now I have four and will share with my daughter,” she said.

Mrs Nyoni said many girls had not been going to school after Cyclone Idai.

Zimbabwe Red Cross communications manager Mr Stambuli Kim said as an auxiliary to Government’s humanitarian intervention, they managed to mobilise resources locally and internationally from individuals and corporates.

“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 saw it fit for us to have sanitary wear since it is known that these people left behind or rather had their belongings destroyed by the Cyclone,” he said.

At the same time, there is also relief, joy and happiness for the people living with HIV as the National Aids Council (Nac) has come in to make sure that they do not default taking their medication.

With it being a fact that most of the cyclone victims lost valuables including their medication such as ARVs, Nac has been on the ground rendering support to make sure that there isn’t any interruption in supply and taking of the medication by the infected people.

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-Zibagwe and Chirumhanzu South who are busy making sure people have their medication,” he said.

Cyclone Idai brought strong winds and caused severe flooding in Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, which killed at least 856 people and affected more than three million others. Catastrophic damage occurred in and around Beira in central Mozambique.

Infrastructural damage from the weather event across Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and Malawi is estimated to be at least US$1 billion, making it the costliest tropical cyclone in the South-West Indian Ocean basin.

The Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs, Larry Mavima, said 120 people were affected by Cyclone Idai in Chirumhanzu-Zibagwe and Chirumhanzu South districts adding that 89 families were the worst affected as they had their houses destroyed.

“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 aid in the form of sleeping tents, basic food commodities and clothes,” said Minister Mavima as he handed over a donation to the victims of the cyclone.

He said the Government will be involved to make sure that the structures that will be built will be strong so that they can withstand strong winds and rains.

“When you start constructing new homes Government will be involved so that you have strong or standard structures which can withstand strong winds and rains. It is very unfortunate that a lot of structures were destroyed but it seems like most of them were substandard and therefore the need to have standard structures,” he said.