Red Cross in Shs1.2 billion drive to help Bududa victims

Kampala. The Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) has warned that three other districts in Mt Elgon area are at risk of landslides and called for evacuation of residents to avoid a disaster similar to the one in Bududa that killed 43 people last week.
While announcing an emergency appeal of Shs1.2 billion to support victims of the Bududa tragedy, Mr Robert Kwesiga, the URCS secretary general, said Namisindwa, Butalejja and Manafwa districts are showing early signs of looming landslides
Mr Kwesiga said satellite images indicate that at least 4,000 families may be affected if they are not evacuated immediately.
“These are natural disasters, which must occur because you have no control over what triggers them but we can warn the people about them before they occur so that we do not lose lives,” he said in Kampala yesterday.
Mr Kwesiga also appealed for donations to assist the residents of Bududa who were injured or displaced when mudslides hit Naposhi, Nalutumu, Wanjenuwa, Tsuume, Lwanda, Mayika and Nalwanza villages in Bukalasi Sub-county.
He said many survivors lack basic needs such as shelter, clean water, and food and their inadequacy breeds other problems such as cholera outbreak, malaria and psychological trauma. “In Bududa, 150 families were affected. Some of them lost everything in the house; now they lack shelter, clothing, cooking utensils and other basic needs,” Mr Kwesiga said.