Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) on Sunday led 40 Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) in distributing foodstuffs to families affected by flash floods in Kibera, Korogocho, and Mathare slums.
Some 16 CBOs from Mathare, Kibera (12) and Korogocho (12) were engaged in the exercise that saw over 2000 households benefit from the donation.
Georgina Kawira, founder of Shine a Light CBO, said they were best placed to identify affected families because they work at the community level.
“I want to assure Shofco that the foodstuffs they have given us today will reach intended families because we know them. We will not let you down,” Kawira said.
Kalvin Shikuku from Generation Shapers CBO said youth played a great role in ensuring that many Mathare residents living along river banks survived the floods.
“This is the time as youths to come out and support our community very strongly because floods are not anyone’s fault," Shikuku said.
“We welcome everyone who comes to donate food and other items. We know that what we have received is not enough and we appeal to more organisations to come on board.”
Shikuku further said some people are still missing and called on the government and well-wishers to help in locating them.
“The floods have shown us that we need a community-led approach towards disasters. We had people being ambushed by floods and we had big hailstones falling in Mathare," Shikuku added.
“We, therefore, call on the people to be on a high alert and ensure they are safe even as we distribute these foodstuffs. We also urge the government to come and locate missing people.”
Shofco Urban Network (SUN) Nairobi County chair lady Elizabeth Okumu said the foodstuffs were going to be distributed without any discrimination.
“I want to thank the SUN community in Nairobi and CBOs for identifying real flood victims that need support. This will ensure that those affected will benefit from the donations," Elizabeth said.
She lauded Shofco CEO D. Kennedy Odede for donating foodstuffs and remembering the community in the hour of need.
SUN Nairobi Regional Coordinator Joab Oluoch said the organisation decided to work with the CBOs to distribute the foodstuffs because they are the ones who are on the ground and interacting with people daily.
“We are not working with the CBOs in distributing foodstuffs alone, we are also engaging with them in awareness creation. We need to sensitize the community on risky areas," Oluoch said.
“We also work with them in giving moral support, and counselling to those who are affected.”
He further called on the well-wishers to come on board and help the victims, especially children who are going back to school.
“We know that children are going back to school and they don’t have uniforms, books and even a place to stay. We, therefore, called on the well-wishers to come to their aid through CBOs who know the affected ones,” he added.
According to the government reports, some 15 people have lost their lives and over 1000 families have been displaced due to flash floods in Mathare slums.
Over 100 people have lost their lives countrywide and thousands displaced since the start of the heavy rains two weeks ago.
