It is early morning and some of the women at a rescue camp in Kakola of Nyando are preparing tea and sweet potatoes for breakfast using a jiko.
Worn mattresses, mats and blankets are scattered on the floor across the dimly lit classrooms at Nyamasao Primary School, where flood victims took shelter.
Poor sanitation, lack of bedding, food and clean water marked the face of the camp, as victims called on county and national governments to come to their aid.
One of the victims is 40-year-old Salome Anyango Otieno. Since last week, the rescue camp has been home to Otieno and her children aged 12, 8, 6 and 4.
She moved to the temporary camp following heavy downpour that caused flooding at the previous rescue camp at Nyamasao dispensary.
"It has not been easy for us, we had to move from the dispensary early in the morning after the area too was flooded,"she said.
Otieno added that she fears for her children's health as the risks of contracting waterborne diseases and malaria within the camps are high.
A look around the classrooms revealed some mosquito nets hanging in different spots, but some women and children have none.
Otieno claimed she has not had permanent shelter since 2019, when floods in Kakola Ombaka forced her to leave. She has moved from one camp to another depending with the level of water in the area.
The victims have not been able to farm as some lost their belongings including animals and are now living from hand to mouth.
"We have kids going to school, but it becomes difficult to even take care of them and even while moving from one camp to the other when one is filled with water even at night, so it's a big nightmare."
Ombaka Sub-chief Neto Awich said more than 200 households have been displaced within the area.
He said about 250 acres of land has been submerged by floods with most families losing their animals.
"So far no death has been reported and we continue to urge locals in areas likely to be affected to move to higher grounds," the Sub-chief said.
Awich added that a number of victims were integrated within the community while others moved away, adding that efforts to rescue some of the families trapped in their homes is still ongoing, with the help of various boat operators.
Another evacuee, Ruth Adongo, noted that they are yet to receive any help from either of the two levels of government.
"They have always stood with us during all this period and we believe they will come to our rescue, we are also appealing to well-wishers to come to our aid,"Adongo said.
Only women and children were present at the temporary camp, as youth and men sought shelter elsewhere.
The only male at the centre is 60-year-old Joseph Ochieng, who is also in charge of the rescue camp.
Ochieng - himself a flood victim - said they were at Nyamasao Primary School last year November, but had to be moved back to Nyamasao dispensary after schools reopened.
They have been camping at the dispensary for the last three months.
However, they had to evacuate again after rain pounded the area last week, causing flooding at the dispensary.
"We were forced to leave Nyamasao Dispensary on Wednesday morning after the entire area was flooded back to the primary school since schools are closed currently,"he said.
Ochieng said they were fearful that the school could soon be affected as the water levels keep rising.
"It's a sad state of affairs because this has rendered us economically unstable. We have people with us who were displaced from the homes from 2019, as others freshly displaced continue to join us in the temporary camps."
Construction of the Koru Soin dam will bring a permanent solution to the flooding menace, Ochieng said.
"We appeal to the government to fast track the construction. We are able people and farmers but with this water there is nowhere to farm and it becomes difficult to fend for our families."
On Tuesday, more than 300 hundred residents of Kobura ward within the Nyando Sub-county were also forced to move from their homes following heavy downpour in recent days.
Many of the families sought refuge at Rieko Junior Academy, a private school within the area.
