The Liberian Petroleum Refinery Company has joined other donor partners and philanthropists and otherwell meaning Liberians in providing humanitarian relief assistance to owners ofthe most affected homes of the recent storm disaster in the Atlantic Port Cityof Buchanan.
Making the donation on Wednesday of the week, the Liberian Petroleum Refinery Company (LPRC) Managing Director, T. Nelson Williams told reporters that the donation was part of the LPRC Corporate Social Responsibility in giving back to the communities.
Mr. Williams value theitems donated over US$ 10,000 (ten thousand dollars), and named the donateditems as 30 pieces of ridge caps, 20 bundles of zincs, 10 bags of used clothes, 50 bags of rice, and 16 b0xes of nails, along some cash of US$ 500,00.
For her part, Superintendent Etweda A. Cooper appreciated the humanitarian effort of the LPRCand added that it was quite disheartening to see peaceful citizens facing suchcondition our people don�t want to be displaced again, and disclosed that theCounty has instituted US 10,000 towards the disaster funds.
In response to the SOScall made, Superintendent Etweda A. Cooper has disclosed that concessions,philanthropists and development partners have speedily responded to thehumanitarian needs of the disaster victims.
As an initial donation, Supt. Cooper unveiled that since the storm disaster, the Liberian Agriculture Company (LAC), Ministry of Internal Affairs, among others companies and wellmeaning citizens in the county.
In order to gatherresources for immediate relief of the disaster victims, she further disclosedthat the County at present has received the following items and funds; from the Liberia Agriculture Company (LPRC), 40 bags of 25kg rice, 20 bundles of zincsand 20 pieces of tarpaulins were provided.
She furthered thatthe Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA)has provided 20,000 Liberia dollars and along with other relief items thatinclude slippers, blankets and tarpaulins, adding that President Pro-Temp G. Milton Findley is also contributing $100,000 (one hundred thousand Liberian dollar)along 30 bundles of zincs and US$ 500,00 from a kind citizen in the county.
Meanwhile, the Liberia National Red Cross, Grand Bassa Chapter is working along with the Disaster TaskForce formed, with supports from the County Authority and LNRCS is currentlydistributing relief items to over hundreds of disaster victims in the county.
Some of the items beingdonated are blankets, sleeping mats, Jerry cans, cooking utensils, tarpaulins,hygiene kits, and laundry and bath soaps among others.
Deadly Storm Hits Buchanan
On Saturday, May 25, 2013, the Atlantic port City of Buchanan was a paranormal drama when an unexpected and deadly storm hits the City, leaving hundreds homeless, and several others wounded.
Although official assessment reports have not been concluded, but according to the affected victims and eyewitnesses, the storm Had the devastating effect which causes many residents to face unbearable conditions, while over 2500 are made homeless.
Meanwhile, preliminary assessment shows that the storm which landed around 1:00 PM, affected more than 150 houses, some of which were completely destroyed. Some areas heavily affected, but not limited to included; Pearchuzohn, Welcome Gate Market, Gorzohn, Central Buchanan, Gunnigargar Town, and New Buchanan Communities among others.
Several local officials including; SuperintendentEtweda A. Cooper, Development Superintendent, Adonie Z. Greaves, Project Planner Christian S. Logan, as well as representatives of the Liberia National Red Cross visited the scenes the same day and late Sunday afternoon to assist residents whose homes were de-roofed.
They provided immediate relief items such as;tarpaulins, sleeping mat among other assorted item. As a matter of major concern, the county authority has set up a Special Disaster Relief Task Force (SDRTF) which is currently responding to the short term needs of the victims,and also concluding the medium and long term plans to not only assist the residents, but also address the future natural disaster.
Based on the intensity of the disaster, the Local Authority has established the Grand Bassa County Disaster Relief Fund Account (GBC-DFA) at the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) with Liberian Dollars account number at 011LRD21990617504 and US Dollars at 011USD21990617503 to help assist in responding to the medium and long term needs of victims.
However, the local authority has signaled an SOS call to citizens, philanthropists, companies,concessions and any well-meant Liberian, wishing to assist the victims are encouraged to contribute toward the fund.
The Grand Bassa County Authority further appealed to entities, especially those in the building materials and construction business,to contribute zinc, wires, nails, ceiling tiles, and other building to the Task Force in order to assist the victims in possible shortest time.
At the same time, Internal Affairs Minister, MorrisDukuly emergently responding in proxy of the National government, donated several relief items that include; slippers, blankets, clothes, Tarpaulins and other relief items to the Liberian National Red Cross to be distributed to the victims.
He tours the scenes of the disaster and on behalf of National government sent his comfort to those victims whom have lost their homes and properties, �life is more important than these things, if your life goes away, it cannot come back�, he told the victims.
Sam J. J. Moses, a victim who mournfully spoke with reporter described the incident as an unexpected disaster and recalled that similar storm first took over the city in 1975 where lives and properties were lost, and added that the storm come as a result of the heavy cutting down of trees.
�This whole storm thing is like putting human life into a hole and burying, look how my house is damaged, I have no job, no money,and if I was not strong, I would have given up the ghost�, says Samuel Y. Livingstone, a victim from the Central Buchanan Community.
More interestingly, another victim immutably stood in front of his destroyed house at New Buchanan Community, irresistibly cried out, �It was Buchanan Renewables Company money that built this house, now the company is gone, where will I get money from again, I am not working anymore, God please come to my rescue!!!�, He shouted.
Villagers Decry Unsafe Water Implications
- Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Rural Liberia
By: Matthew Fred
Email: fredgadabo@yahoo.com
Contact: +231-776-402-70/0886-111-391
Despite the fact that many NGOs and INGOs are in collaborative efforts with the Government of Liberia other to address water and sanitation issues, dissimilarily, the issue of water is still a major problem for rural communities since after the country 14 years of civil unrest that destroyed homes, lives and properties.
�Ni Mun Fe� (water is life), this was what Quetta Sackie, a mother who in the past has lost two of her eight (8) children due to diarrhea was continually saying in her local dialect, while trying to take in a handful of water from a creek filled with dead leaves and living water insects, coupled with toadstool that is understood to be used for their bathing, cooking, washing and drinking purposes.
The creeks, from which these villagers drink, appear to be more deplorable that even when the water is being set and a bit clean one dip from over it would not allow anyone to have a taste of it, due to the horrible smells from dead insects and leaves that are polluting the water.
Throughout the years, less attention has been paid to the water and sanitation problems of rural communities in Liberia, especially those hard to reach areas that are not accessible to inroads and vehicles, thus, resulting to massive and chronic outbreak of diarrhea among village children.
As you may be aware, one�s personality is affected in many ways by one�s appearance, in which one should look clean, neat and healthy, but locals of Dorwein Clan, consisting of 33 villages in the South Western rural part of Liberia, consider themselves as living at risk because of the lack of rural water and sanitation facilities by government.
Walking 3 hours from her village in Bardawein to reach the main road and await the vehicle in order to get her to the nearby health facility, Kemah Yarkpawolo, a subsistence Farmer in her early 30s after three nights of intensive running stomach that resulted her in dehydration, invisibly drops to the ground.
Being very exhausted and weak due to dehydration and long distance of walks from her village to the village of Timbo, a village not less than 500 inhabitants where locals too are facing this dilemma of aquatic disastrous, Kemah went totally unresponsive. Men of the area hurriedly wrapped blanket into the hammock where they laid Kemah and hurriedly shouldered her to the main road in order to get her to the hard by health facility, but whether she may survive the gloominess before in the next 2 hours before reaching the main road and then the health facility may surely depend on the strength of her resistance to hold back death.
Inaudibly gazing at the scenery, Jerry Flomo, a 31 year old farmer with four children says the occurrence is a frequent happening in their village, �this is common for us, just last week my 3 year old son nearly died from a chronic running stomach that resulted from the intake of the same creek waters. And after refusing to eat for one and a half day, we were able to maneuver some herbs that enabled him gain back his strength.�
He says that before the Country civil war they had one pump in his town that seemed to be no more over 17 years ago, and added that they had never received chlorine or water guard from any agency so that they can be able to treat their water for safe consumption. According to them, a few days ago, a little girl mistakenly swallowed a dead leech while drinking water that was drawn from the creek in a cup that almost resulted in her death.
Regardless of the many death threats that the drinking of creek waters imposes on these locals at the moment and in the past, these villagers with the feeling of being marginalized in a Country just from war, they have no other option but to continue drinking the water and strive to bring back hope through their subsistence farming activities year round.
As a matter of major concerns, they alleged that every year whenever addressed local District Superintendent and the County health office on the issue, they in return respond as the inroad leading to their villages as being very far and inaccessible to vehicle. �We are feeling marginalized with no clinic, no toilet, no school, and the access to safe drinking water that caused me to lose my granddaughter last October,� says old man Gohnpa as he tries to wipe the pleading tears from his eyes.
Among the many Diarrhea cases coming out of the clan appears Mary Mangy, another villager who faces similar problems with her daughter: �as we stand here now this my daughter's stomach is running, and since then she has refused to eat anything.�
Meanwhile, as these mass numbers of villagers become visibly na�ve to the political situation in their Country, an access to clean and safe drinking water being a human rights issue and appearing to be one of the world most sources of energy to human lives, and being their major ways, government and other humanitarian agencies pretend to hear their strifes.
