Nairobi, 29 November, 2019 / 1:56 am (ACI Africa).
Following the devastation occasioned by unprecedented torrential rains in parts of Kenya with the Government Spokesman giving statistics of 118 deaths, 350,000 people displaced, and 16,700 houses destroyed across 32 counties in a span of two months, Catholic Bishops in the East African country have issued an appeal for humanitarian aid to save lives.
“The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) is appealing to all Christians, partners and people of goodwill to support our emergency response initiatives to the flooding in our Dioceses,” reads part of a statement signed on behalf of the Bishops by KCCB Chairman, Archbishop Philip Anyolo and Caritas Kenya President, Archbishop Martin Kivuva.
According to a situation report by the development and humanitarian arm of the Bishops, Caritas Kenya, 14 counties have been affected by a variety of rain-induced catastrophes such as flooding, mudslides, lightning strikes and hailstones leading to loss of lives, displacement of people as well as destruction of crops and property.
Besides key relief items such as food, clean drinking water, clothes and toiletries, the Bishops are also requesting in their November 26 appeal for “water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions through distribution of sanitary materials, soap and Chlorine for water treatment and disinfection of latrines” as well as medical services due to exposure to water-borne diseases.
“We kindly request you to support this initiative by donating funds, food and non-food items to save the lives of the affected population,” the Bishops have appealed.
