Severe hunger has hit over 400 children at
Ula-Ehuda Camp in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The children and their parents were displaced by
floods that ravaged their communities since September 15, 2012.
It was gathered that the children sometime ate
once in a day and at times, they were given a packet of Indomie or Gala to eat
for a whole day.
It was also learnt that no fewer than 12 persons
had lost their lives and property worth billions of naira had been destroyed.
Worried by the children condition at the camp, a
non-governmental organisation, Child Protection Network, Rivers State chapter,
called on the relevant authorities to come to their rescue.
The group provided relief materials such as
clothes, toiletries, shoes, cartons of biscuits and rice among others to the
flood victims.
In a statement on Thursday, Chairman of CPN, Mr.
Michael Gharele, made the appeal while addressing the Internally Displaced
Persons recently.
Gbarale told the victims that the group was in
the area to carry out rapid assessment on the children’s condition in the camps
and encouraged families to be resolute despite severity of their condition.
He said when CPN field officers visited the Ula-
Ehuda camp situated at Model Primary School; Abarikpo Model Primary School;
Okpo and Akabuka in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA, the situation was unpleasant.
Gbarale said, “The children lack access to
potable water as flood has taken over their streams, well and other sources of
water available in the respective communities.
“We have observed that children’s access to
shelter is also another major problem at the camps as they sleep in open
classrooms on bare floors amidst mosquitoes’ bite at night.”
He said the children and their parents need food,
housing, education, health care, water, clothing, security, finance and
sanitation.
He appealed to the state government,
multinational oil companies, corporate organisations, NGOs, philanthropists and
well meaning individuals to assist the victims.
He noted that there is only mobile clinic in
Ahoada camp but none in other camps and appealed to the state Ministry of
Health to deploy doctors in all the camps on a daily basis to give them access
to health care.
The traditional ruler in the area, Dr. David
Chigerem, thanked the CPN for its intervention and for providing the IDPs with
reliefs.
He appealed for more support for the
victims.
The Punch
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