Safaricom Foundation on Friday 3rd May 2013, donated Kshs.10 million to fund rescue efforts for flood victims following a USD 3.5 million (Kshs.292, 950,000) appeal by the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS). Heavy rains in the last two-months have resulted in at least 74 reported deaths and more than 100,000 people homeless while exposing hundreds of others to malaria, dengue fever and other flood related risks.
The most affected regions are Coast, Western Kenya and North Eastern Province.“Our immediate priority is to offer psycho-social support which includes moving people in flood prone areas to higher ground, reuniting families, provision of shelter, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, as well as enhancing general hygiene,” said KRCS Secretary General Dr. Abbas Gullet.“It is not easy to estimate the extent to which the economy will be affected, but we can already see the agricultural sector being put under immense strain. Infrastructure has also been destroyed. Tourism is likely to suffer because of the floods,” he added.
Speaking while making the presentation, Safaricom’s Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore said that the money will cater for mobile medical clinics, buy seeds and other farm equipment for the nearly 100,000 people who have so far been displaced from their farms during the rainy season. “Our donation here today is meant to restore the dignity of our fellow citizens whose lives have been disrupted by the floods by allowing them to farm and rebuild their livelihood once the flood waters have subsided,”said Mr. Collymore.
The KRCS through its network of 63 Branches, eight Regional offices and over 70,000 volunteers has been continuously assessing the floods situation countrywide and providing immediate relief assistance to the affected communities. The KRCS has also been actively involved in evacuation of the affected to higher grounds as well as early warning alerts to the communities living along the river banks.