TONNY ONYULO reports from Kenya on the devastating impact of floods and how churches are helping in the aftermath…
Nairobi, Kenya
Mary Mbatha stood outside of the classroom, which is now her new home, at Athi Primary School east of Nairobi, the country’s capital, and cried for help after she was recently displaced from her home following relentless torrents of rain pounding most parts of the country.
“We were lucky to survive the heavy storm waters that swept our homes, but we lost everything and then got displaced,” said the 52-year-old mother of five, now taking refuge at the school. “People staying here are suffering. We have no food or clothes and nowhere to sleep with our families. We urge well-wishers to come to our rescue.”
Mary Mbatha at Athi Primary School in Kamulu, a neighbourhood in Nairobi, Kenya. She is among thousands of Kenyans who have been displaced by the ongoing heavy floods. PICTURE: Tonny Onyulo
Mbatha is among thousands of Kenyans across the country of more than 58 million people who have been forced to leave their homes following devastating floods and landslides that have also killed 277 people since March, according to a statement from the Ministry of Interior as of May 13. The ministry noted that over 75 people are still missing in various incidents countrywide, with 58,009 households displaced.
The Kenya Red Cross Society said torrential rain and floods in the East African nation have swept homes, crops, and livestock, disrupted transport, and destroyed properties and other infrastructure.
“The floods are widespread across the country with different levels of intensity. We’ve not witnessed that magnitude of displacement.”
– Kenya Red Cross Secretary General Dr Ahmed Idris
“The floods are widespread across the country with different levels of intensity. We’ve not witnessed that magnitude of displacement,” Kenya Red Cross Secretary General Dr Ahmed Idris told Citizen Television during a recent interview on the flood situation in Kenya. “The first thing we need is food, especially dry foods such as cereals that can last for a period, water treatment and chemicals, medication or medicines for treatment.”
Patrick Kamau, a survivor who lost his two children after a dam burst in the Mai Mahiu town, about 60 kilometres from Nairobi, when a culvert under a railway line became blocked by debris leading to a flash flood, said he had lost everything, including his family and properties.
The dam burst in the southern town of Mai Mahiu in the early hours of 29th April, swept dozens of people to their deaths and damaged homes, roads, farms and other properties. More than a dozen remain missing as rescuers continue to dig through the debris, using hoes and, in some cases, bare hands in a desperate search for survivors.
“I have never experienced such pain, losing part of my family and all the properties that I worked hard for years to get,” said the 44-year-old father of three, who survived the floods with his wife and one remaining child. “We thank God we survived the floods because every village around here was swept away, and whoever survived was just a miracle.”
“We are now traumatised, especially children. The incident shocked us, and we lost our loved ones as a result of that incident. What pains us is that as we continue to mourn our loved ones, we are suffering because we have no food and no place to call home.”
Residents walk with their dog as they search for the bodies of missing people after flash floods wiped out several homes following heavy rains in Kamuchiri village of Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, on 1st May, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Monicah Mwangi
The heavy rain that has displaced thousands of people has prompted religious leaders, non-governmental organisations and well-wishers to intervene and provide food, shelter and other basic needs to those whose houses or homes have been destroyed by floods. They are also offering psychosocial support to those traumatised and bereaved as they bury their loved ones.
In Kamulu, one of the fast-growing satellite towns east of Nairobi, Pastor Esther Wanjiru Njoroge offers shelter, food and other basic needs to dozens of flood survivors whose homes were swept away by floods and their properties destroyed.
Pastor Njoroge, of the Gospel Evangelizing Mission Churches, said the survivors were taking refuge at her church as she seeks to offer psychosocial support to affected family members. She appealed for humanitarian support to help flood victims who were suffering and now had nowhere to go.
Njoroge noted that flood victims residing in her church and elsewhere need basic and immediate needs, such as food, shelter, clothing, blankets, mattresses, water, and medical aid. The majority of flood victims, she said, also need counselling and emotional support to heal from trauma and financial assistance to help them rebuild.
“When there is trouble everywhere, we have a responsibility as a church to come in and help. When people are troubled, they come to us because we work and preach the word of God, which is the word of hope to them,” said Pastor Njoroge, adding that “we have been standing with the flood victims and providing them with the help they need.
Pastor Njoroge appealed for urgent support to the people affected by the devastating floods, saying that the church had few resources to reach out to everyone affected.
“We depend on donations to support the victims here. They don’t even have firewood for cooking, their water supply is limited, and their food is inadequate, but they can only survive on the little we can provide. We hope things improve and they can return to their homes,” she said.
Pastor Esther Wanjiru Njoroge prays for flood victims taking refuge at her church in Kamulu, a neighbourhood in Nairobi, Kenya.
Esther Wangui Kibui, a volunteer and resident of Kamulu, has been mobilising neighbours and other well-wishers to assist flood victims who are staying at Athi Primary School, where Mbatha and other victims have sought refuge.
Kibui urged that no one had been prepared for the floods and thus appealed to well-wishers to come out and help those affected.
“When the rains started, it was like normal rains, but they kept on increasing, and things became terrible,” explained Kibui, noting that the rains started submerging houses built near rivers. “I was touched when I saw women being rained on with their children after their houses were submerged. Therefore, I decided to take them to Athi Primary School, where they are now living.”
Kibui called on Kenyans and other well-wishers to come to the aid of flood victims, saying the situation was dire and she couldn’t handle it alone with neighbours.
“These people have become dependent on me, and now, all the time, I have to beg for people to help them,” she said, thanking neighbours who have been contributing money to buy food, blankets, clothes and other basic needs. “Sometimes, I have been forced to take my food from my house to feed these people all the time, but it is not enough.”
“We are appealing for any help we can get to help the people affected by floods, and we are also calling on the government to assist the victims.”
Some of the residents who were displaced by the ongoing heavy floods are pictured at Athi Primary School in Kamulu, a neighbourhood in Nairobi, Kenya. PICTURE: Tonny Onyulo
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church has been mobilising aid for flood victims across the country as they urge the government to construct large dams as one of the measures to mitigate the recurring floods.
“The government should construct large dams to harvest the water because it is a big waste. Although there are floods, after a short while, the waters will subside and flow into the ocean, and they will not have been helpful. They have caused devastating effects,” said Archbishop Martin Kivuva of the Archdiocese of Mombasa in south-eastern Kenya, where floods have been intense.
The Archbishop noted that he had instructed congregants and appealed to well-wishers to join hands in aiding the flood victims.
“As a church, we have encouraged our stakeholders to contribute food and clothes to be distributed to victims in the centres they are holed in,” said Archbishop Kivuva. “All the parishes under the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa have been told to inform their worshippers to contribute to alleviating the suffering of flood victims.”
The All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) sympathised with the flood victims and appealed for coordinated action to alleviate the suffering and provide critical support to those affected by floods in Kenya and in neighbouring countries such as Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, DRC, and Rwanda.
The members of the General Committee of the AACC, who met in Nairobi on 8th and 9th May, said the floods had “massively affected the livelihoods of the people, with several deaths and injuries being recorded.”
“We sympathise and stand in solidarity with all who have been and are still affected by the deadly effects and impact of climate change and pray for God’s intervention,” they said in a statement shared with Sight.
“We appeal to the humanitarian community to mobilize resources for emergency and long-term response.”
