Cardiff church steps in to help forgotten flood victims
A Cardiff church is helping one of the poorest parts of Africa recover from devastating floods,
after the disaster failed to draw attention from the press and several aid agencies. Gorom-Gorom in Burkina Faso was hit by the flash flood a few weeks ago after six months-worth of rain fell in a few hours, causing a dam to burst. This meant more than 5,500 people lost their homes.
Llanedeyrn resident Keith Smith has worked with the churches in Burkina Faso since 1989, and in Gorom-Gorom since 1992, in a number of roles, including teaching, training, agriculture, and famine relief. He knows many of the families left homeless by the recent flood, and is now trying to raise funds for emergency food and shelter, as well as the eventual rebuilding of the town.
Keith is being supported in his venture by Cardiff’s Glenwood Church and World Horizons in Llanelli. He is giving updates on the situation at www.undertheacacias.org.uk
Over half of Gorom-Gorom’s residents have been left homeless by the flood, although fortunately only three lives were lost, as Keith explains: "They had 136cm of rain – that’s nearly half the normal year's rainfall – in just six hours. A dam broke about five miles away, and a tide of water waist-high swept through the town and surrounding villages. Most of the buildings are made from mud bricks and they have literally just washed away. "Gorom-Gorom residents are thanking God that this flood happened during the day, as many people were able to get their family and belongings out of the houses before they fell in. Otherwise hundreds of lives would have been lost.”
As it was, some weren't able to save anything, "not even a spoon," as local resident Ibrahim said. Pictures of the devastation can be viewed here.
Amadou the mason worked all morning to protect his courtyard and his neighbours' by digging channels and building bulwarks of earth. In the end, the water levels came over the walls he built, and he was too exhausted to get anything out of the house, even a change of clothes.
He spent the following week wearing the same pair of shorts and torn shirt, in an area where
grown men don't wear shorts in public, and people take pride in their clothing being clean and in good shape. His baby died two days after the flood, "still on his mother's back". He says it was malaria, but he thinks that being exposed to the cold and wet may have brought on the illness.Glenwood Church, along with Samaritan’s Purse and Food for the Hungry, are supporting a local response to the disaster, sending several thousand pounds to help with emergency food relief. Christian Aid and the Red Cross are also sending help. But Keith is hoping that the people of South Wales will also
respond to help the families of Gorom-Gorom. “In recent years we have seen how floods can happen to anyone,” says Keith. “The difference is that here in the UK we have much better emergency services and more help for people who have been affected. In Gorom-Gorom there are more than 5,000 people who now have nowhere to go and no means of getting back on their feet. Many have lost everything and they are turning to us for help.”
This relief effort is being co-ordinated by Keith Smith and Glenwood Church. People who wish to help are invited to get in touch with the church, either by telephone on (029) 2033 7880 or e-mail info@glenwoodchurch.org.
Anybody wishing to donate towards the relief effort is invited to send cheques made payable to Glenwood Church (Gorom-Gorom fund) to: Glenwood Church Gorom-Gorom Relief Fund, Glenwood Church, Circle Way West, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff CF23 6UW.
Photos (from top):
• Keith Smith
• Children in Gorom-Gorom like Fayma, have been left homeless by the flood.
• Gorom-Gorom before the flood
• Gorom-Gorom after the flood
