thousands of people wait in the flooded regions of South-Eastern Africa to help. Due to persistent rain could make the situation worse. A conversation with Nothelferin Jennifer Bose.
Interview of Regina Steffens
The effects of tropical cyclone “Idai” are devastating: 1.5 million people are affected, according to the international charity CARE in the countries of Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique from the Zertörungen of the cyclone and the enormous Floods. The United Nations reports that so far, 550 people have died.
Particularly bad is the situation in Beira, a coastal city in Mozambique, half a million people live. “90 percent of the city are destroyed,” says Jennifer Bose. The 31-Year-old is one of the 70 Holy helpers of CARE in Mozambique. On Friday morning, they landed in the capital city of Maputo and on the way to Beira.
SZ: Mrs Bose, you can gain an impression of the situation on the ground?
Jennifer Bose: The people here have lost pretty much everything you can imagine. So, your belongings, and within a matter of minutes and hours. Since the beginning of the auxiliary, I was working with our support team in contact. A colleague who arrived before me, reported of about 5000 people, which he has from the airplane seen, and the wait on a roof in the flood water to rescue.
What does he do now?
We coordinate with other aid organisations and try the one that could not be rescued from the flooded areas from there. We CARE car is a 13 load, with which we have tents and building materials for the shelters to distribute. We also provide people with hygiene products, mosquito nets, and, what is most important of all, drinking water
Jennifer Bose, 31, works as a Nothelferin in the case of the international relief organization CARE.
(photo: Josh Estey)
How difficult is your use?
We are struggling with a major logistical challenge. There will be boats, helicopters and off-road are cars in the use. Unfortunately, the flooded areas are very difficult to access, almost all the roads blocked. There are, in Beira, only at the airport, electricity and Internet.
Go back the masses of water?
looks Just it is not so. In Beira it is raining and the next day not to stop it. There are still flash floods, which makes it easier to reach people at all. The masses of water are enormous. You have to think of this as an inland sea, is suddenly there, where houses stood, and is 125 kilometers wide. The water is deadly, because it promotes the risk of disease. Cholera, or diarrheal diseases can spread quickly. It is a race against time.
How do you estimate the long-term scale of the disaster?
I was already in the case of other natural disasters in the aid mission, for example, the Typhoon “Haiyan” in the Philippines in 2013. The scale of such disasters will only become more and more visible. We don’t know yet how many People have lost their families. The number of dead or Missing changes from hour to hour. We are far from the end of the crisis.
Can you predict how much aid money is required?
In the next few months, we expect 32 million euros, which will be used in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.