A young boy uses a shovel to clear the road in Pemba city on the northeastern coast of Mozambique. AP
Isabella Mussa has not set foot in a classroom or read a book since the cyclone. For the 13-year-old, displaced by a deadly cyclone in northern Mozambique, it feels like a lifetime. Yet she is called one of the lucky ones. More than 1 million children have been affected by a pair of cyclones that ripped into Mozambique in less than two months, the United Nations children’s agency says.
A young girl walks away after receiving a plate of food and drinking water at a temporary shelter for children in Pemba city. AP
Many of the children are without shelter or food. Some saw parents killed or lost in the flooding that followed the storms. But Isabella, who now shelters in the city of Pemba in the northernmost province of Cabo Delgado, doesn’t feel fortunate.
A young girl at a temporary shelter for children in Pemba city, on the northeastern coast of Mozambique. AP
“I miss my school, my friends and my teacher,” she told the Associated Press, standing in a corridor at a sprawling government complex that now houses children and their guardians who were displaced by Cyclone Kenneth.
People cross a flooded section of Pemba city on the northeastern coast of Mozambique. AP
It is not clear when she can return home, or to school. The family home was flattened. Her school books were destroyed. With a lull in the incessant rains, children of Isabelle’s age were helping families repair homes or retrieve property. Claudio Ismael, 11, balanced a chair on her head and clutched a homework book in one hand while navigating a flooded pathway.
“This is the first thing I grabbed when I got the chance to return home,” she said of the book.
For the first time in recorded history, Mozambique has been hit by two cyclones in a single season. Kenneth made landfall just over a week ago, killing 41 people and now sparking a cholera outbreak. Last month Cyclone Idai struck central Mozambique, killing unknown amount of people and leading to thousands of cases of cholera and malaria.
Now aid groups are struggling to help the millions of people affected by both powerful storms.
Of the 150,000 people affected by Kenneth, half are children, UNICEF spokesman Daniel Timme told the Associated Press.
Children sit on benches in a hall after receiving food and drinking water at a temporary shelter for children in Pemba city. AP
“The children here have shelter, they are the lucky ones,” he said. “In many parts of the province, the children are still out there and we need to reach them to provide shelter, food and clean drinking water. It is very urgent, it is very essential so that the children don’t get sick and we avoid cholera like we had in central Mozambique.”
Children sit on benches in a hall while waiting to receive food and drinking water at a temporary shelter for children in Pemba city, AP
Many of the hardest-hit areas are outside Pemba city, such as Ibo island and the districts of Macomia and Quissanga, which remain difficult or impossible to reach by road.
For the hundreds of children like Isabella sheltering in the complex in Pemba, recovery is fragile. The children play in the corridors. Women and girls prepare porridge on open fires while some pound cassava leaves for a popular local dish. Authorities distribute water treatment chemicals.
Children sit on benches in a hall while waiting to receive food and drinking water at a temporary shelter for children in Pemba city – others play at the entrance. AP
Some just want normal life again.
A young girl smiles while playing at a temporary shelter for children in Pemba city. AP
“We are too many here, the food is not enough,” said 18-year-old Maria Daudi, adjusting the cloth she uses to carry her 4-month-old baby. She came to the shelter with her two children after their home was destroyed.
“I fear for my children. I don’t like this place but I have nowhere else to go,” she said.
Even as shelter remains a need for many, aid agencies hope to take further steps and create safe spaces where children can turn their attention back to studies. “We want to ensure that the children go back to school as soon as possible,” Timme said. “It is very important that children’s education is not interrupted for weeks.”
That’s good news for Isabella.
Children stand in a queue to receive food and drinking water at a temporary shelter for children in Pemba city. AP
“We are not reading at all. We are just spending the days playing,” she said. “I will only be happy when the rains end and I can go back to school.” Her 8-year-old brother, Divan, nodded in agreement.
via nypost.com Associated Press
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And then there are the elderly, suffering so long for survival before the cyclone struck >>
Humanitarian aid is required at a great scale – people are suffering in Cabo Delgado. Although international aid organizations did great work to provide the basics, local NGOs are the only ones with direct access to those on the ground where help is needed most – but their hands are cut off without the necessary resources……….
PS my friend in Ibo met this woman today. Living alone in a house with little to no roof left and no door. She can’t walk. The only aid that she had received was a tarp for her roof, it was left outside her house for her to put up (how?) and someone stole it. She was taken to get medical care but did not want to leave her home. Amanda Macarrao https://www.facebook.com/widowsmightmoz/
#CycloneKenneth #SendHelp #DireSituations #IkurruPemba #PembaStrong
#WhatsON #All4Moz Please #Donate www.thewidowsmight.net/donate
Join this group trying to make a difference on the ground
Ikurru Pemba – Pemba Forte
No Mercy for the Children and Elderly http://bit.ly/2PkmvPv #Kenneth #Mozambique #eBizStream A young boy uses a shovel to clear the road in Pemba city on the northeastern coast of Mozambique.
