As Gibreal looks into his fathers ruined cinema, the sense of desperation and loss is palpable. His Dad. Tommy, showed us his house next door that had been flooded to the nearly the roof. He shared how he had lost his daughter thinking she was dead for 2 days before he found her. The 800,000 leones (£100) he had spent on the school books for her were rotting in the mud. All his personal documents had been gathered in a muddy pile.
As he had been at the stadium where flood victims registered he had been given clothes, yet seeing other people in need he had simply passed them on to others. Often when you greet someone and ask How di bodi? they answer fine. Yet today so many said we are not fine, we need help.
Many wait for the next NGO to arrive with handouts of food, water and basics. This is no solution. This shocking event galvanizes me to say we must work with them to develop a long term sustainable solution. I look forward to the day that a family moves in to a new home – and its not too far away!
