03 March 2000

Maputo, Mozambique: To help alleviate suffering of the people of Mozambique in the wake heavy rains and flooding which started in early February, United Nations Volunteers in the southern African country responded quickly to reallocate manpower and supplies for the victims.

UN Volunteers such as American Susan Romanski, Belgian Steven Dils and Cuban Ventura Guerra have been transferred from their normal projects to help the UN World Food Programme (WFP) with its food distribution activities in refugee camps. Following a briefing, the UNVs were flown by helicopter to the Macia district south of the Limpopo River where several camps - ranging from a few hundred to 45,000 victims -- are located. In addition, UN Volunteers assigned to the WFP's Food Fund Project provided emergency support to flood victims.

UNVs Aurelio dos Santos and Maria Louisa Bustamante have remained in the flooded and isolated city of Xai Xai where they are coordinating relief aid with a local emergency committee. UNV has established a direct link with WFP to secure food supply for the refugee centres there. UNV Monique van Hoof, based in the isolated city of Inhambane, also supported activities of a local emergency committee.

Two UN Volunteers working with WFP in Chokwe were rescued after five days waiting on the roof of a building. They, like the local population, lost everything they had to the raging waters. Along with their other colleagues, the UNVs are now busy coordinating food distribution in the affected area. On a visit to Chokwe in mid-March, UNV Programme Officer Roland Campen noted that "previously nice town was now semi-destroyed, still half under water and stinking…many people had returned, afraid to loose what was left of their belongings".

Food distribution work is to be expanded soon, as White Helmets/UNV Volunteers from Argentina are being recruited to support WFP in the camps around the flooded areas, as well as in the villages in the affected areas. UNV, in collaboration with government and Red Cross representatives, coordinated an initial field survey of flood victims paving the way for the resettlement process. The Bonn-based UNV programme and individual UN Volunteers in Mozambique have purchased clothing as well as cooking pots and utensils for communal kitchens run by a local non-governmental organization.

As the waters subside, UNV is preparing to help people get their lives back to normal. Currently there are 75 experienced UN Volunteers on the ground who stand ready to assist the flood victims. UNV has offered to play a role in supporting the local authorities and indigenous NGOs in organizing the resettlement of the people, using a community-based approach. UNV is generating interest in the local population for its activities. After UNVs participated in a talk show on national television on youth and solidarity with flood victims, the office in Maputo has received a number of candidates looking for ways to support the ongoing relief work.

More than 2,200 international military and civilian personnel have flown to Mozambique to help victims of the floods. There is much more work to do. In March, the Messalo River burst its banks after heavy rains in yet another blow to the poverty-stricken country struggling to care for its people.