Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Rain, Blessing or Curse!

The rains have been relentless during this year’s rainy season. Floods in Zambia have displaced thousands of people, drowned livestock and put large numbers of children at risk from life-threatening diseases. About 1.5 million Zambians may have to flee their homes because of flooding. In the Monze district (Canisius Secondary School and Charles Luwanga College are located in the district (125 miles south of Lusaka), 500 houses collapsed and other people were trapped on an island due to rising waters.
Fields are waterlogged and crops have been damaged, raising fears of a return to the food shortages that plagued the region as little as three years ago. Zambia's government is distributing tents and food to people in its southern region, while the Red Cross is providing chlorine to purify drinking water and avert outbreaks of deadly diseases such as cholera, which causes severe dehydration.