“Pray for us. Heavy rain today has claimed lives, houses and crops in Ibanda. The area has experienced severe mudslides,” said our church partner in Uganda.
Flash flooding due to intense rainfall has hit many regions in East Africa, including Uganda and Kenya. The sudden influx of rain has caused mudslides that have already claimed many lives and destroyed thousands of homes.
A mudslide came dangerously close to causing this family’s home in Uganda to collapse. Mudslides caused by heavy rainfall have swept away entire homes and claimed many lives across East Africa
“Mudslides are still happening, mainly in the mountainous areas. People are in need of food and shelter,” continued our partner.
The situation is similar in Kenya.
John, a Christian from Mai Mahiu in Kenya told our Africa coordinator on 18 May, “The worst happened on April 29. Many of the homes in our neighbourhood were carried away with people in them.” Entire families have been killed in the floods. Villages have been swept away, leaving only small sections of their foundations remaining.
John, who runs a small operation in his village that looks after vulnerable children, summed up the situation, “The floods here have been a nightmare. They are still going on… There is much sadness here.”
Floodwaters powerful enough to carry boulders and uproot trees have obliterated crop-growing land in Kenya. Nearly 50,000 acres of such land have been destroyed across the country. “There is much sadness here,” said John (pictured)
These examples are but a glimpse of the situation across East Africa. Recent reports indicate that close to 50,000 acres of crops have been destroyed by the floods in Kenya alone. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced.
Both Kenya and Uganda are Christian-majority nations that have struggled for years with food insecurity, sometimes bordering on famine.
Our struggling brothers and sisters need prayer and support. They need food, building supplies and pastoral care for the trauma they have endured. Can you help?
