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PRESS RELEASE |
Uppsala |
E-mail: ewa.rollgardh@svenskakyrkan.se
One Million Swedish Crowns to Crisis-hit Zimbabwe
Following the catastrophic floods in Southern Africa, Church of Sweden Aid has previously made a grant of SEK one million each to Mozambique and South Africa. Currently a grant of SEK one million has also been agreed to Zimbabwe, where the worst floods in living memory have occurred. Food, clean water supplies, medicines and help with sanitation are the primary needs. In many places the ground is so watery that the foundations of the houses are giving way, and latrines, filled with water and overflowing, are also seriously polluting the area.
"The situation is very serious. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their homes completely, and yet more people have seen their huts and stores of grain be destroyed by the relentless rains," Bishop Moyo of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Zimbabwe (ELCZ) says.
Two out of the four hospitals run by the Church have had their water supplies seriously damaged, and eleven water reservoirs within the Church's rural development programme have also been completely destroyed.
"Lack of water is a great problem," Missionary Eva Berglund, sent by Church of Sweden Mission, says. She and her husband Anders both work at Masase, he as a priest and she as an educator, and they have both experienced how everything else must be put aside, due to the catastrophe.
"Everyone is affected and they all use what they have to repair the damages, but people are also so shocked, and they all feel so badly about it. One river rose 12 metres in a few hours, and here people are only used about 200-ml rain in a year... They have never seen so much water!"
Eva Berglund notes that there is preparation for draughts in hand, but not for torrential rains. The Regional Secretary at the Church of Sweden International Department, Sven Eckerdal, who has recently visited both Zimbabwe and South Africa, confirms that.
"This is an unusual catastrophe. At the same time, it is assumed that the total harvest will be considerably more than usual, so in politically normal circumstances, available resources could have been distributed so as to meet the needs. However, Zimbabwe is in the middle of a very serious crisis, both financially and politically," Sven Eckerdal says. In Zimbabwe Church of Sweden Aid co-operates with the Lutheran World Federation and with the local Lutheran Church, ELCZ. The grant, half of which comes from funds raised and the other half from Sida monies, is channelled through the Churches international emergency relief network, ACT. The Postal Giro Account, number 90 02 56-9 is open for contributions to the emergency work in Africa.
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