News and Events

IUIU AIDS BUDUDA VICTIMS

• 20th November, 2018 12:00am

The Islamic University in Uganda has distributed relief items to over 200 people who were affected by the Bududa landslides that left over 43 dead and several displaced.

The team led by the University Public relations officer Ms Kantono Rehema in November delivered a consignment of items including clothes, food rations and house hold materials to the disaster survivors of Bakalisi sub-county.

They conducted counselling sessions to the still traumatized victims giving them a message of hope and destabilization.

Ms Kantono noted that the survivors need consistent counselling exercises because memories of what they experienced take a gradual process to erase.

“As an academic institution, we looked at this beyond just the relief items, these people are mentally tormented by the incident, and others have lost their dear ones. So, counselling them gives more sense of care and love to help them move,” she noted.

Residents, however, complained against local leaders who amass relief items at the cost of the weak and hapless poor. 

Simon Wamoto, a resident of Kyisambu village said whenever relief items are handed to the local leaders, the distribution is not fair adding these leaders first sort out the good things for themselves and give out the bad ones.

George Wamara another resident explained that in many incidences, the relief items are just thrown to them and it’s a survival for the fittest.

“Often the real victims miss out as many people who were not affected storm the area to target the free things,” he complained.

However most of the residents where happy with the direct distribution by the IUIU team where almost all the identified victims received.

“Initially we thought we would involve the local leadership but from the complaints and advise by other humanitarian agencies, we had to put up a big team involving staff, administrators, student leaders to directly conduct the distribution to the right beneficiaries,” explained Kantono.

Meanwhile, IUIU together with Malay associates have since October and November been engaged in distributing clothes to the poor communities in Bugisu sub region including Sironko, Bulambuli, Palisa, Budaka and Bukedea among others.