The Ghana Red Cross in collaboration with the Swiss Red Cross Society handed over a two-unit housing project to 100 beneficiaries in four communities in the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Assembly in the Upper East Region who were rendered homeless by the flood disaster in 2018.
These are 59 beneficiaries in Kologu Zuo, 21 in Kologu-Tor, 11 in Doba and 9 in Abempingo communities.
The houses were built with concrete blocks, plastered with gallons of bitumen and roofed with zinc for the beneficiaries who sought asylum at the Kologu basic school after the 2018 floods.
Speaking at the handing over ceremony at Kologu, Ghana Red Cross Secretary-General representative, Jonathan Hope, said, the humanitarian intervention was necessitated by the extreme vulnerability of the homeless disaster victims.
“When the Swiss Red Cross heard the news that many vulnerable people were rendered homeless by the flood disaster as they had lost their houses and needed support to rebuild , there was the real need to intervene to support the suffering vulnerable masses with relief packages to assuage the pain of affected people as a result of the disaster”.
Mr. Hope admonished the beneficiaries to maintain the structures and plant more trees around the structures to serve as windbreaks.
The Programmes Coordinator of Swiss Red Cross, Carole Hinde commended all stakeholders for their contributions to the project.
“These houses can last many years if they are maintained well and should be able to resist floods in case they occur”.
She appealed to all partners to support in providing immediate support to people worse hit by disasters.
For her part, Upper East Regional Minister, Paulina Patience Abayage stressed that, government was committed to constructing the Pwalugu Multi-purpose dam as a long-term solution to the perennial flooding in the region.
Paramount Chief of the Kologu traditional area Naba Asobayire Abagina Clifford lauded the swift intervention by the Red Cross in restoring the dignity of the homeless flood disaster victims by providing them with shelter.
He also commended the government’s effort in the provision of relief items through the National Disaster Management Organization(NADMO) to the flood victims.
Some beneficiaries who spoke to Citi News, expressed appreciation to the Swiss and Ghana Red Cross for the humanitarian shelter support and pledged to maintain them well.
Fredrick Awuni | citinewsroom.com | Ghana
