Government Provides Relief for Victims of Deadly Floods in Lusaka

Heavy rain in Lusaka District caused severe flooding last week which has so far claimed at least six lives.

Although many residents of the affected area have fled their homes, the Government has launched its response, working in tandem with the Lusaka District local government as well as some charitable enterprises, to provide much needed assistance to those that remain.

Thus far, at least seventy households have received direct assistance in the form of food packs. This relief is essential, given that the floods have severely damaged many properties and left their inhabitants without food or shelter. One displaced Lusaka resident told ZNBC News that thanks to these efforts, “I will be able to provide food for my family”.

One local charity that has provided a great service to the community is the Muslim Social and Welfare Trust. On Monday, which was also Kenneth Kaunda Day, the Trust provided K150,000 worth of food hampers to be distributed to vulnerable residents of Kanyama, in an uplifting case of intercommunal solidarity.

Spokespersons for the trust highlighted the importance of adhering to Dr Kaunda’s legacy of Zambian unity and caring for society’s most underprivileged.

Lusaka District Commissioner, Rosa Zulu, thanked the Muslim Social and Welfare Trust along with other local charities that have provided assistance, and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to disaster relief, and to productive cooperation with non-governmental bodies.

Speaking to ZNBC News, she said, “even on KK’s day you have seen us distributing the food from our stakeholders, from our friends who are supplementing what government is doing”.

The team at Open Zambia expresses heartfelt condolences for the families of those who have lost their lives in the recent floods.