Ouagadougou, 9 October 2009
A blind old lady is given a new home – she is crying for joy!
Introduction
Four weeks after the great flood, the situation in Ouagadougou presents itself in the following way: On the 1st of September 2009, 150,000 people lost their homes. At first, they were accommodated in schools and other public buildings. Now, with the beginning of the school year, they were relocated to camps where they live in tents. Many of them, however, refused to live there and found other solutions. At the moment, around 60,000 people live there in extreme poverty. The sanitary conditions and the poor supply of food leave many in despair. On top of that, they suffer from temperatures of 46 degrees Celsius, which makes it unbearable hot in the tents. Although a lot has been accomplished, there is still an infinite amount of work to be done!
The Swiss “Dear Foundation” provided AMPO with a large sum of money as emergency aid. Many longtime friends of the AMPO projects did the same. We would like to thank all the big and small donors in the name of the hardest hit families with many children, the handicapped, the blind and the old. Their blessings flow back abundantly to Europe.
With the help of its competent committee, AMPO was able to achieve the following:
1. Reconstruction
In 12 cases AMPO was able to reconstruct houses for people on their own property giving simple homes to 180 persons. In total, this cost around 26,000 euro. In all cases, the families were victims of the flood. The construction is almost finished and the families are excited to soon have secure homes – this time not made of clay but of concrete.
Head of family with his 11 children
This head of family with his 11 children (3 of his own and 8 entrusted by his deceased brothers) can smile again. Above, the family is standing on the ruins of their former home and below, Katrin Rohde is visiting the almost finished new house – just windows are missing.
The house is nearly finished
2. Social Aid
In many cases assistance was provided to help the population on an individual basis. AMPO distributed around:
- 3 tons of rice
- 3 tons of corn
- 2000 blankets
- 1000 mats
- Soap, school fees, notebooks etc.
- 7,000 euro were distributed cash, most of which goes into transportation and medicine.
Old woman in tent
Old women are often very sick and alone. This old woman is thanking Katrin Rohde for AMPO’s contribution to her health. Of the blankets shown below we distributed 2000. In this camp, real poverty reigns. Poverty does not just mean hunger but also dirt, cold, heat and disease. Only the faith in God makes the population keep their dignity.
We distributed 2000 blankets like this
3. Health
On the very day of the catastrophe, the head of our dispensary, Major Denis Yameogo, ordered medication for 7,000 euro in order to be prepared for a national shortage. He keeps 3,000 euro as a buffer because problems like diphtheria and cholera are likely to come up in the next months in view of the contamination of water.
People waiting in front of the dispensary
4. Costs
For 20 days, six people of our committee were busy on a daily basis in order to implement their programme. The AMPO administration supplied all its vehicles including drivers. All AMPO projects were engaged. Three of the six people in our committee suspended their work as AMPO executives during this time. The six members invested all their energy and experience to serve their country.
- Costs for fuel: 500 euro
- Costs for telecommunication: 150 euro
- Board per person: 4.50 euro per day –> 540 euro
