Solai Victims: Helping Hands Holding Them Up
10th May 2018
Unceasing, furious rain lashes the Kenyan countryside, there is no relief, no respite, villagers wait in vain for the downpour to stop so that life can resume, but what happens next is a tragedy of epic proportions. The river was in spate, water pushed hard against the dam, and finally it gave way, bringing down millions of liters of water upon the houses of hapless villagers, burying homes, people, life stock under up to ten feet of water. Kenyans and other residents all over Kenya remained mute, stunned spectators of Nature's fury.
A Brazillian friend of mine, Larissa, called me up and asked me if I was interested in helping to collect material over a period of two weeks to distribute to the affected people. Posters were hurriedly made, social media messages were posted and shared across various forums and magically we were flooded with offers of help and dry goods, clothes, books, baby items and cash (which was directed to the Mpesa account especially made for the Solai victims).
Larissa and I split up the areas in Nairobi from where we could collect the donated items and the collection started on a war footing. Clothes rapidly became the number one donated item, so much so that we had to finally stop accepting clothes and ask for dry food items, blankets and cash from those willing to give. We received seventy blankets! We had to check each item and ensure that the clothes were clean and ready to wear. One bag of clothes was so filthy that we had to get it washed and dried before it could be added to the pile of donations!
The main reason for the successful collection was constant communication which was made easy due to technology and convenient drop off and pick up points, as many of our donors work full time.
We received hundred kilo bags of red beans, sugar, rice and maize flour. So we had to open up these sacks, look for eco friendly smaller bags, ( we respect, follow and admire the total plastic bag ban in Kenya!), and divide each dry item up, so that maximum families could benefit.
The next step was to look for gunny sacks so that each family could get a sack of assorted items. And then we divided everything equally among the sacks with some miscellaneous items which we had decided to give as per family needs. For example, those with babies would be given diapers, baby clothes, baby food, those with school going children would receive stationery items, books and so on.
Initially we had thought that two four wheel drive vehicles would be enough to transport all the donated material to Solai but how wrong we were! We got so much more than expected that we went into panic mode every time we thought of transport. We needed a vehicle which would be suitable for the rough, water logged roads at Solai and would also protect everything in case it rained that day. Ultimately we found a ten ton lorry which was also arranged for free by a kind donor. He even paid for the fuel and a driver who was accustomed to driving that vehicle. The evening before our departure, Larissa's children and mine helped us to load everything into the lorry and we were set to leave early the next morning!
We followed the lorry in our own cars. We were stopped by the Highway Police on multiple occasions but when we explained the cause to them, they were very gracious and allowed us to pass through immediately. After four hours and traversing bad roads towards the end, we finally reached Solai.
Our distribution point was at a small local church and it was a task to drive in the lorry through the small gate, over a muddy, slippery road that had been under water just a few short weeks ago. Finally a group of locals helped to push it into the compound. The priest at the church had already coordinated with the affected people and so one representative from each family came up to receive a sack of goods.
There were a few incidents where people were drunk, were demanding more things because they had lost everything and nothing could fill the gap and it was very disheartening to see them. The priest helped us to counsel them and promised more goods from the next round of donations. Others were very happy with what they had received and it was a joy to see their smiles in the midst of disaster.
Then we took a walk around the village. Tin roofs had been swept away from the mud huts and had stuck to electricity poles, stored grain was wet and sprouting shoots, cement floors had remained intact with the walls having been swept away, fresh graves were scattered all around the area and we heard the heart wrenching story of sixteen students who never came back to school...
Our way back wasn't without adventure! Our lorry got stuck on a sandy patch of road and got bogged down. All our efforts to free it were in vain and finally it had to be pushed out with the help of another canter which was driven in reverse! It took us an hour to be finally free. Exquisite relief!
Cash Donations are still being accepted by Mpesa for the Solai Fund. Pay Bill Number 10000 and the account name is Solai.
As related to Anupama Ukidve Sharma www,kenyankronikals.blogspot.com
Unceasing, furious rain lashes the Kenyan countryside, there is no relief, no respite, villagers wait in vain for the downpour to stop so that life can resume, but what happens next is a tragedy of epic proportions. The river was in spate, water pushed hard against the dam, and finally it gave way, bringing down millions of liters of water upon the houses of hapless villagers, burying homes, people, life stock under up to ten feet of water. Kenyans and other residents all over Kenya remained mute, stunned spectators of Nature's fury.
A Brazillian friend of mine, Larissa, called me up and asked me if I was interested in helping to collect material over a period of two weeks to distribute to the affected people. Posters were hurriedly made, social media messages were posted and shared across various forums and magically we were flooded with offers of help and dry goods, clothes, books, baby items and cash (which was directed to the Mpesa account especially made for the Solai victims).
Larissa and I split up the areas in Nairobi from where we could collect the donated items and the collection started on a war footing. Clothes rapidly became the number one donated item, so much so that we had to finally stop accepting clothes and ask for dry food items, blankets and cash from those willing to give. We received seventy blankets! We had to check each item and ensure that the clothes were clean and ready to wear. One bag of clothes was so filthy that we had to get it washed and dried before it could be added to the pile of donations!
The main reason for the successful collection was constant communication which was made easy due to technology and convenient drop off and pick up points, as many of our donors work full time.
We received hundred kilo bags of red beans, sugar, rice and maize flour. So we had to open up these sacks, look for eco friendly smaller bags, ( we respect, follow and admire the total plastic bag ban in Kenya!), and divide each dry item up, so that maximum families could benefit.
The next step was to look for gunny sacks so that each family could get a sack of assorted items. And then we divided everything equally among the sacks with some miscellaneous items which we had decided to give as per family needs. For example, those with babies would be given diapers, baby clothes, baby food, those with school going children would receive stationery items, books and so on.
Initially we had thought that two four wheel drive vehicles would be enough to transport all the donated material to Solai but how wrong we were! We got so much more than expected that we went into panic mode every time we thought of transport. We needed a vehicle which would be suitable for the rough, water logged roads at Solai and would also protect everything in case it rained that day. Ultimately we found a ten ton lorry which was also arranged for free by a kind donor. He even paid for the fuel and a driver who was accustomed to driving that vehicle. The evening before our departure, Larissa's children and mine helped us to load everything into the lorry and we were set to leave early the next morning!
We followed the lorry in our own cars. We were stopped by the Highway Police on multiple occasions but when we explained the cause to them, they were very gracious and allowed us to pass through immediately. After four hours and traversing bad roads towards the end, we finally reached Solai.
Our distribution point was at a small local church and it was a task to drive in the lorry through the small gate, over a muddy, slippery road that had been under water just a few short weeks ago. Finally a group of locals helped to push it into the compound. The priest at the church had already coordinated with the affected people and so one representative from each family came up to receive a sack of goods.
There were a few incidents where people were drunk, were demanding more things because they had lost everything and nothing could fill the gap and it was very disheartening to see them. The priest helped us to counsel them and promised more goods from the next round of donations. Others were very happy with what they had received and it was a joy to see their smiles in the midst of disaster.
Then we took a walk around the village. Tin roofs had been swept away from the mud huts and had stuck to electricity poles, stored grain was wet and sprouting shoots, cement floors had remained intact with the walls having been swept away, fresh graves were scattered all around the area and we heard the heart wrenching story of sixteen students who never came back to school...
Our way back wasn't without adventure! Our lorry got stuck on a sandy patch of road and got bogged down. All our efforts to free it were in vain and finally it had to be pushed out with the help of another canter which was driven in reverse! It took us an hour to be finally free. Exquisite relief!
Finally we were home by six p.m and then could look back over our long day where we had seen human suffering, hungry animals and mass scale destruction of property, first hand. It was a sobering day and we were thankful to be home safe.
A huge thank you to all our donors and our families who supported our endeavour.Cash Donations are still being accepted by Mpesa for the Solai Fund. Pay Bill Number 10000 and the account name is Solai.
As related to Anupama Ukidve Sharma www,kenyankronikals.blogspot.com
Saddened by the loss of life and property. Kudos to all the helping hands, big and small.
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