Bishop Mark Van Koevering, London’s partner Bishop in Niassa, (Northern Mozambican Diocese), thanks the Diocese of London for the £5,000 ALMA has sent in faith to help with flood relief work.
"We send you greetings from a very wet and windy Mozambique. On behalf of the entire Diocesan team and the many people who will benefit from our mutual effort, I want to thank you for your prayers and support as we tackle the challenge of yet another time of flooding in central and northern Mozambique.
"Mario is leading a team to respond in Zambezia Province where we aim to work with communities in Mocuba, Milange and Morrumbala Districts. Archdeacon Mateus will go to Mecanhelas District in Niassa, as we have heard that over 1,000 homes have been destroyed, as well as five Anglican Churches. The storms have put nearly 11 million people into darkness and we have had no electricity for several weeks, which is likely to continue for at least another two weeks. Communication and travel is very difficult as you can imagine and many water-borne diseases, as well as malaria, are on the rise."
In Milange, twinned with St Nicholas, Shepperton, the situation is very serious: 25,085 people suffered in the floods, with 5,017 families directly affected; 4,396 houses were completely destroyed and 621 partly destroyed; 698 latrines were ruined. Also, 12 schools and 28 classrooms were lost with roofing sheets being felled. Roads have also suffered major damage.
There are also floods in Mecanhelas, twinned with St Augustine, Whitton, and in Cuamba, twinned with St Pancras. Reporting on these locations, Rebecca Vander Meulen says:
“In Mecanhelas, we are focusing on disaster response in ten communities, which do not have existing committees; and we have never done emergency-related work there before. Padre Lucas has met regularly with the government administration all through the last week.
"Yesterday, our team in Mecanhelas met with the Chefe do Post to present formally this week’s plan, and also met with the Chief of Police Operations. The administrative post is helping with transport. Today, Micael began to spread information by visiting six of the ten communities. (Micael’s 300 km trip from Lichinga to Cuamba on Friday took almost ten hours due to poor road conditions)."
Please pray for Niassa as their teams deliver help in very treacherous circumstances, and please do remember the Niassa Flood Appeal. Donate via LDF and ALMA or online. For further information contact ALMA Coordinator Sheenagh Burrell.
