Hundreds of flood victims in Taita Taveta benefit from SHOFCO donations

Chala Ward residents receive donations from SHOFCO. [Suleiman Yeri, Standard

Over 500 residents of Chala Ward, Taita Taveta County, affected by floods have benefited from Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) charity work.

This was after SHOFCO distributed foodstuffs, bedding, mosquito nets and household items in the area on Thursday.

The flood victims said they have been living in makeshift camps after their houses and belongings were swept away by floods. 

"I want to thank SHOFCO for giving us foodstuffs, mattresses, mosquito nets and sufurias. We have been suffering since the floods hit us. We lost all our belongings and no one came to help us except SHOFCO," Agnes, a resident of Kivukoni village, said. 

Agnes said strong wind destroyed their crops in the farms and they have nothing to harvest at the moment. 

"We are relying on well-wishers like SHOFCO to bring us food. A strong wind called Hidaya destroyed our crops and right now, there is drought in this area. So we do not have any food," she added. 

Philip Mwangangi, another flood victim, said government support did not reach the Chala area which is close to the Kenya-Tanzania border. 

"No one else has come to our aid except SHOFCO. I want to thank the organization for bringing us foodstuffs and household items. This means a lot to us and may God bless Kennedy Odede, the founder of SHOFCO," Mwangangi said. 

SHOFCO Community Relations Director George Okewa, who presided over the distribution of the foodstuffs and household items, said the organization is focused on helping the less fortunate in society. 

"SHOFCO has membership in this county and we have come today to donate items to our members who were affected by floods. We did this across several counties that were affected by floods," he said. 

During the flood reason, the organisation reached over 20,000 families with foodstuffs, bedding, household items and medicine, and moved several families to safer places. 

The organisation also mapped out highly affected areas in Nairobi, Kisumu, Kakamega, Migori, Bungoma, Homa Bay and Vihiga counties and sent a support that reached the most affected Kenyans. 

Through its SUN program, which has over four million members across Kenya, SHOFCO could get real-time data from all the corners of the country affected by flash floods.