Relief & Resettlement

Teso Development Trust came into being to provide relief for the suffering Teso communities during the insurgency of the Karimojong form 1986 to 1991. It resumed the task in 2003/4 when the area was hit by the Lords Rsience Army incursion, helping to provide emerngency food aid, water and sanitation to the thousands who were displaced. Following this it funded resettlement of thousands of people who had been housed in camps, helping reestablish homes and crop growing.

The current problem

Since 2007 the area has been hit by the impact of climate change which has meant an irregularity of rainfall and drought. In 2007, 2010 and 2011 this has resulted in major flood emergencies in the northern regions of Katakwi and Amuria and around the lakes in Kumi. This has resulted in:

• Crops being washed away or rotting in the fields
• Roads made impassable
• Homes destroyed
• Schools damaged
• Outbreaks of malaria through rapid breeding of mosquitoes in flooded areas
• Wells made unusable

We estimated in 2011 over 40,000 were so affected.

Response

TDT has responded by funding food relief and mosquito nets for the affected communities through its Church partners, targeting aid on the communities most damaged and particularly helping the elderly, disabled and child-headed households.

In 2011 we helped 20,000 people with emergency relief aid notable in villages in Katakwi, Serere, Amuria and northern Kumi.

Future needs

We expect that in future this instability of rainfall and drought will continue and the Trust plans to work with its partners and others to support a longer term planned response package.

In the short term it will build a relief fund to provide emergency food aid.

£20 will provide a supply of beans and maize to a family and £3 a mosquito net.