Gambia (MNN) —
Struggling to overcome an economic meltdown, The Gambia now faces the added
challenge of natural disaster.
Heavy rains produced another major flood that swept
The Gambia over the weekend.
The raging
floodwaters destroyed hundreds of homes and left thousands more homeless. It compounds the damages left in the wake of
severe flooding last month.
Global Aid Network contact in Gambia is David
Jatta, whom we spoke with through a spotty Skype connection. "It is worsening. It is getting very serious.
The government cannot handle the situation."
Survivors in
Kombo's Central and Southern districts need food, shelter and medicine. Jatta just returned from an assessment trip
to Gunjur and Brikana, two of the worst-hit areas.
He says as a
result of the disaster, there are 3,000 more displaced, added to the 5,000 they were already helping–a small percentage of all of the affected
flood victims.
Agricultural
crops were also affected, and the government is overwhelmed. This is peak farming season, and waterlogged
fields now mean severe food shortages in the fall and winter.
Jatta says GAiN is responding. They've already sent some help, but this relief
effort includes the means to recover so that displaced farmers may bring life
and hope back to their land. "There is another container that is arriving with
seeds and food. This is going to be used
toward giving food to the people. GAiN is giving capacity to the government."
While dealing with a crisis, the physical
assistance is a key part of being the hope of Christ. Jatta explains, "People say, ‘Yes, you tell me
about God's love. You tell me God loves me. But how is that relevant to the
kind of challenge in the situation I'm facing currently?'"
GAiN's approach
to meeting needs has opened some new doors in this Islam-dominated
country. "Global Aid
Network has helped us demonstrate God's love in the situations that people
face. So we are allowed in because of our
demonstrative care to the people in need. We've been given a certain allowance
to show the JESUS film in the city, to distribute Bibles, to do things that
would have been impossible without having been officially recognized."
For each $1 you send, you will help ship $27
worth of compassionate aid. A single container holding more than 270,864 meals
will meet the immediate needs of those who are starving. These shipments are
due to leave for Gambia and other impoverished areas within the next 60 days. Click here to help.
