By Maimuna Sey-Jawo
The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) has recently concluded distribution of food and non food items to 63 households in the Kanifing Municipality Council (KMC) representing a total number of 364 people.
The items included 150 bags of rice, oils, buckets, hygiene materials among other items. The beneficiary households were those affected by fire outbreaks, windstorm and floods in 2017. The items distributed according to officials come through the United Arab Emirates through the Gambia Islamic Union in collaboration with the NDMA.
Speaking at the distribution center, the Disaster Management Coordinator for KMC, Ngange Jeng, spoke at length on the importance of the donated items to the beneficiary households. The items, he added, have come at the right time and it will complement the efforts of the affected families.
Jeng added that the United Arab Emirates objectives are to ensure that they assist fire outbreaks within the municipality. “The beneficiary households have really appreciated the gesture from the donors. This will no doubt solve some of their pressing issues,” he said, while urging them to make best use of the donated materials and to use them for their intended purpose.
The KMC disaster coordinator urged philanthropists and individuals to come to their aid and support the 2017 disaster victims, saying that some are still in difficult circumstances. He said the number of fire incidents is on the increase in the municipality compared to the previous years.
The government, he went on, cannot do it alone, thus NDMA is also relying on the government and other partners to at least assist those affected by disaster within the country. As to their plan in 2018, Ngange said they are to ensure that disasters are really mitigated in the country.
“There are disasters that cannot be curbed at all like natural disaster. However, we are putting up plan with a view to ensuring that the impact of natural disasters is really minimized in the country,” he said, adding that they are also trying to move from response to prevention.
