Chinese raise sh80m for Bududa landslide survivors
Oct 20, 2018
China’s ambassador to Uganda, Zheng Zhuqiang said the embassy would provide sh13m towards the emergency relief efforts.
The deputy general manager Xu Shangming presenting a dummy cheque of sh5m to Minister for General Duties Mary Karoro Okurut and State Minster for Relief and Disaster Preparedness Musa Ecweru as the Chinese Ambassador to Uganda Zheng Zhuqiang(R) looks on. This was at the Office of the Prime Minister on October 19, 2018. Photos by Wilfred Sanya
The Chinese community in Uganda raised over sh80m on Friday to support relief efforts in Bududa where a landslide claimed lives of at least 46 people and displaced hundreds.
Representatives of Chinese firms operating in Uganda handed over cash, cheques and assorted items to the Office of the Prime Minister on Friday.
The chairperson of the Chinese Enterprises Chamber of Commerce, Zheng Biao said the Chinese community was moved by the scale of the tragedy and would offer more humanitarian work.
(L-R) The Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees Hilary Onek, Minister of General Duties Mary Karoro Okurut, State Minster for Relief and Disaster Preparedness Musa Ecweru and the Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zhuqiang receiving at dummy cheque of sh12m from Dr Jeff Lin a representative of the Chinese industrial commercial agricultural mining Uganda association.
“Our attention has been drawn to the tragedy in Bududa. We approached the Office of the Prime Minister and agreed to offer support so that people can return to normal life soon,” he stated.
China’s ambassador to Uganda, Zheng Zhuqiang said the embassy would provide sh13m towards the emergency relief efforts.
The minister for general duties, Mary Karooro Okurut, thanked China for supporting Uganda in both development and humanitarian work.
Last Thursday, a landslide hit Bududa district after three days of consistent rainfall around Mt Elgon National Park, killing 46 and displacing hundreds of residents of Bukalasi sub-county.
Ministers: Onek, Okurut and Ecweru together with Mr. Zhuquiang and the Chairman of the Chinese Enterprises Chamber of Commerce Uganda
The disaster left a trail of destruction across 13 villages in Bukalasi and Bubiita sub-counties, sweeping away four bridges, crops, livestock, two classroom blocks and shops.
Bududa is one of the top disaster prone areas in Uganda. In 2010, over 350 people died in the area and hundreds of households were buried. The same happened in 2011 and 2012.
The Uganda Red Cross Society has launched an emergency appeal to the public to raise sh1.5b to support the humanitarian response in affected communities.
Government plans to start relocating thousands of people from the risk-prone areas to the lowlands where residents will each get two and a half acres to start a new life.
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