An environmentalist and human rights activist from Busia County has urged the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) to put effective measures in place to ensure learning is not disrupted during the anticipated El Niño rains.
Speaking to Education News via phone on October 2, 2023, Tom Magina Mango, who is also the CEO of Busia County Development (BUCODEV), recalled the May 2022 flooding incident that saw learning disrupted in most primary and secondary schools in Bunyala sub-county.
He urged the Bunyala Sub-County Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Management Committees to ensure they relocate residents in flood-prone areas, especially Bunyala South where most learning institutions such as Musoma Primary and Musoma Secondary Schools were marooned by flood waters forcing learners to relocate to Sango Teachers Training College.
“In May last year, most learning institutions were closed during the flooding and learners were compelled to move to the Internal Displaced Persons (IDP) camps where they stayed for over two months at the expense of their education,” he said.
Mango, at the same time, called on the county government to move with speed and liaise with respective disaster management committees in the eight sub-counties to put effective modalities in place that will mitigate flooring.
The CEO also urged parents to take care of their children should they be relocated to the IDP camps citing the risk of students either getting lost or being abducted.
“Should parents and their children be forced to move out of their homes by the flood waters and relocate to the IDP camps, there is an urgent need to watch the movement of their children to avoid abduction which has been rampant in Budalangi constituency,” he warned.
Mango also called on the national government to consider relocating schools situated in flood-prone areas to higher grounds to safeguard students from persistent flooring that has been disrupting learning programmes hence affecting academic performance
By Gilbert Ochieng’
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