From Drought to Flood

The rainy season which usually starts in April/May was late this year and many of the crops withered and died as a result of the drought. When the rains eventually came the people sowed their seeds (maize, beans, rice, etc), but soon the rains no longer were a blessing. Rivers overflowed their banks, land was flooded, houses and bridges collapsed, water sources became contaminated and roads became impassable. The areas which have been most affected by the floods are to the North and South of us, however, in Yendi and Tamale some houses and even three of our churches have also collapsed.

'A collapsed church in the village of Sambu, near Yendi'

According to news reports, 31 people have died, 231,000 people have been displaced and 12,226 houses have been destroyed. Most people are subsistence farmers, meaning they grow their crops to feed their families. When the crops fail, they lose their main source of food supply. It is not known how many of the crops have been lost, but many people fear food shortages in the near future. The floods also cause sicknesses like cholera, bilharzias, malaria and others to spread easily.

In partnership with SIM (Serving in Mission), the Bible Church of Africa has been providing relief supplies to the severely affected areas. If you are interested in finding out more details about the Flood Disaster and the relief work that SIM / BCA is doing, please do look up the following SIM links:

For SIM.org link, click here: SIM.org - Ghana Flood Relief
For SIM UK link, click here: SIM UK - Ghana Flood Relief

On these web pages there is a very good short 7 minute video which shows the SIM Ghana Director, Ruby Mikulencak, and our BCA Vice-President and colleague, Francis Kupoe, visiting the Upper East Region soon after the flooding. If you would like to donate towards the flood relief work then please contact your local SIM office or use the links on the above websites to make a donation to the “Ghana Flood Relief Project (94839)”.

Please join us in praying:

• That God will provide for the needs of those who have lost everything in the floods.

• That people who have been affected by the floods will be able to rebuild their homes and livelihoods again.

• That SIM/BCA will have wisdom in the distribution of aid to those who need it most.

• That the witness and assistance given by the SIM/BCA will have an impact on the people.