Rwanda ramps up relief efforts for flood victims, seeking more funding
As Rwanda scales up relief efforts for victims of recent flooding and landslides, more funding is needed to resettle vulnerable residents, Minister of Emergency Management Marie Solange Kayisire has said.
More than 20,000 people were displaced in early May after 5,963 houses were destroyed across the country, the minister told a press conference in the capital, Kigali, on Thursday.
About 300 billion Rwandan francs is required for the construction of destroyed homes for vulnerable people and rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure, she said.
"Some 7,620 people comprising 1,826 families in six districts are still living in 25 different sites waiting to be resettled," Kayisire said. "The government will resettle all of them as soon as possible, beginning with the most vulnerable families."
Some residents have been helped to rent accommodation while others whose houses were not destroyed and not located in high-risk zones have been helped to go back to their homes, she said.
Kayisire said 853.6 million Rwandan francs have been collected through people's contributions to accounts provided by the government.
She also announced a donation of $500,000 pledged by the Chinese government toward the relief efforts. At least 135 people died, and 110 others were injured in the disasters.
