In May this year, after building staff returned onsite after 6 weeks absence due to lockdown, three of them reported they were having trouble with their homes and rising water levels.

Richard was housing his own family and 11 relatives who had already been flooded out.

During July, his own house (photo) was flooded out and he had to move. And in September he had to move yet again. Now he is building about 3 kms inland.

Amari Denis, Chezera and Aheebwa have had to relocate, and more staff members are also close to getting flooded out.

At this time (October 2020), about 20 Amari students and their families have also moved or are currently relocating.

Please consider helping to give food and shelter relief to the young and old in flood affected areas of Buliisa District.

Unable to walk, and with floodwaters only one metre away from her hut, 80-year-old Lucy has no family close by to assist.

COVID-19 had already created hardship, but unexpected flooding took devastation to a whole new level.

When asked what she would do if or when her home is flooded out, she started to cry...

It's stories like these that Marita has encountered day after day as she travels back and forth from flood-affected areas to offer assistance and relief.

After Mama Lucy's house and then the church she was staying in succumbed to rising waters. she was moved onto another plot outside the village (Photo 2 and video). However when Amari staff visited late September, this too was surrounded water. And by October Mama Lucy had had to shift yet again.

Your gift today will help the most vulnerable people, like 80-year-old Lucy.

Susan already lives below the poverty line. Since March though, with the imminent threat of COVID-19 striking her nation, her whole community was placed in lockdown, and this only lifted in September.

For families like Susan's, immediate problems quickly emerged:

• Loss of income, hence limited food.
• Lack of transport and access to hospitals.
• Delayed education.
• Limited access to law enforcement... and the list goes on.

And then came the flood...

The water started creeping inland around January. We thought it had subsided, but in fact it has been continuing to move inland ever since. Now the former Songalendu trading centre is no longer. As it is with many of the fishing villages along the Lake Albert shoreline in Buliisa. For children like Susan this has meant being forced out of their homes, with nowhere to go.

Susan's house was washed away by the flood. But still worse was to come ...

As predicted by the WHO and government authorities, there are major sanitation issues, and an outbreak of water-borne diseases is beginning to occur. Susan's itchy mosquito bite swellings on her arms are now raising further concerns.