RUBIRIZI, UGANDA — Residents of Nyaruharo 2 Village, Rumuri Parish, Kicwamba Sub-county in Rubirizi District have been left counting losses after heavy rain accompanied by strong winds and hailstorm destroyed more than five homes, pit latrines, cooking huts, gardens and Rumuri COPE School.
The destroyed crops include bananas, beans, cassava, potatoes and other food crops that residents depended on for their livelihood.
According to eyewitnesses Safari Naziru and Abarikurungi Agnes, residents are now in a dire situation.
“Right now we are in a very bad situation. We have nothing to put on the table because all our crops have been destroyed. We had taken loans and also received PDM money. We don’t know where to start from,” they said, appealing to the government and local leaders to intervene urgently to avert hunger.
Some of the affected families, Matsika Frolance and Ajiri Narumansi, said they now have no shelter and are sleeping outside.
“We have no food to feed our children. Most of us had borrowed money to pay school fees, but now the children risk dropping out of school due to lack of fees, poverty and hunger,” they said, appealing to well-wishers for urgent food assistance.
Meanwhile, the LC1 Vice Chairperson of Nyaruharo 2 Village, Ms. Monica Kafuzi, sympathised with the affected residents and described the incident as serious and requiring urgent intervention.
“More than five homes have been destroyed, gardens are gone, and even the former Rumuri COPE School has been affected,” she said, adding that local leaders have started documenting all affected homes and gardens for onward submission to the sub-county and district for support.
She urged affected residents to register so that they are not left out when government aid comes.
“Let us work together as a community during this hard time so that we can recover. If you don’t register, you might be left out when government aid comes,” she said, noting that compiling data is challenging because residents are scattered and still in shock.
Kafuzi pledged to ensure fair distribution of any aid and urged residents to embrace climate-smart agriculture by planting trees, windbreaks, hedges and terracing their gardens to protect crops from strong winds in future.
Speaking to our reporter, Mr. Didas Barigye, the Rubirizi District Agriculture Officer, described the disaster as unfortunate, saying it has wiped out household food security.
“What has happened in Nyaruharo 2 is very unfortunate. As a district, we are going to work with the Office of the Prime Minister and other partners to support these families with quick-maturing seeds, food relief and agricultural inputs so that they can plant again before the next season ends,” he said.
He urged farmers to adopt climate-smart practices such as terracing, planting grass strips and constructing trenches to control soil erosion and wind damage, and pledged to deploy extension workers to train farmers on quick recovery, with priority given to vulnerable households including women, children and the elderly.
Compiled by Hon. Tugume Muzafaru, Senior News Reporter in Rubirizi – 0702269259
