Churches rush to Victoria Falls to help victims of Murambatsvina

By Violet Gonda

24 August 2005

While the Acting Information Minister Chen Chimutengwende denied reports that there are starving people in the country and that there are thousands of people who have been made homeless by the government's clean up exercise, a group of churches in Bulawayo are in Victoria Falls to respond to the humanitarian crisis there. More than 3000 people have been identified to be in need of urgent food aid and shelter. A quarter of these people are sleeping in churches while the rest are said to be sleeping in the bush.

Speaking on behalf of the churches in Bulawayo, Useni Sibanda said the religious groups were frantically trying to identify and help victims of operation Murambatsvina dumped in remote areas. He said a delegation of church leaders were in Victoria Falls with a humanitarian aid package in the form of blankets and food packs like, mealie meal, sorghum, cooking oil and matemba.