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Noah Pito in Hurungwe
Government has started assisting 308 Nyamakate families, whose crops and property were destroyed by hailstorm last week, while the Hurungwe Civil Protection Unit has called for urgent institutionalised feeding for primary and secondary school pupils in the area. In an interview, Hurungwe District Administrator Ms Makepeace Muzenda, who also chairs the Civil Protection Unit in the area, said her committee had since delivered grain to the affected families, while efforts were being made to source relish.

“We believe in a couple of days we will be able to supply them with the relish. We have written to Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) for groceries, including stuff like relish. Our major worry is school children. We want to embark on institutionalised feeding in the schools with affected children a matter of urgency so that they do not starve,” she said.

Ms Muzenda said two families whose homes were completely destroyed had also since received tents, while aqua tablets had been distributed to the affected families to prevent outbreak of water-borne diseases like cholera. “We have also distributed buckets to prevent water-borne diseases in the area.

“On the issue of short season variety of seed maize for the victims to plant, our local GMB (Karoi) has referred us to their provincial headquarters in Chinhoyi. “We had written them asking for short season variety of seed maize from the Presidential Input Support Scheme so that we could assist the victims to re-plant their fields,” she said.

Meanwhile, two girls who were hospitalised after being injured by hailstones during the storm are reportedly back in school.