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Chingwizi village heads association chairman Mr Mike Mudyanembwa stands next to one of the temporary toilets at the camp

George Maponga Senior Writer
Almost four months after leaving their ancestral homes in the arid Chivi and Masvingo districts, more than
3 000 families affected by the Tokwe-Mukosi floods and are now staying at Chingwizi holding camp still do not know what their future holds.
Their woes have been worsened by growing impatience as their lives continue to be entangled in unending challenges at the camp where they have been settled since March this year.

Today, the holding camp is a sea of desolation as the flood victims ponder over their plight.
Their wish was initially to leave the flooded basin hoping for a good turn of fortunes. However, the picture on the ground remains grim and hopeless.

The majority of the families are forced to scramble for basics such as clean water, food and tents for makeshift shelter every day.
Families of up to 10 people still share a small tent, while food rations continue to dwindle, forcing authorities to cut monthly allocations. These are not the only challenges which the over 18 000 people at the camp have to contend with.

The impending withdrawal of the few Non-Governmental organisations has piled more misery and uncertainty on most families.
Key NGOs, among them Batanai HIV and Aids Service Organisation (Bhaso), Oxfam GIZ, Action Faim and Unicef, have either pulled out or are in the process of doing so after almost four months of dedicated service.

The fear among the families at Chingwizi is premised on how the chasm the NGOs will leave after their withdrawal will be filled. Of concern is the lack of clean water and toilets while the number of tents is still a far cry from what is needed to make the families comfortable until they can build their own homes.

The NGOs set in motion the building toilets to prevent disease outbreaks while taking the initiatives in HIV and Aids awareness campaigns. However, their impending withdrawal appears to ring the death knell for the families who are still over-crowded.

About 500 families have moved to plots in the Nuanetsi Ranch as per Government directive while the majority remain holed up in the camp where they are crying for compensation estimated at almost US$9 million.

Government has also proposed to allocate them four hectares per household. However, danger seems to be lurking as the NGOs plan their pull out.
A health time bomb is ticking as the remaining families share only 36 temporary toilets after Bhaso decommissioned more than 60 others which had filled up. The decommissioning of the temporary toilets at the camp will result in increased numbers of users for the remaining few, leading to quick filling before they are also abandoned.

Bhaso director Mr Farai Mahaso said there was need for contingency planning to diffuse a potential health hazard at Chingwizi due to shortages of ablution facilities. He said they were not replacing the decommissioned toilets.

“We are trying to negotiate for additional funding so that we can extend our stay at Chingwizi but at the moment we are winding up our operations ahead of pulling out. We would have wanted to remain on the ground but resources no longer permit, we will have to talk to our funders and see if there can be a reprieve,” he said.
The Bhaso director said they were only building new toilets on permanent plots where people are being relocated.

“We have already finished building 300 toilets at the permanent plots where we have also sunk 24 boreholes but the problem is that the majority of the people are still in the camp and we do not know when they will move out.

“There could be a disaster, one bigger than what was initially thought unless people move out of the camp to where they can access facilities such as toilets,” he said.
Tokwe-Mukosi village heads association chairman Mr Mike Mudyanembwa lamented the impending withdrawal of NGOs saying the development spells doom for them.
He said some flood victims were mulling going back to their original homes in the flood basin.

“There is nothing anymore for us to fear because we have been living in a prison or worse still hell. No amount of suffering will break our spirits.
“We are struggling even to access toilets and most people are resorting to the bush system but during nightfall obviously people will leave their waste just outside their tents which is a recipe for a health disaster,” Mr Mudyanembwa said.

He said some of the families have since driven their cattle back to the flood basin in search of sufficient grazing pastures.
Mr Mudyanembwa said the livestock herd at the camp was being decimated by a combination of diseases and lack of pastures.

“We will soon meet to map a way forward but one thing for sure is that we need compensation and most critically, Government has to give us the four-hectare plots they promised, otherwise we will not move from here,” he said.

Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister Kudakwashe Bhasikiti also painted a gloomy picture of the health situation at Chingwizi Camp. He said land to build more temporary toilets at the camp had already run out.

“A real disaster is looming at Chingwizi if the camp remains overcrowded because of shortage of toilets and lack of space to build new ones. The only way out is for families to relocate to permanent plots where there are more facilities such as toilets and boreholes,” he said.

Minister Bhasikiti said the pulling out of NGOs posed a challenge to Government to manage the situation and prevent disease outbreaks on its own.
“It is actually unbelievable that a camp of such a magnitude has not been hit by disease outbreaks to date but this can be attributed to the good work by Government and its social partners.

“Government will not abrogate its responsibility to look after its people. As for compensation, the families will be paid once funds are secured,” he said.
Cde Bhasikiti said Government was already distributing seed to families at the permanent plots expressing hope that this would influence their counterparts remaining in the camp to move out. However, with the mood at Chingwizi continuously becoming pregnant with despair, desolation and anger, it remains to be seen whether the flood victims will heed Government’s directive to move out of the camp and pre-empt a looming health disaster caused by a shortage of toilets.

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