Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

The Archbishop of Cape Town and Primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, the Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane, was briefed in Nairobi yesterday (18 January) on conditions in Somalia following the tsunami.

The Archbishop reported that he and Dr Molefe Tsele, General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, met yesterday with Fred Nyabera, Executive Director of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa. They were informed that Somalia had been the worst hit in Africa by the tsunami of 26 December.

The damage has since been further aggravated by the previous years of war, drought, flooding in early 2004, and the abysmal poverty that prevails throughout the country. Due to years of civil unrest there is no reliable system to record the extent of the devastation. Areas badly affected fall between Hafun and Garacad in Puntland in north-eastern Somalia. An estimated 54,000 people in this area are in desperate need of assistance. About two thousand houses have been destroyed and families displaced and hundreds of fishing boats as well as fishing equipment lost. This has been a major setback as fishing is the sole livelihood of residents in this area.

"Preliminary reports from the ground indicate that the population in the affected areas is badly traumatised with a number still in shock and many people unable to sleep or eat properly. Many thousands of children are also at risk," said Archbishop Ndungane, "latrines have been washed away and wells contaminated which may lead to outbreaks of diarrhoea, dysentery and other water-borne diseases. Observable diseases such as acute respiratory infection, eyesores, measles and diarrhoea have already been reported."

The Archbishop said that he would meet the President of Somalia, Ahmed Yusuf, on 19 January in Nairobi. President Yusuf operates from the Kenyan capital due to the present instability in his country.

The Archbishop reports that travelling to Somalia is extremely hazardous and difficult at present with no flights landing at Mogadishu, the country's capital, because of ongoing civil strife. Small planes, able to land on airstrips, have therefore to be utilised. The Archbishop's delegation had hoped to land in Somalia on 19 January but the plane was not available. They will therefore fly at first light tomorrow, 20 January, to see the affected area for themselves.

Archbishop Ndungane carries with him a cheque for about R450,000 (US$75,000) which is part of the approximately R1,1 million ($185,000.00) raised by Southern African Anglicans for tsunami relief. This initial amount will be disbursed to areas of most need by the All Africa Conference of Churches, headed by Bishop Mvume Dandala.