Cleric urges increased assistance to flood victims in Nigeria

The Spiritual Director of Canaanland Adoration Ministries Worldwide, Rev. Fr. Magnus Ebere, has appealed to Nigerians to extend more assistance to flood victims in parts of the country.

Canaanland Adoration Ministries Worldwide is headquartered in Umuoma Onicha Mbaise, in Imo, with a counseling center at Nnobi, in Anambra.

Ebere, popularly known as Fr E- Dey Work, made the plea in a statement which he signed and made available to newsmen in Owerri, on Thursday.

The priest, who is also a member of the Society of Divine Vocations (SDV), said it was time for Nigerians to jettison all differences and join the government and other organizations to help families hit by the flood, no matter how little.

He added that with over 569,000 hectares of farmland already destroyed due to the damage from the floods ahead of the October harvest season, Nigeria was left at a risk of food insecurity.

"TThere is no gift too small for a man in need." Let us not wait for so much when the little we can do will go a long way.

"Those with extra houses and rooms can offer accommodationto some of the victims, thus reducing the pressure on the makeshift camps where many of them are currently residing," he said.

It will be recalled that 3.2 million people in 34 of the country's 36 states were affected by the floods, which eventually displaced 1.4 million people and left over 600 dead.

Also, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) had already issued a Floods Emergency Appeal of 13 million dollars to provide clean water, emergency shelter, and cash to half a million people in several states.

The priest, however, said that more needed to be done in the area of health assistance to victims, especially women and children of affected families.

He urged medical associations nationwide to continue to visit affected areas, treating those already suffering from certain ailments as a direct result of infections arising from their living conditions.

"We have been to some areas in Imo that are affected by the floods; we have assessed the situation, and the devastation is appalling."

"It will dissolve the hardest hearts to behold what the victims of these floods are going through.

"As a ministry whose interest is the well-being of humanity, in the next few days we plan to revisit the affected flood victims and take relief materials to as many as we can, but this cannot be enough."

"WWe call on non-governmental and international organizations to rally around the victims," he said.

He assured the victims that his Canaanland Adoration Ministries Worldwide (E-dey work)would do its best to ensure that as many of the flood victims as possible were reached with what it had raised to ameliorate their plights.