Life after the flood
Life continues in Gorom following the flood. People’s resilience continues to astound:

Brickmaking continues apace as people who have the means look to rebuild.

Some have built temporary shelters out of corrugated iron that was used for roofing, while looking for more permanent solutions.

Others carry on trying to earn a living in what remains of their house, in the hope of a better future.

Others of course have no resource to start rebuilding. This week I found one friend of mine, “X”, a tailor, lying on the ground at the market. His house had collapsed with the flood. He had hoped to earn some money to rebuild through sewing outfits for the Muslim festival of Ramadan. But he became ill, and was unable to do anything. Finally he collapsed. He had been ill for 10 days by the time I found him. I took him to the hospital, where he is still on a drip, and doing a bit better, though what exactly is the matter is not clear. Please pray for him that he recovers fully, and that we can find the best way to help him and others in equally difficult situations. Thank you.

The Broken Dam
I went to see the dam on Wednesday. It is about 1km long, mostly built of stone and mud, with a cement spillway in the centre. It is about 3m deep at the deepest part.

The dam itself was mostly in one piece, with parts of it eroded from where water had flowed over the top. But where the dam actually burst was in the two spots where the cement spillway joined with the main stone and mud part of the dam, as you can see in these photos.

Blanket and Mat Distribution
The distribution of mats and blankets went off mostly well yesterday. As usual, the distribution was done in each of the 5 sections of town. The major part was at the bus station in section 1 (Kolangal), where the greatest number of houses had been destroyed. The crowds gathered early in the morning and, after a delay due to a problem of communication, the work started. Each family that had lost a house during the flood received one blanket and one mat at this time. Coming on top of our previous distributions of food and mosquito nets, as well as other distributions by Red Cross etc, this means that most of the immediate needs of people affected by the flood have been alleviated. We will now go on to a new assessment of the situation – who is in need of help, and how best to help them get back on their feet again.

1. Mats being loaded onto a donkey cart at the church, for transport to the place of distribution.
2. The crowd gathers at the bus station for the distribution. The church has someone in charge at each place, with local police and social action representatives to help.

3. The blankets are welcome with the approach of cold season. Although the days are still hot, the nights are turning cold, and for those under tents, the covers are especially needed.
4. The colourful mats are made in Burkina Faso. This gives people something to sleep on in the absence of any other bed.

5. A happy customer.
6. Local nurse Altine and Pastor Pascal check the lists of names, making sure everything runs to plan.

Tags: burkina faso africa burkina gorom flood emergency aid crisis gorom-gorom dam