Tent Tongu Association Donates Relief Items To Scores Of Flood Victims At Mepe After Touring Flood Affected Areas
The items worth more than thousands of Ghana cedis include consumables such as rice, sachet water among others.
Freeman Koryekpor 
TENT Tongu Association, the registered youth association in the Volta Region has presented relief items to hard-,hit flood victims in Mepe Traditional Area in the North Tongu District. following the current spillage of excess water from Akosombo and Akuse Dams by the Volta River Authority (VRA).
The items worth more than thousands of Ghana cedis include consumables such as rice, sachet water among others.
The Association under the financial support from its former Chairman, Mr Thomas Akaho whose house is equally submerged in the flood water has also provided a break fast meal to the hundreds of affected flood victims who were safely housed at classrooms of the various schools in Mepe.
According to the leadership of the Association, the gesture was to assauge the suffering of flood victims and indicated its commitment to continue to reduce hunger among flood victims in Mepe and its adjoining communities to help safeguard the lives of the people.
The donation has followed recent spillage of excess water from Akosombo and Akuse Dams of the Volta River Authority that left scores of homes in and around Mepe, Battor, Aveyime, Juapong and among others inundated by flood waters.
The situation has brought economic activities to a standstill, as many of the local folks are stuck in their homes unable to go out, a situation which is already taking a toll on their livelihoods.
The schools were temporarily closed in these flood hit areas in the district.
Weeks of spillage of excess water from the Akosombo and Akuse Dams by the Volta River Authority (VRA) and floods have affected million people in twenty-four (24) communities across the North Tongu District, killing hundreds of domestic animals, displacing tens of thousands and destroying many hectares of croplands.
The devastated floods have deepened severe food crisis in these 24 affected communities which are Gblornu, Klamadaboe,Vome, Sikor, Dzimakorpe, Memordzi, Aveyime, Battor, Mepe, Tornu Dorfor, Asimekope, Dorfor Kome, Dorfor London, and Afaode,Korsive,Sayikorfe, Husikorfe.
The rest are Titikorfe, Kodome, Tege kofe, Kwamla kofe and Abortia Sapa, Dadome and Mepe Degorme.
Investigations conducted by Soireenews.com indicate that up to 55 percent of staple crops in flood-affected areas have been destroyed or are rotting in the fields.
Preliminary assessments by this news outlet suggest that drought and floods affected 75,500 hectares of farmlands, resulting in an estimated loss of 148,000 tonnes of crops, including maize, sorghum, pepper, okra, millet, peanuts, yam, cassava and rice.
Meanwhile, in a press statement signed by the Chairman of Mepe Development Association (MDA,) Mr Kojo Mawulenu Fabian commended the Tent Tongu Association for its gesture.
The Association appealed sympathized with the affected flood victims in Tongu towns, particularly in Mepe and described the current flood as the most dangerous natural disaster ever which has rocked the Mepe town since 1965.
The Association called on the corporate institutions and philanthropists to immediately donates relief items to people in the communities which were rocked by the flood disaster.
The donations of items, the Association stressed has become necessary because the affected flood victims have been rocked with the severe food and water crisis and that they need an urgent humanitarian assistance from the corporate institutions and individuals.
According to the Association, it has taken notice of the spillage of excess water from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams by the Volta River Authority (VRA) leading to the Volta River overflowing its banks downstream
The Association lamented that the current development has led to the flooding of some communities along the banks of the river in the North,Central and South Tongu Districts in the Volta Region.
It noted that the floods disaster had affected the livelihoods of the people, reminiscent of the devastating effects of the first flooding disaster that occurred following the construction of the Akosombo Dam in 1965.
He reaffirmed that several thousands of homes have been submerged in the flood, destroying properties worth millions and leaving many homeless, adding that Mepe has been worst hit.
There is also a looming health crisis following the flooding of toilet facilities and refuse dumps.
The river has been heavily contaminated, leaving many who depend on its water for cooking, drinking and other domestic uses stranded.
Pipe-borne water has also been shutdown. There is wide spread power outage. The situation is dire.
The MDA is calling on government and its relevant agencies to speed up relief efforts to alleviate the plight of the people.
Food supplies, sachets and bottles of drinking water, temporary accommodation facilities, medical interventions, clothing are urgently needed to stem the situation from further aggravation.
"We are appealing for support from concerned individuals , organisations and other interested parties for the victims of the disaster in these trying moments.
"The downstream communities have been experiencing varied forms of ecological, economic, health and social crises since the construction of the Akosombo and Kpong Dams . We feel that, this is too much a price to pay for our sacrifice to power the nation.*
"We demand that, while in the immediate term, the humanitarian catastrophe is dealt with , in the medium to long term, the state agencies responsible for the problems the communities are facing, engage the people to find a people-centered solution to these enduring crises," the MDA in a statement copied to Soireenews.com noted.
The statement stressed that: "The MDA is pleased with the communal spirit and support exhibited so far by the youth and volunteers for the flood victims by saving lives and salvaging properties."
The statement added that "Let us continue to be each other’s keeper and keep faith alive. We shall overcome.
