Pregnant women bear the brunt of Mpiji River floods
QUESTION: When did you start experiencing floods?
ANSWER: Quite long, but this year has been the worst. In fact, this year’s rains have caused more havoc compared to the past. The ward lost a woman in the name of Cesilia Thomas Kipengele after she drowned in Mpiji River. Her body was found lying along the river bank four days later. She was discovered by her son.
A student of Mpiji Magohe Secondary School in Kinondoni district, Ali Kudra, escaped death after drowning in the same river. He was rescued. Sometimes when you wake up early in the morning, you would see some clothes, bags of charcoal and bicycles floating on the river, an indication that some other people outside Pangani Ward may have been affected by the flooding river.
Q: Who are the other people affected by the floods apart from students?
A: The other risky group is pregnant women. As you can see, we don’t have a single dispensary in our area; all health services are found at Magohe in Kinondoni District. There are incidents where some women have been forced to deliver by the river side due to heavy floods.
Q: Can you name them?
A: They are Salima Hamad, Amina Said and Grace Ludgell just to name a few. All are residents of Pangani. They delivered at different occasions after all means to ferry them to Magohe dispensary failed.
Q: Why don’t you go to Kibaha town for your daily needs and other social services?
A: Mpiji River separates Kibaha and Kinondoni districts. Although this ward is located in Kibaha District, it is easier for the residents to get services at Magohe in Kinondoni District which is quite near than Kibaha -- more than 12 kilometres away. That’s why Pangani Ward residents find it easier to get their social services at Magohe in Kinondoni.
Q: What is the population of Pangani ward?
A: The ward has more than 140,000 residents according to the last census, and many more people are still coming in to live here. During heavy rains sometimes the river harbours crocodiles.
Q: What steps have you taken?
A: We’ve several times asked government to build a permanent bridge for us but our efforts haven’t paid off. All relevant authorities are aware of this problem including the Kibaha Urban Member of Parliament. During campaigns in the last year’s general election, the MP promised to build a bridge. So far, the promise remains unfulfilled.
Q: What is your call?
A: I call upon government and other stakeholders to build the Mpiji River bridge because we’re losing lives during the rain season. We also need the bridge to ease transport problems.
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