By Makutu Manneh
The heavy windstorm that occurred on Wednesday night has destroyed one hundred and six (106) compounds out of one hundred and eight (108) compounds in Njawara.
Two people, a six-year-old and twenty-year-old, are said to have lost their lives as a result of the windstorm. The villagers said some people also sustained injuries and are now being attended to at the hospital.
“Some of us have not slept in a house for two days,” said Ousainou Sanie, spokesperson of Njawara Village Development Committee (VDC).
Sanie said they are poor and depend on farming, but the windstorm has ruined their belongings. He said the village did not have any ambulance which was why they found it difficult to get their people to hospital.
On Friday 9th July 2021, president Adama Barrow toured communities that were affected by the windstorm in the North Bank Region (NBR) and Upper Badibou.
While visiting these places, President Barrow gave them D40, 000 and informed them that the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) will come to assess the damage and that necessary steps will be taken to address the situation.
Similarly, in Samba Kahla village, houses could be seen ruined and fences and trees fallen to the ground.
Amadou Nyang, a youth in Samba Kahla village, said the windstorm started around 7pm on Wednesday night after dinner. He said their new fences for their farmlands were all destroyed and threw away by the wind.
“The painful thing is that at this moment everything is expensive and the little savings we have all got destroyed by the wind,” he said.
Nyang said the way the houses were destroyed was bad and they have no place to sleep.
“In some compounds nothing is left, now family members are helping each other to build the houses again,” he said.
Fatou Gaye and Ida Jobe of Samba Kahla village said they are desperate, saying nothing is left for them and they have to start all over.
Fatou Gaye said since Wednesday night, no one was able to sleep in the village.
“We are suffering these days, really suffering,” said Ida Jobe.
The two ladies called for swift help before another storm hit their villages, saying they are not financially strong to help themselves.
Isatou Jallow, a resident of Ndungu Kebbeh village, told this medium that many of their people are injured and hospitalized.
When she was asked how many are hospitalized, Isatou said she cannot estimate but “they are many.” She said there is no electricity and water in the village currently due to the windstorm.
The places the president visited in NBR are Samba Kahla, Ndungu Kebbeh, Minteh Kunda, Konteh Kunda, Jamagen Jika, Njawara, Kuntair, Darusalam, Lliassa among others.
The aforementioned villages lamented the same challenges the windstorm caused them.
