Why Your Help Is Needed

As areas of Guyana started to flood on January 15th, 2005 residents were unprepared for the horror that would unfold, taking with it five lives in the first week and leaving over 300,000 severely affected with little access to clean water.

Unprecedented rainfall caused flooding along the densely populated coastal regions, with a record 30 inches during the first two weeks of January. The inadequacy of the natural drainage systems under these circumstances resulted in the most severe flooding in the history of Guyana!

In Georgetown alone, UNICEF believes that at least 120,000 people are affected and at least 40 percent are children and estimates around 200,000 people on the East Coast and West Coast and East Bank of Demerara are suffering consequences of the flooding, as water rose as high as 5 feet in some communities and remains that way after 12 days.

With close to half of its population affected, Guyanese are appealing to YOU for assistance as families face waterborne disease outbreaks, lack access to clean drinking water and food, have lost personal and household belongings, crops, livestock, homes and even lives.

"Water remains high, in some places knee-deep, in others waist-deep. People could be seen getting about in boats, in fridges etc. Mass cooking and distribution of food and other supplies are taking place at appointed places along the roads. We saw several tanks of 400 gallons of water along the roads from which people could draw and I saw 2 disposable latrines, encased in galvanized. Graveyards are completely submerged. The place - land and water are strewn with plastic boxes, bottles and other rubbish. The water is black and thick. THE STENCH IS HORRENDOUS! This is Day 12 of the flooding incidents."

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