Relief Efforts Continuing for Ivorian Refugees in Liberia
Staff representatives of a global alliance of churches and related agencies visited areas on the Liberia-Côte d’Ivoire border Dec. 1-2 to assess the situation of the Ivorian refugees and communities that are hosting them.
Staff representatives of a global alliance of churches and related agencies visited areas on the Ivory Coast-Liberia border Dec. 1-2 to assess the situation of the Ivorian refugees and communities that are hosting them. After Ivorian government forces broke an 18-month cease-fire and bombed rebel strongholds in early November, thousands of people had fled from their homes in the Ivory Coast into eastern Liberia.
A team consisting of representatives from the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Liberia and West Africa and Diakonie Emergency Aid (DEA) visited two major entry points for refugees - Butuo and Gborplay. Following the visit, Kai Jelly, emergency officer for LWF Liberia, reported that in LWF’s initial response, it was able to carry out a distribution of relief supplies in the communities of Gborplay and Garplay and plans to cover an additional three towns including Butuo, a major host community where there are more than 3,000 refugees. A total of 786 refugee families have received relief supplies.
The team of representatives from LWF and DEA—members of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International—also observed that both the refugees and communities hosting them are likely to face food shortages soon. The 28 Ivorian refugee families residing at the Butuo way station constructed by UNHCR appeared to have food for the immediate future, but the food airlifted there by the World Food Program had not been distributed at the time of the team’s visit, Jelly reported.
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The emergency officer also said that there is an urgent need to provide safe drinking water to the host communities for the residents’ and refugees’ consumption. The water and sanitation facilities put in place in the host communities about 14 years ago were either looted or damaged. The DEA staff member on the team is considering the provision of funds to support the rehabilitation of water and sanitation facilities and the distribution of food.
According to Jelly, the residents of the host communities are supportive and responsive to the needs of the refugees, but are overwhelmed due to limited resources at their disposal.
The ACT Coordinating Office is urging ACT members to replenish the Rapid Response Funds used to respond to this emergency. This will enable it to offer immediate assistance through the fund as new, rapid-onset emergencies occur.
On Nov. 22, the ACT Coordinating Office sent $49,632 in Rapid Response Funds to its member in Liberia, LWF, to enable it to respond immediately to the situation. LWF was able to distribute urgently needed non-food items to the refugees, including quilts, layettes, assorted clothing, and sleeping mats. LWF was able to use donated stocks of supplies from ACT member Lutheran World Relief.
