In mid-August 2017, a severe landslide triggered by heavy rainfall occurred in Sierra Leone. Some settlements near Freetown were almost completely destroyed. More than 1,500 households, nearly 6,000 people were caught in mudslides and flooding and subsequently affected by homelessness. According to government figures, over 1,000 dead bodies were recovered.
Emergency relief operations in three camps
Following the shocking news, we immediately contacted the country's embassy in Berlin and Deutsche Welthungerhilfe in Sierra Leone to coordinate emergency relief efforts. Thanks to the financial commitment of our members and supporters, we were able to respond quickly and move into action with the implementation of an emergency aid concept: Our project manager, Joseph Cole, began distributing water, food and hygiene items in three established emergency camps as early as the beginning of September. During the first campaign, about 150 women were registered for distribution and were able to provide for their families for over a week with the goods distributed. The action was repeated at regular intervals until there were major relief efforts by state actors.
