More than 250 families in Bunyala who were displaced by floods in 2020, are still living in camps.

They want the government to take urgent intervention measures amid the start of the rainy season.

The families have decried the high cost of living in the camp as they rely on humanitarian interventions from NGOs and the government, which does not sustain them for long.

Bunyala flood victim Godfrey Wanjala urged the county and national government disaster committee to find a lasting solution to the problem.

“We only feel the presence of the government when the situation is worse, we are tired of blankets and relief food. We need a permanent solution,” he said.

“We moved here three years ago and it appears that we have been completely forgotten.” 

Wanjala was speaking at Budalang'i Primary School when Busia Woman Representative Catherin Omanyo gave second-chance bursaries to teenage mothers and the less privileged in the county under the National Government Affirmative Action Fund.

Omanyo urged the government to construct affordable houses in Budalang'i to save the families who have been struggling in camps for the past two years.

“In Kenya, the right to housing is embedded in the Constitution, which provides that every person has the right to accessible and adequate housing, and to reasonable standards of sanitation,” she said.

The lawmaker added that little attention has been given to establishing affordable housing to the poor segments of the population, who form the bulk of Kenyan population at 57 per cent.

“In Busia, affordable housing should be constructed in Budalang'i. This will save the government billions used in disaster management yearly and also will boost the economy of this area through job creation and open up investment avenues,” Omanyo said.

The worst hit were families from Bunyala South and Rukala locations. Musoma Primary School and Mau Mau market had started recovering but there are fears they might be overrun by floods once again.

Flood victims camps where the more than 250 families call home include Membee, Bunyala, Budala, Rukala, Khadundu, Igigo and Runyu.

Most families here depend 90 per cent on fishing and sand harvesting, the job that has given them more life risks and challenges they face from the lake including harassment from Uganda policemen in the lake.