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Shinyanga villagers cry over hard times
2006-07-10 08:57:15
By Angel Navuri
Villagers in Shinyanga Region have called on the government to take decisive actions against drought in the region to avoid their sufferings in the future as well as to curb rampart poverty among them.
They claimed during an interview with The Guardian recently in Shinyanga that most of them were severely affected by the drought, and that the government appeared not to have been concerned with villagers in the region’s very remote areas.
They said they were dying of hunger due to the infertility of land in their areas and insufficient rainfall.
’Although villagers in some areas have been getting food assistance, those in remote areas are still suffering a lot, despite the fact that some of our people are in the cabinet,’ said Damaris Zakaria, a resident at Shinyanga.
They also said that water is also another problem in the region’s the interior as there are fewer boreholes that can sustain the whole villagers.
’I have five children, my husband died two years ago and all what he had left for me has been grabbed by my in-laws.
I decided to report the matter to our village leader but no action has been taken,’ said Rehema Ally a widow.
They also urged the government to give them loans to enable them start projects which they say would assist them more than the handouts of relief food since, they added, they cannot expect donations everytime.
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