Tuku, 30 artistes to visit Mukosi flood victims

Entertainment
Oliver Mtukudzi is today expected to lead team of 30 local artistes to visit Tokwe-Mukosi flood victims who have been accommodated at Chingwizi holding camp

Oliver-Mtukudziweb

MUSIC legend Oliver Mtukudzi is today expected to lead a team of 30 local artistes to visit the Tokwe-Mukosi flood victims who have, since February this year, been accommodated at Chingwizi holding camp in Mwenenzi.

Organisers of the tour said Monday the visit will allow the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) ambassador to assess the plight of school going children whose careers were disturbed by the disaster.

Thousands of villagers who were living in the flood-prone Tokwe–Mukosi reservoir catchment basin were left destitute when heavy rainfall in Masvingo, early this year, caused the partial collapse of the dam wall and washed away homes, crops and property.

The children’s subsequent relocation together with their families to the distant transit camp meant they could no longer continue attending school as there were no immediate plans by the government to cater for their schooling.

Tinozivaishe Muguti, a member of National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (Nango) told NewZimbabwe.com that schoolchildren who were affected by the displacements were in their hundreds.

“We have hundreds of children who are no longer going to school because they were taken from their original homes some of which are as far as 100km from Chingwizi,” Muguti said.

“We believe this has a great bearing on their future. They should have been attending school, but unfortunately they are not because of the disaster which could have been avoided if there was proper preparedness.”

Other problems bedevilling the flood victims according to reports from Tokwe-Mukosi include food shortages, and an imminent breakout of diseases owing to poor hygienic conditions.

Mtukudzi, being the Unicef ambassador, it has been said, has seen it fit to visit the Chingwizi transit camp and assess the plight of children living with their families at the camp.

An official with Tuku’s public relations said that the music icon, who has just returned from touring the UK, had been fundraising for the Tokwe-Mukosi tour.

In a Monday statement, Tuku confirmed he will be joined on the Chingwizi tour by at least 30 artistes.

After Chingwizi, Tuku said, he will on Workers’ Day (May 1) spend the morning at Harare Hospital, visiting patients.

“We’ve heard about the dire need that the hospital has for assistance in various areas and we want to shed some light on this so that we can get more people to chip in and help,” he added.

— Newzimbabwe.com