When calamities strike nations especially third World countries where
there are no proper arrangements for the vulnerable groups, women, children and
the aged face the sharpest axe. This is a result of their nature.
Today, as I write, hundreds of thousands of families countrywide are
facing the hardest moments in their lives. In most of our communities here in
Africa, women carry a huge burden of household responsibility; taking care of
their children, husbands and the entire community whether in blissful or tough
moments. They do menial jobs to make sure their families are well fed while
meeting other family needs.
Male chauvinism has exposed women to hardships by taking bigger roles
because we all believe women are more compassionate than their counterparts. In
times of epidemics and pandemics like what the country is going through, women
find themselves wobbling in the jaws of hardships; from securing their families
and belongings to ensuring that their families are taken care of in terms of
feeding them.
Majority of men tend to ran away from such responsibilities - only a few
have a heart for the family. Today, the world is facing the hardest tragedies
ever. The novel coronavirus pandemic, natural calamities like floods in some
parts of the country among other life threatening vices.
Floods sweep away homes especially those lying around River banks, low
lands and riparian lands. The heavy rains like those experienced in Western
part of Kenya pose a threat to contraction of waterborne diseases like Cholera,
Diarrhoea among other related diseases. Because women, children and the elderly
are mostly found in homes, they stand a higher chance of being vulnerable to
the situations.
Majority of them lose their lives by being carried away by floods,
injuries, and those who survive death contract to diseases like malaria due to
use of contaminated water from the floods etc.
Today, Covid-19 pandemic is posing the greatest threat to the lives of
Kenyans. Majority of Kenyans live in hand to mouth economy, some lack essential
information on how to curb the spread of various mishaps. Such lifestyles
emerge as big headaches to the wellbeing of citizens. The current problems
facing Kenyans supersedes any promising problems. From natural calamities to
emerging diseases, persisting poverty to insecure nation among other vices.
Some Kenyans will say they're used to suffering.
What can the government do to protect the vulnerable families?
As I earlier wrote, the three classes of people who suffer most during
tragedies are women, children and the elderly. These people undergo
psychological torture due unending suffering. Since some calamities are
predictable for instance drought, floods etc., the government, through the
Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD), ought to be issuing prior social
preparedness. This will help them prepare to evacuate and seek for safer
settlements before calamities knock on their doors. The Kenyan government and
other humanitarian organizations should be swift in containing situations
before they worsen - provide shelter, drugs, food stuffs among other
necessities to the affected families. This process should be treated as an
emergency.
Families should shun away from old stereotypes; the elderly tend to
struggle to refuse to leave their homes to safer places because of cultural
ties on the ancestral lands. This situation makes it harder for them to survive
in the subsequent tragedies.
Some women and children cannot make personal decisions as most men who
stay far away from homes tend to confine their families within homesteads.
Hence, this rendering them not to make independent decision making; taking up
other decisions like moving away families to safer places during calamities
like floods. Women and children too have no manpower (financial incapability)
to find new homes.
Some men should be encouraged to support and protect their families. Some
men tend to divert various aids from humanitarian support programmes like
relief food programme.
The government ought to find long lasting solutions in the curbing of
some tragedies by finding its citizens a safer place to stay. In response to
Covid-19 pandemic, the government should ensure that all Kenyans from all walks
of life have necessary facilities and precautions to curb the contagion's
spread and contraction.
Some security officers should be warned against mistreating women among
other vulnerable groups in such crisis. Sometimes women undergo further
mistreatments during tragedies. They raped and exposed to other humiliations.
By so doing the world will be a better place for everyone.
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