United Way Stands with Ghana After Historic Floods
Through its Flood Response Intervention, United Way Ghana is mobilizing resources with local partners to deliver emergency relief to the most affected households.
United Way Ghana has launched an emergency campaign to support the response to devastating floods.
When torrential rains fell on Accra in late June, the city recorded roughly 140 millimeters of rain in a single day, the heaviest rainfall in years.
As of July 4, at least 34 people had died, and some 94,000 had been displaced, according to Ghana's National Disaster Management Organization.
In communities built along the waterways of the Greater Accra and Volta Regions, floodwater rose to window level, buildings collapsed, and hundreds of families moved into churches and borrowed spaces with little more than what they carried.
These temporary shelters are where the United Way of Ghana has been meeting the community.
Most of them are not on any insurance. They have to start from scratch."
Faustina Abbey, national director of United Way Ghana
For years, United Way has worked with families in Ghana, focusing on two fronts: helping them achieve financial security and ensuring their children have every opportunity to thrive.
Rising waters threatened to wash that work away. Students lost school supplies, and school buildings were damaged. Market traders, artisans, and small business owners lost the tools of their livelihoods.
“Most of them are not on any insurance,” said Faustina Abbey, national director of United Way Ghana. “They have to start from scratch.”
United Way’s response to the flooding follows the same lines as the work that came before it. Through its Flood Response Intervention, United Way Ghana is mobilizing resources with local partners to deliver emergency relief to the most affected households, including food, clean water, and hygiene supplies. They’re also adding blankets and mattresses for families sheltering far from home.
Even before the floodwaters have subsided, United Way’s attention is turned to long-term recovery, providing school supplies so that students can return to their classrooms and replacement tools so artisans can get back to work.
United Way has spent years helping young people find opportunities and working families thrive. They already know the need, the partners that can be trusted, and what recovery will look like in the long term.
United Way Ghana has launched an emergency campaign to support the response. Every contribution helps a family begin again.
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