MTN Foundation Donates UGX51.2M to Kisoro Mudslide Victims

MTN Uganda through its Corporate Social Responsibility arm, the MTN Foundation has donated UGX51.2 million towards the victims in Kisoro that were affected by mudslides from the heavy rains that hit the district last month. The money donated will be used to buy non-food relief items to support the families that have been adversely affected following the mudslides that left many people displaced, property destroyed, lives lost, as well as help those that sustained injuries.

Up to 800 households in the villages of Bunagana, Muramba, and Nyarusiza were affected by this adversity that claimed 9 lives. Thousands of the victims are currently displaced. Worth noting is that the disaster happened barely a month after the reopening of the economy with the majority of Ugandans still grappling with the after-effects of the nearly two-year-long Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent national lockdown.

In a bid to supplement the efforts of the government and other stakeholders who are reaching out to the people affected by the mudslides, MTN Uganda will through its donation extend support to 100 of the affected families with non-food relief aid to help them cope as they rebuild their lives following the unfortunate occurrence.

Enid Edroma, the MTN Uganda Corporate Services General Manager while handing over a dummy cheque of UGX51.2 million to officials from the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) expressed MTN’s heartfelt sympathy to the people of Kisoro.

“MTN as a corporate citizen is interested in the welfare of the communities in which we operate and therefore commiserate with the people of Kisoro who have suffered great loss in the recent Mudslides. We understand that this is such a trying time for them, especially as we are all, as a nation, still trying to find our footing after the inevitable Covid-19 lockdown which greatly impacted many livelihoods. We hope that this little support we have rendered will offer some consolation to the affected families,” Edroma said during a handover press conference.

The cheque was received by the Secretary-General of the Uganda Red Cross Society, Mr. Ronald Kwesigwa who hailed MTN Foundation for always being quick to respond to disaster victims across the country over the year.

The money will be used by the URCS to procure and distribute 100 relief kits which include Jerrycans, saucepans, cups,  plates, ladles, kitchen knives, blankets, mosquito nets, bars of soap, tarpaulin, and a plastic storage bag or box to support 100 displaced families.

As a responsible corporate citizen, MTN Uganda is committed to its pledge of improving the lives of the communities within which it operates by supplementing government efforts in priority areas including disaster responses. MTN also worked closely with the URCS to protect and support the most vulnerable communities at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

MTN has over the years been responsive in extending support to all disaster-affected communities across the country, for instance, the 2020 Kasese floods victims, the 2019 Bundibugyo floods victims as well as the Bududa mudslide victims, some of whom the company supported to relocate and start over. All MTN’s disaster response humanitarian work is executed under the Y’ello Hope initiative.