GTBank
Gambia on Friday 28 July 2017 handed over 50 bags of rice and 50 packets of
corrugated iron sheets to the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) for
onward distribution to recent rain storm disaster victims.
The
donation was in response to a plea by the NDMA for support to provide relief to
over 50 families in Lower River Region of The Gambia who lost their houses and
food stock following recent heavy rains and winds.
Relief
agencies estimate that over 4000 people have been severely affected by rain
storms in July and at least 1000 have been displaced.
The
Managing Director of GTBank, Bolaji Ayodele, said that when the NDMA approached
the bank to provide such invaluable support to flood and storm victims, it was
not difficult for his management to accede to the request because they had seen
in news outlets the damage and suffering it caused.
He
hoped that the “modest donation” would go a long way in improving their
conditions and that they would sooner than later return to “the beautiful lives
they lived before the disaster”.
The
National Forecast office predicts erratic rains this season with consequential
flash floods and wind storms that could destroy homes and displace
families.
The
National Disaster Management Agency has urged people to take appropriate
measures to avert severe damages.
The
Executive Director of NDMA, Colonel Alagie Sanneh, has called on other private
sector businesses to emulate GTBank, saying that managing disaster and
providing relief services to disaster victims “cannot be singlehandedly handled
by any government anywhere in the world”.
