Methodists send £30,000 to aid flood victims in southern Africa

The Methodist Church in Great Britain is sending a solidarity grant of £30,000 to Methodist Churches in southern Africa to provide support for flood victims.

Flooding of the Zambezi River has destroyed homes, submerged crops and left thousands of people in Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe in desperate need of help.

Many have been made homeless and there are widespread outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and dysentery. Children in affected areas are no longer able to receive education and more than 80 per cent of the area's crops have been washed away.

Kevin Fray, World Church Officer for Africa, said, "Many are aware of the desperate levels of poverty and deprivation that already exist in this area of the world, and the flooding has only made this worse.

"Those who already faced difficult circumstances in their day to day lives have seen their homes and livelihoods swept away. We hope that this grant goes some way toward alleviating their suffering."

The churches will use the money to provide shelter, food, clean water, clothing and other types of support for those whose lives have been devastated by the flooding.