Good Neighbors | Action Against Hunger

Landslide survivors in Uganda rebuild their lives together

By Diana Sharone Tumuhairwe

In May 2024, Sophia Masika’s life as she had always known it was permanently altered. The mother of eight narrowly escaped death when a devastating landslide struck her village in the Kyondo sub-county of Kasese, Uganda. On that fateful day, Sophia and her two neighbors, John Mumbere and Janet Balubusa, began their day as usual by tending to their gardens, a common source of food and income for the community. Around 9:00am, screams and alarms erupted from their neighbours at the top of the mountain range. The sound alerted Sophia to the disaster that was unfolding. With no time to spare, she rushed home, grabbed her children, and fled to safety. Janet rushed to help, overwhelmed with fear for her own children’s lives.

Sophia, Janet and John managed to reach the safety of a distant neighbor’s home. When they finally mustered the courage to look back, the sight was heartbreaking; their houses were buried beneath a mountain of mud and debris. Sophia, Janet and John were the only ones in their village to have their homes destroyed in the landslide. “We asked ourselves, why us?” Sophia mourns, reflecting on the devastation.

The tragedy extended beyond their subcounty — in a neighboring village, the landslide claimed the lives of three children. The community was in shock, grappling with the scale of the disaster. Kasese has a long history of dealing with landslides and floods, a terrifying threat beyond the residents’ control.

In the face of tragedy, the spirit of the community stayed strong. Neighbors rallied together, offering whatever support they could to Sophia, Janet, and John. They gave saucepans, cups, plates, clothes and other essential items, and one neighbor even offered them a room where they could all stay. In August 2024, Action Against Hunger partnered with a local organization called the Foundation for Urban & Rural Advancement (FURA) to provide crucial assistance to the landslide survivors with funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Sophia, Janet, and John were among the recipients of vital non-food items including mosquito nets, sanitary kits, basins, jerrycans, and cookware.

Furthermore, each family received a small cash grant of 100,000 Ugandan shillings (about $23.25). With this support, the three neighbors made a collective decision to invest in pig farming. Each family bought a female piglet. While the neighbor housing the three families was Muslim and thereby did not support the consumption of pork, he permitted them to rear pigs while living on his property out of consideration for their vulnerable livelihood situation. To maintain cultural sensitivity, Sophia, Janet and John kept the animals at another neighbor’s house.

Sophia, Janet, and John overcame difficult changes since the disaster. Now, they can only feed their children once a day, and they rely heavily on the generosity of their neighbors for food. They try to prioritize a balanced diet, drawing on nutritional knowledge gained from educational messages disseminated by Action Against Hunger during community outreaches.

An added challenge is that Sophia has been pregnant throughout this time. Encouraging friends and Action Against Hunger community volunteers have helped ease her worries and provided her with the resources she needs to care for herself and her unborn child. Sophia has been able to navigate the challenge of pregnancy in adversity with guidance on good nutrition and hygiene from Action Against Hunger, ensuring she maintains a healthy lifestyle.

The disaster has led to a strong bond between the three families. They have vowed to support each other and stay together even after the challenging period. To avoid experiencing landslides again, they have identified a piece of land away from the vulnerable hillsides and have the goal of purchasing it once they generate sufficient income from their pig-farming venture. The trauma of the landslide continues to linger, but their solid support for one another provides a source of strength and hope. “We lost everything, but our community’s spirit endures. We’ve found comfort in each other’s company and will face the future together,” Sophia says.