28 Dec 2010

BENIN / FLOODS UPDATE

UNICEF continues to provide humanitarian aid to Benin, where some of the worst flooding in history has affected nearly 680,000 people, leaving over 120,000 children displaced. UNICEF

Posted at: December 28, 2010 4:05 pm

Duration: 03:36

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: BENIN / FLOODS UPDATE
TRT: 3.36
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH / FON / NATS
 
DATELINE:  06-10 DECEMBER 2010, BENIN
 
SHOTLIST
 
KPOTO, BENIN, 9 DECEMBER 2010
 
1. Pan left, Oueme River
 
SO AVA, BENIN, 6 DECEMBER 2010

2. Pan left, fisherman rowing to destroyed house
3. Med shot, destroyed house
4. Wide shot, destroyed house
 
KPOKISSA, BENIN, 7 DECEMBER 2010
 
5. Med shot, woman standing in front of her destroyed house
6. Pan right, destroyed banana crops
 
AHOME HOUME, 6 DECEMBER 2010
 
7. Med shot, farmer holding a palm tree branch
8. Close up, earth
9. SOUNDBITE (Fon) Mibolo Zinsougan, Fisherman: 
"The floods have been incredibly high. My fish holes have been emptied. Usually, we would already have set the fields and planted for the next season. We'd already harvested hot pepper and tomatoes. Instead, we've just started to plant. We will get late in the crops, and the village starts to feel hungry."
10. Wide shot, farmers walking in the field
11. Med shot, Mibolo leaving the shore in a pirogue towards the village
 
ADJOHOUN, 9 DECEMBER 2010
 
12. Tilt up, health agents weighing a baby as part of training
13. Med shot, health agent measuring baby's arm's width
14. Med shot, young girl suffering from malaria in a hospital bed being manipulated by nurse and parents
15. SOUNDBITE (French) Anne-Sophie Ledain, Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF: 
"In the coming months, we'll have to be very careful and vigilant as we fear the crops will be late and the consequence might be dreadful. We especially focus on under five children as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women."

KPOTO, BENIN, 7 DECEMBER 2010

16. Med shot, UNHCR camp
17. Med shot, tents
18. Med shot, children in front of a UNHCR tent, HCR logo at the back
 
TOHOUE, BENIN 7 DECEMBER 2010
 
19. Close up, man hammering nail, building latrines
20. Pan right, latrines built by UNICEF in the camp of Tohoue
21. Pan left, tents
22. Tilt up, young girl pouring water on herself in the camp
23. SOUNDBITE (French) Sister Leonie Dochamou, Secretary General, Caritas, Benin: "Most of the displaced persons don't want to go back to their villages, where it's not safe to live anymore. Our recovery strategy must take that into consideration. We must help those people, but we can't help them rebuild the villages in floodable zones."

KPOKISSA, BENIN, 7 DECEMBER 2010

24. Med shot, woman walking by tent with child
25. Tilt up, woman cooking food in camp, holding child in her arms
 
GOBGO, BENIN, 8 DECEMBER 2010
 
26. Wide shot, crowd of villagers listening to public crier
27. Close up, women listening to public crier
28. Close up, public crier crying
29. Med shot, public crier demonstrating hand-washing with soap
30. Med shot, women watching demonstration
31. Pan right, teacher teaching pupils basic health gestures
32. Med shot, pupils listening
33. Close up, boy watching young girl washing her hands
34. SOUNDBITE (French) Bruno Gbehinto, Deputy Head, Basic Initiatives Fund, Ministry of Health, Benin: 
"If we want the UN's actions on the field to be successful in the long term, we must keep people in good health, that's why we keep on sending out those health messages."
 
DANNOU, BENIN, 10 DECEMBER 2010
 
35. Med shot, men mending a wooden hut
 
SO AVA, BENIN, 6 DECEMBER 2010
 
36. Wide shot, destroyed huts on the shores of the Oueme River
37. Med shot, destroyed hut
38. Med shot, men at work
39. Wide shot, men at work building school classrooms
40. Pan left, men at work manipulating shovels
 
HETIN SOTTA, BENIN, 9 DECEMBER 2010
 
41. Med shot, school children walking in school yard
 
GOBGO, BENIN, 8 DECEMBER 2010
 
42. Wide shot, young girl, walking away wearing a UNICEF's school bag
 
STORYLINE:

In the past two months, Benin has experienced one of the worst floods of its history.

Even in the southern district of Benin, where floods are reported almost every year, the inhabitants were caught off guard and had to flee their devastated homes.

Today, as the water is eventually receding, the long-term consequences of the crisis are starting to emerge. In many rural villages, most of the crops have been ruined by the flowing waters.

In the village of Ahome Houme, on the Oueme River, the heavy flood might have destroyed the crops and the traditional fish holes made by local fishermen.

SOUNDBITE (Fon) Mibolo Zinsougan, Fisherman: 
"The floods have been incredibly high. My fish holes have been emptied. Usually, we would already have set the fields and planted for the next season. We'd already harvested hot pepper and tomatoes. Instead, we've just started to plant. We will get late in the crops, and the village starts to feel hungry."

The dry season should begin within a few weeks and the villagers are worried. They dread facing a food scarcity. To prevent an increase of malnutrition cases, UNICEF is reinforcing the training of health agents throughout the country.

SOUNDBITE (French) Anne-Sophie Ledain, Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF: 
"In the coming months, we'll have to be very careful and vigilant as we fear the crops will be late and the consequence might be dreadful. We especially focus on under 5 children as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women."

In the hardest hit villages, like in Kpoto, the United Nations (UN) Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has built a camp to shelter the people in urgent need. To prevent water borne diseases and promote hygiene, UNICEF has provided latrines and showers in those camps.

As most people are now safe from flowing waters, UN humanitarian agencies is planning a long term response to the crisis.

SOUNDBITE (French) Soeur Leonie Dochamou, Secretary General, Caritas, Benin: "Most of the displaced persons don't want to go back to their villages, where it's not safe to live anymore. Our recovery strategy must take that into consideration. We must help those people, but we can't help them rebuild the villages in floodable zones."

To avoid water related diseases and a major outbreak of epidemics during this post crisis period, UNICEF supports an information campaign on water treatment, hand washing with soap, breastfeeding, hygiene and sanitation.

The campaign targets grassroots communities in the most remote villages and involves 24 local radios and 1000 public criers.

UNICEF also raises awareness in schools by promoting basic gestures such as hand-washing with soap.

SOUNDBITE (French) Bruno Gbehinto, Deputy Head, Basic Initiatives Fund, Ministry of Health, Benin: 
"If we want the UN's actions on the field to be successful in the long term, we MUST keep people in good health, that's why we keep on sending out those health messages."

With climate change and the successive crisis in Benin, the UN System is committed to help populations to recover from recurrent floods. The first step is to find a suitable solution to relocate people who live in precarious places.

UNICEF considers the recovery as an opportunity to build schools in more durable settings thus giving all children a chance to be educated. This will contribute in building a brighter future for the most vulnerable children of Benin.