Landslide victims in Bududa, in eastern Uganda, have received $1.7 million from MTN to help them resettle.

Mazen Mroue, MTN chief executive officer, said the money would be handed to the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) to purchase non-food items for 312 of the 450 families affected by the disaster.

In addition to this, MTN Uganda – in partnership with Habitat for Humanity – is building 20 houses in Kiryandongo to re-settle some of the families who were affected by the landslides in 2010.

“Most of the programmes we get involved in are planned well in advance to ensure we make a significant, long-term, sustainable difference to the lives of the people involved. But sometimes we are faced with sudden, serious situations where we believe we can be of assistance,” Mroue said.

“Our partners, URCS, have approached us with an explanation of the extent of the damage so far, and we must get involved. But we believe that all interventions aimed at improving the lives of people must be long-term and must be sustainable in nature, otherwise the cycle will always continue.”

Receiving the contribution, URCS secretary general Michael Richard Nataka commended MTN Uganda.

“I was personally in Bududa on Monday evening,” said Nataka.

“It is a pity that each year the cycle of landslides keeps hitting our people. As you have rightly said, we want to partner with many corporates to find a lasting solution,” Nataka added.

He called on other corporate organisations to step forward with ways of finding a long-lasting solution to the problem of landslides in Bududa.

More than 3 000 people have been classified as being at serious risk after the landslide.