*** Laments That Many Children Have Been Swept Away By Floods
By Francis Sadhere, Warri
The Executive Director of Eye On The Future Initiative (EFI), a Delta State based NGO, Comrade Josephine Omodior has called on parents to keep their children indoors whenever it is raining, saying that the warning on the anticipated flooding in some parts of the country should not be taken for granted.
In a Press Release on Sunday in Asaba, the EFI boss, expressed concerns about the lackadaisical attitude of some parents towards their children whenever it is raining and called for attitudinal change, especially with the impending flood.
She lamented that many children have been swept away by raging floods and said that the time had come for parents to be more careful about their wards when it is raining.
According to the Press Release; “Parents should keep their children indoors whenever it is raining as there are reports of floods sweeping children into the open gutter in the State capital through some of the open drains.
Children might not be aware of the fast moving water and decide to go in for whatever reasons and this is why as parents, we must be vigilant and ensure that our children are indoors whenever the weather is changing or raining. We cannot afford our children being washed away by floods”.
“Just last Thursday, there was an incident along Okpanam Road in Asaba, the state capital, where the flood almost swept ten years old child into the drain, when it was raining but for the timely intervention of an adult who helped the child out of the drain, it would have been a different story. The adult almost lost his life in the process until someone came to his rescue as well”, the Statement added.
The Executive Director of EFI also said in the release that; “Parents should keep their wards indoors whenever it is raining as there are open drains around. Many children have fallen into exposed drains and lost their lives. As parents, we have to ensure the safety of our children with the flowing water and overwhelming current all around us whenever it is raining cats and dogs”.
