Tari Amoru trudges down the red dirt road to the edge of her village of Biseni in Bayelsa State in Southern Nigeria to see if flood waters have risen since last week. The water has started to gather again this month, and the memory of last October’s devastating flooding still affects her community.
Last October, residents in Bayelsa had to flee raging flood waters that inundated their homes, destroyed crops, and cut them off from other areas in Nigeria. The flooding submerged most of Biseni, and many residents were left homeless. Some residents set up temporary make-shift tents by the only road out of the community. The only means of travel was by boat or canoe. Three lives were lost in their community. Bayelsa was among 33 of 36 Nigerian states that grappled with the devastation of the country’s worst flooding in a decade. Almost 1.56 million people were displaced.
“My husband built a wooden platform in our home so we could remain in our house. As a family of seven, we lived on the raised platform while the flood lasted. We lost most of our clothes and furniture. The flooding also destroyed our cassava crop. I developed a bad foot as a result of constantly entering the water.”
Thirty-five-year-old Tari joined Solar Sister in July of 2022 through a UNDP program with Solar Sister. Before joining Solar Sister, Tari taught in a private nursery and secondary school. Her salary from the school was meager, and she could not contribute substantially to the family finances.
“Since joining Solar Sister, I now contribute towards my family’s financial needs. I have more access to women in my community, which I didn’t have before because of my solar light business. Unlike my previous employment, where salary wasn’t certain, I now have a daily and stable income due to my business.
I sell within my community and neighboring communities and also visit fishing camps close to my community to sell my products. I also allow those who can’t afford to pay once for their products to pay installmentally.”
Still, Tari faces an uncertain future. She and her husband have rebuilt their small farm and are replenishing their crops. They fear the flooding will be the same or worse this year. Rainfall has increased as October approaches, and so far, the government has taken no preventative measures. Despite her attempts to stay hopeful, Tari is anxious that the impending floods might compel her family to relocate to a camp away from their community. The situation is especially challenging with five children ranging in age from eighteen months to fifteen years. She is also afraid that sales of solar lamps will be cut significantly because people will be focused on surviving the flood.
Last week, Nigerian authorities issued heavy rain and flood warnings, urging residents to activate vigilance and emergency response plans.
Floods the previous year resulted in the deaths of over 600 people due to excessive rainfall and the release of excess water from a dam in neighboring Cameroon. In response, the National Emergency Management Agency is gearing up for another possible flood disaster this year. While the Nigerian Meteorological Agency anticipates less rainfall this year, the risk of flooding remains due to extreme weather from climate change and other human activities like waterway construction.
“As a result of climate change, we’ve been seeing extreme weather events like unusual rainfall and unusual heat,” said Ibrahim Wasiu, the meteorological agency’s forecasting unit head. “Climate change plays a role.” *
Tari says that the “goal setting” training module has helped her the most in building her business. She remains cautiously optimistic and holds fast to becoming financially independent and contributing to her family’s future.
Through her role as a Solar Sister Entrepreneur and the subsequent increase in her income, enabled Tari and her family to weather the devastation caused by the floods.
*Associated Press Article: Nigeria triggers national response plan for annual deadly floods; 14 states on alert
Did you know: As part of the flood relief, Solar Sister, Acumen, and the Canadian Government partnered to support internally displaced women in 12 communities across three disaster-stricken states.