By Petronella Sibeene WINDHOEK Last Friday the Chinese Loving Heart Welfare Organization donated 1ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 000 cotton quilts and 500 jerseys to displaced flood victims in the Caprivi Region. The donation, which was handed over by Chinese Ambassador to Namibia, Liang Yinzhu, comes a month after the ambassador and Dr Richard Kamwi the Minister of Health and Social Services went on a familiarization tour of the different flooded areas in the Caprivi Region. Yinzhu says he contacted the charitable organization for assistance after realizing that the situation was desperate and there was need for intervention. “The Embassy encourages all the Chinese people in Namibia to render support, especially to the vulnerable groups,” he said. This is not the first donation the organisation has made. Recently, it donated mattresses and quilts to the San people through the office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Libertine Amathila. Kamwi reiterated that people in the areas visited, such as Shuckmannsburg, Mbalasinte, Lusese, Itomba and Impalila, were living in tents and needed warm clothing, especially now that it is the winter season. The Governor of Caprivi, Bernard Sibalatani, who received the donation confirmed that thousands are displaced and in dire need of help. Kamwi urged Sibalatani to ensure that the donated items go to deserving recipients. The minister also said that despite the floods in the area, his officials have been working around the clock to ensure that waterborne diseases do not occur. “In the area of health, there was a need to re-enforce the nursing staff. We did that and there are not much of unfamiliar cases. Overall, the health situation is under control,” he said. Although mosquitoes are there, he assured that current drought and cold make it unfavourable for malaria vectors to breed. He also said malaria cases have been very low this year. At least 4ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 300 households are affected by floods which have increasingly become recurrent on the plains along the Zambezi River. Although water levels have dropped, the Meteorological Department in Zambia has warned that there could be more rains in April, which may worsen the situation. The Namibia Red Cross Society also distributed relief items, which included tents, tarpaulins, water purification sachets, jerry cans, treated mosquito nets, blankets and soap. Last month President Hifikepunye Pohamba visited the Caprivi Region and toured the flooded areas as well as the relocation sites. The government released N$10 million for transport and food distribution during the floods operations.