The Umdloti sisters lost nearly all of their material possessions, but they have not yet lost hope, even though it is being worn down to its foundations by the weight of wet sand.
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (26 May 2022) – Janelle and Bianca Barnard, sisters who lived in Umdloti, have started a crowdfunding campaign after losing their family home of 28 years in the recent flooding in KwaZulu-Natal.
Days of heavy rain across KwaZulu-Natal in southeastern South Africa led to deadly floods. Particularly hard-hit were areas in and around Durban. At least 435 people died across the province, with an unknown number of people missing. Several thousand homes were damaged and destroyed. Critical infrastructure, including major roads, transportation, communication, and electrical systems, were also impacted by the flooding, and this damage significantly hampered recovery and relief efforts. It is one of the deadliest natural disasters in the country in the 21st century and the deadliest storm since the 1987 floods. According to officials, the floods have caused more than R17 billion in infrastructure damage.
And the rain does not seem to be stopping. This past weekend another massive storm hit the province, leaving devastation in its wake.
Janelle and Bianca started a crowdfunding campaign to help “pick up some of the pieces”, and in just three days, they have raised nearly R100,000!
“28 years of treasured memories in our family home. A home that was to be destroyed in less than 24 hours. Our hearts are as heavy as the mud that stands up to our ceilings as we write this. An unyielding reminder of the devastation we’ve endured.”
The sisters say that it was a surreal sight as red sand engulfed most of their possessions. They explained that they tragically lost their pet, irreplaceable family heirlooms and albums of the last pictures they had of their parents.
“We have lost nearly all of our material possessions, but we have not yet lost hope, even though it is being worn down to its foundations by the weight of wet sand.”
But the Umdloti sisters are no strangers to picking up pieces and having to start over. Janelle and Bianca unexpectedly lost their mother – their last living parent – in 2019.
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They are appealing to everyone to help them gain some stability in “what feels like living in quicksand”.
“If we stand still, we will sink.
While our home is insured, and insurance will help alleviate some of the weight – helping us fund temporary housing until the situation improves even slightly – we need to start clearing the devastation as soon as possible so that our foundations are not compromised further.
We need to try searching through shoulder-deep mud for our cat. We need to pay for 24-hour security for the shell that remains. We need to begin replacing personal items not covered by our policies to start trying to regain some vague sense of normality.
If you are able to assist in any way we are appealing to you to help us move forward. To help us rebuild our family home – the same home our parents built 28 years ago.”
Click here if you would like to help the sisters.
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