The Garden Route Rebuild is currently underway and while the task ahead is a mammoth one the teams in place are making headway, even offering jobs to locals.
It is hard to believe how fast time flies, it feels like just the other day we woke up to the horrific news of the fires. As time flies, it also heals, mending and repairing just like a bone or a broken heart. In the time that has passed since the fires died down, a lot of work has gone into rebuilding the Garden Route.
A team, more like a committee, was assembled to manage the rebuild and all the money received from the generous nation.
The team was created to develop a long-term renewal strategy and a shared vision for rebuilding the Garden Route economy. It also coordinates all resources and efforts to achieve a maximum impact.
The Garden Route Rebuild set up a website detailing every aspect of the work being done and still needing to be done. They have even set up a job platform to recruite people to work on projects.
The most recent listing is for people to work on Erosion Control. As the plant life is not currently able to keep the soil in place the team was set up to create ways to prevent any further erosion of the soil.
As winter rains are expected, addressing mudslides, slippage and erosion control on the steep slopes have been some of the first actions and stabilization of the burn scar will remain a priority in the near future in order to keep roads open and avoid risk to homeowners adjoining and on the slopes.
Immediate support will also be provided to fast-track building approvals and empower local residents through various skills development initiatives, in order to form part of projects and job creation.
The committe have identified seven work streams which are Humanitarian Assistance, Reconstruction, Environmental management, Business Support, Infrastructure Rehabilitation, Funding and Resourcing and Skills Development.
For more information on the rebuild you can contact them directly here.
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