More than 250 households are displaced, 15 houses destroyed, and one person tragically deceased. The roads are inaccessible, no electricity and the telecom is badly affected, but Meals on Wheels are on the ground, helping community members.
Free State, South Africa (12 September 2022) – At around 6 am on Sunday, the 11th of September 2022, parts of a tailings dam collapsed on the outskirts of Jagersfontein. As the country woke up to the unfortunate news of a mine disaster, Meals On Wheels Community Service South Africa’s CEO announced that the non-profit organisation was already on the ground assessing the damage caused by this disaster.
Together with the Free State Office of the Premier and Dept of Social Development-Free State, Meals On Wheels Community Service (MOWCS) will offer support by providing cooked meals, clean water and Blankets.
“This is an unfortunate incident that has left the community of Jaggersfontein devastated and as Meals On Wheels Community Service, we want to ensure we lessen the anxiety caused by this incident by making sure that the community doesn’t have to worry about where their next meal will come from,” said the CEO.
The community service is part of the Jaggersfontein disaster task team coordinating the disaster response. The MOWCS team were one of the first responders on the ground to assess the damage and needs thereof.
“Our response is to see to it that the displaced families are fed, given clean water to drink and blankets to keep warm.”
More than 250 households are displaced, 15 houses are destroyed, and one person is tragically deceased. The roads are inaccessible, no electricity and the telecom is badly affected.
“Our team has already started feeding the displaced community today. The organisation will be there for the community of Jaggersfontein in the Free State for as long as there is a need, just like we are still on the ground for the KwaZulu-Natal Community that was affected by the floods. We are calling on all the corporate and government entities to come on board and donate towards this initiative,” concluded the CEO.
For more details or to donate to the cause, click here.