A water drive that started as a modest plea on Facebook has grown into a nationwide campaign co-ordinated by ordinary people on social media… and now they need your help!
The aim of Water Shortage South Africa’s initiative is to provide water to fellow South Africans, communities left without water as soon as possible – whether man or animal, on a purely donation basis, throughout the drought stricken areas.
Although they have carted any volume of water, whether it was a 2L Coke bottle or a 35000L tanker, to areas in need, the aim in the long term remains to be able to provide some sort of sustainable solution to these towns and communities.
The project originally started as a Facebook group in December 2015 during a nationwide drought but has grown into a nationwide campaign. And has since transported over 67 million litres of water to areas around South Africa in need.
“It has snowballed into something I never experienced in my life,” said Caroline van Saasen who started the Facebook page Water Shortage South Africa (WSSA).
Van Saasen said that while idly trawling Facebook during the Christmas holidays in 2016 she became more and more upset by reports of people having absolutely no water after parts of the country struggled with drought.
She came up with a simple idea to ask people during one of the country’s peak travel periods to make space in their cars and take a few bottles of water with them to drop off at towns in need.
People across South Africa took up the challenge immediately.
Since then, the page has grown to over 40 000 members who either volunteer their home as a drop off point for an area, or help co-ordinate deliveries.
“At one of the drop-offs at Sannieshof a little boy walked over and downed a whole one litre bottle of water immediately. He had not had water for three days,” said Saassen, who refused to take the credit for starting the campaign.
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“It is not me. There are thousands of people behind this drive,” she said.
From supermarkets and trucking companies finding space among their deliveries and crates for the water, to private individuals using their own money for petrol, water is being driven around the country to quench the thirst of people in towns and villages running dry while El Niño takes hold.
“It is not my project. It was just my Facebook page,” said the working mother from Middelburg. “It is absolutely amazing.”
Volunteer Ray de Vries said, “The beautiful thing about it, is it’s organic. It’s pure heart, it’s pure soul.”
“It is civic action. Nobody is in charge – no government, no red tape, nobody is taking the credit. It is just a network of concerned South Africans.”
But the organisation is still run by only 3 people… who focus all their time and energy on helping parts of South Africa without water.
And now they need your help!
This weekend, Water Shortage South Africa have over 500 000 litres of water that is ready to be transported to Cape Town but they need volunteers in both locations to assist.
In Johannesburg, the volunteers will load the water on trucks, and in Cape Town receive the water to store.
All the water being driven down is to assist with “vulnerable” communities which include old age homes, frail care centres, and disabled homes.
GoodThingsGuy has partnered with Water Shortage South Africa to try help get the hundreds of volunteers needed and have created an “event” with all the information for those that can assist.
Please click here to join the cause.
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