Flooding, fires, a mini-cyclone and drought, South Africa has faced several disasters this week and Gift of the Givers is working to support everyone affected.
South Africa (30 June 2023) – The Gift of the Givers serves humanity unconditionally; assisting all of creation, irrespective of race, religion, colour class, political affiliation or geographic location. This week has been a busy one for the organisation as they have aided people throughout South Africa facing natural disasters and accidents. They never fail to show up when South Africans need them most.
Western Cape Flooding
Gift of the Givers teams have been deployed to 26 different areas to assist with the flooding that has left hundreds of people destitute and without shelter for the winter.
They have been supplying blankets, mattresses, clothing, food parcels, hygiene packs and water. They have also been providing warm cups of soup and bread.
With so many different areas affected by flooding, they are trying to reach as many people as possible.
The eThekwini Tornado
KwaZulu-Natal has been hit with more damaging weather this week as a tornado swept through and left destruction in its wake.
“Gift of the Givers have been in constant communication with individuals in our network, councillors and disaster management teams during the course of the night and early this morning. Assessment was not possible yesterday with the ongoing rain, traffic volumes and darkness settling in. Thus far the feedback is very encouraging compared to the floods of 11 April 2022, even though many roads were flooded and areas were impassable in the CBD and surrounding communities there has not been much destruction, informal settlements have not been washed away, bridges, roads, water and power infrastructure were intact, and loss of life was minimal. The sun is bright today, roads are fully functional and citizens of this resilient province are on the move.
Inanda is the epicentre of the destruction including Bambhayi, Dube Village, Amaoti and Ohlanga. Folweni, near Umbumbulu, Pennington, near Umzinto and Oshiweni near Port Shepstone are the other affected areas. Gift of the Givers teams are on their way for site visits whilst the warehouse teams are at work preparing aid for distribution.”
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Gift of the Givers has been working tirelessly to provide water to Makhanda. The community has been ravaged by water shortages due to pump failure and is in need of support. The organisation has been delivering water to the community on trucks as well as providing water tanks to schools in need.
There are several areas in the Eastern Cape currently being supported with water.
“In the remote Winterberg Mountains of the Raymond Mhlaba Municipality, #EasternCape, the team refilled Jojo tanks with water in Indaba and Intolini Village. These villages rely solely on Gift of the Givers water tankers to provide them with clean drinking water on a weekly basis, as it is their primary source of supply.”
The Oatlands Preparatory School in Makhanda ran dry this week so the Gift of the Givers delivered and filled two huge Jojo tanks to be used by the school and the surrounding community.
Pretoria East Fire
A fire ripped through the community of Mooikloof Informal Settlement, leaving 300 people without shelter or any personal possessions.
“In response, Gift of the Givers team promptly arrived at the scene to conduct an assessment, alongside the Social Development and disaster management team.
The team provided food supplies, blankets, clothing, and hygiene packs to those affected by the fire.”
If you would like to support Gift of the Givers in their efforts of supporting South Africa through these disasters, you can find out more via the website here.
Each of these disasters is a work in progress so be sure to follow along on Facebook for updates on how each community is doing and for more in-depth details about support being provided.
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