The residents of Kayamandi were left distraught after a fire erupted and left 1500 residents without a home on Saturday evening as weather conditions in Cape Town worsened.
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There was ‘total destruction’ according to Ali Sablay, project manager for the Gift of the Givers Foundation, as the recent fires have destroyed homes in the informal settlement near Stellenbosch.
Sablay says the winds are lifting up metal sheets used for the informal homes and residents have since been evacuated.
‘We have to evacuate immediately as metal sheeting is blowing all over the place,’ Sablay explained.
According to IOL, residents are receiving hot meals, personal hygiene products, mattresses, baby products and blankets from the Gift of the Givers team.
The team is working with the local councillor, Elliot Masimini, and community leaders to urge residents to vacate Kayamandi before the situation worsens.
Sablay says that his team and the local government are trying to get the residents of Kayamandi to a local hall, which they will occupy for the week ahead.
Sablay explained that the atmosphere in the informal settlement is understandably gloomy due to the total devastation caused by the fires that have occurred.
‘They are putting their lives at risk, trying to look through the rubble in order to find the little items they have,’ he said.
Sablay said that a disaster such as this was bound to happen given the density of the area and the number of people cramped in Kayamandi.
He explained that the winds did not help the situation.
‘As soon as one structure caught alight the winds carried it to the next home and this led to the spread of the fire in the informal settlement. Thank God there has been no loss of life.’
One of the residents of Kayamandi, Asemahle Matyholo, said that this is not her first encounter with a fire causing such devastating effects.
‘It’s not the first time but I never get used to the trauma. Living in shacks is another thing. One moment you have a home the next moment it’s gone just like that. Now we have to rebuild but we are never safe or secure.’ Matyholo explained.
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Picture: @VOCfm / X