Gift of the Givers, a humanitarian relief agency, is assisting more than 15 000 people after severe weather hit the Western Cape over the weekend.
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Imtiaz Sooliman, the founder of Gift of the Givers, stated that the charity was put on alert on Friday after the province received weather warnings.
‘The impact has already been felt from the early hours of Friday morning as Ward 99 in Khayelitsha was ‘taken out’ by excessive gale force winds, simultaneously causing mayhem in six informal settlements, damaging 1 000 informal homes and displacing 4 000 residents in icy cold and pouring rain,’ said Sooliman.
He said that the weekend’s weather was ‘only the beginning of several cold fronts expected over a five-day period’.
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‘Gift of the Givers teams have hit the ground hard, working round the clock, are totally soaked, as they respond to calls of desperation from Nomzamo, Lwandle, Mangaung, Kanana, Barcelona and New Rest in Gugulethu, Mfuleni, Mbekweni, Kosovo Philippi, Island, Phola Park, Klipfontein, Marikana, Kusisikhona, Winnie Madikizela, Siyangenya, Sir Lowry’s Pass Village and Tafelsig,’ he said.
Eskom reported line problems in Tulbagh, Rawsonville, and the Hex River Valley in the Boland region, as well as Belhar in the City of Cape Town. The issues have been localised, and teams are working to restore connectivity in all cases.
JP Smith, City of Cape Town Mayco member for safety and security, stated that the City has been ‘doing all it can’ to assist residents affected by the chilly weather.
‘Our multi-disciplinary Disaster Coordinating Team will remain activated until the worst of the weather, and the impacts, have been addressed.
‘These weather episodes take a toll on some of our most vulnerable communities, and the City is fortunate to have numerous NGO partners who are ready to assist at a moment’s notice, with meals, food parcels, blankets, personal hygiene items and baby packs, among others, to help communities in need,’ he said.
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Picture: Gift of the Givers / Facebook
