Capetonians came out in large numbers to show the spirit of ubuntu for victims affected by the devastating floods in Kwazulu-Natal by donating 5 l– bottles of water to the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).
Late last month humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers partnered with the CTICC and logistics company Titan Cargo for a KZN water relief campaign where the public could drop sealed bottled water which was delivered to the province.
The water drive took place from Friday 22 April to Saturday 30 April daily from 08:00 to 17:00.
The unprecedented floods which occurred late in April has claimed more than 400 lives and left a trail of devastation in its wake.
On Wednesday 27 April an interfaith prayer service was held at the CTICC in remembrance of those affected by the floods and to bless the water. Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Khoi were among those represented.
The CTICC provided 5 000 m² of its new facility as a collection point for bottled water for KZN flood victims, hospitals, clinics, schools, individuals, and the community at large given the substantial damage to the eThekwini municipal water delivery system.
While Titan Cargo, offered five superlinks trucks to transport the water.
Ali Sablay, Gift of the Givers Project Manager, says the prayer day was to show solidarity with the people of KZN.
“It was about us having unity in the country and standing together showing the people of KZN we are there, and our prayers are with them and for God to give them the contentment and the strength.”
Sablay says the organisation started the campaign as calls of desperation for water provision are increasing every day.
“Hospitals are desperate for water to continue with procedures, cook for patients and ingestion of medicine. The elderly, patients and children are battling.”
He continues: “People are unable to drink water because it is contaminated because of dead bodies lying in the rivers and streams. The filtration systems that clean the water are broken. The minister has said it will take six to seven months just to fix this infrastructure.”
Sablay paints a grim picture of the devastation experienced in KZN.
“People come to the river banks every morning coming to see if their loved ones will at least wash down the streams so that they can get them and get closure. We find families digging with their hands trying to dig into the mud looking for their 5-year-old child. Parents looking for their kids and kids looking for their parents.”
He says some of their members also suffered personal loss of family members.
Sablay says they were heartened by the outpour of love by Capetonians and says more than 800 000 litres of water was collected and transported to KZN.
“A big thank you to Capetonians. Not long ago we faced day zero and it was people from other provinces who kept us going. But now Capetonians have shown their spirit of ubuntu.”
He says the support from people showed that there is still hope for the country.
“A pensioner told us from her pension grant per month she only has R50 left, and she wanted our banking details because she wanted us to use that money to buy water for the people of KZN. There was also a 76-year-old lady who took a bus from Claremont with five litres of water, and she came to the CTICC.”
Eugene Mathews, Stand-up comedian from Kensington says: “My cousin told me about the water donations and asked me to drop off water at the CTICC. She had 40 litres and I added another 10 litres.”
