‘This isn’t new. Every year, we have to sweep water, mud, and dirt out of our shacks,’ said residents of Lwandle and Nomzamo informal settlements in Strand, Western Cape.
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Over the weekend, extreme weather left hundreds unable to sleep in their wet homes. Many questioned why they voted for a better future when their shacks still couldn’t withstand heavy rain and wind.
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According to News24, on Monday, over 300 residents stood in long, cold, wet queues waiting for Gift of the Givers to provide warm food, blankets and toiletries. Cynthia Choko, a Lwandle resident, described their life as a ‘sad and desperate plea for help,’ with ‘very little’ aid from the local government.
‘I haven’t eaten since Saturday night. My food got wet, and the loaves of bread I bought for my children were floating in puddles outside my house. How do I tell my children we have no food when I had just bought groceries, and now they’re ruined by the water filling my shack?’ said Choko.
Siyabonga Diko shared that the rain started around 1am on Sunday, and he couldn’t sleep because of the ‘dirty mud water’ flooding his one-bedroom home.
‘I woke up to find water everywhere. When I opened the door, even more water flooded in. Many of my belongings were damaged, including my wardrobe. My wife has chest problems, and Sunday was especially difficult for her. I had to bring a coal stove into the house. We’re in a horrible situation, all of us here,’ he said.
Diko hoped the local government would relocate those in informal structures to safer areas for the rainy season.
‘Someone is going to die from this situation because it is not healthy,’ he warned.
Nonkoliseko Tonga said her situation worsened since the extreme weather hit.
‘I have no boots, so I can’t really walk outside my house. The water is coming down the road and flowing into my house with all the dirt,’ she said. Tonga, who has two children aged 6 and 17, explained that their mattresses got soaked.
‘I’m worried about my kids; they shouldn’t suffer like this. Their books and uniforms are damaged, and there’s no clean water to wash their clothes or ourselves,’ she said.
Esethu Shukuma, who has a 1-month-old daughter, had to leave her child with a neighbour to clean up the mess caused by the weather.
‘This situation is not good. I don’t know how to describe my feelings; it’s cold. I’m scared my daughter will get sick, and I’m not working right now, so I can’t afford her to get sick,’ she said.
Residents Gloria Makijima and Godfrey Malingo in Nomzamo expressed regret over voting in the general elections.
‘Look at how we must suffer again. All we asked for was decent housing, but again, we’re left with dirty, muddy water flowing into our shacks. What was the point of voting?’ asked Malingo.
Gift of the Givers project manager Ali Sablay said the conditions in parts of the city were not fit for human life.
‘Children are shivering from the cold; the weather has really damaged a lot of people’s homes in informal settlements, and we are trying to assist as best as we can,’ he said.
The organisation provided aid to over 15 000 people over the weekend. Founder Imtiaz Sooliman stated they were on standby from Friday after weather warnings were issued, with impacts felt early Friday morning as gale force winds hit Ward 99 in Khayelitsha, damaging 1 000 informal homes and displacing 4 000 residents in icy, pouring rain.
The SA Weather Service expects another cold front to make landfall on Tuesday, with 10 to 20mm of rain over the western parts of the province and 40 to 60mm over the southwestern mountains.
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Picture: Jaco Marais / Gallo Images