Action SA East London and local NGO Love In Action handed over much-needed donations of clothing to the Mzamomhle shack fire victims on November 16.
The families’ shacks and belongings were destroyed in a fire that swept through the area on November 6.
Love in Action, a non-governmental organisation in the Gonubie area, has been providing shack fire victims with assistance for the last five years through its charity shop.
Shop manager Brenda Mashiqa said due to the increasing number of shack fires, the NGO had developed a system to provide speedy help for victims.
In collaboration with the Buffalo City National Disaster Management Authority and SASSA, Love in Action compiles a database of affected families and issues them with a card.
The card entitles families to receive donations of clothing and other items once they have rebuilt their homes and have a safe space for these goods.
Mashiqa said this allowed families to recover at their own pace.
Michele Kay, from Action SA, said: “As families start re-establishing themselves and as we approach the December season, there will be a need for school provisions for next year, most importantly school shoes and stationary.
“If there are people looking to get involved, please consider bringing items for school learners to the Love in Action charity shop.” Kay said there was a need to support families affected by shack fires because the municipality did not provide much assistance to people living in informal settlements.
“To rebuild their homes people are forced to borrow money from loan sharks and that entrenches the poverty in the household more. The municipality is looking at ways to accommodate them temporarily but the concern is the accommodation options will be further away and people are living in Mzamomhle to be closer to economic opportunities,” she said.
“If there was closer guidance from the municipality during the rebuilding process, then we could look at ways of situating shacks in rows so that along the rows, cables for electricity could be fitted. We can formalise services at informal settlements and this will minimise the risk of shack fires.
“Living in an informal settlement does not mean you are not entitled to basic services.”
Kay said to mitigate shack fires, communities at risk could appoint fire marshals and run fire safety and prevention awareness campaigns.
Access to water was also important in these communities, she said.
Mzamomhle Action SA community leader, Alakhe May, said many shack fire victims, especially the elderly and disabled, were living on the streets because they could not afford to rebuild their homes.
Action SA BCM regional chairperson, Tshemese Siphiwo, said: “I tried to call the MEC to find out what we can do for women and children who will be vulnerable to gender-based violence in temporary shelters and community halls but my attempts to contact her did not amount to much.
“I would have expected that by now a ministerial task team would have been established to co-ordinate the necessary support for these shack fire victims as we need the department of education to work with social development and disaster management among other departments to provide sufficient support as we have learners writing exams whose studying has been disrupted because of the fires.”
