Durban – KwaZulu-Natal MEC of Social Development Nonhlanhla Khoza said the protection of women and children housed in temporary shelters was everyone’s responsibility.
Khoza said that women and children housed in shelters as a result of the devastating floods of April 2022 should feel safer with men also taken care of in the same shelters.
As a result of last weekend’s rains and flooding, 190 people were moved from Tehuis to Wema Hall.
At the start of the month, Premier Sihle Zikalala said that as they focused on the construction of temporary residential units, their focus was to accommodate more than 4 396 families that were accommodated in halls, churches and schools. A total of 6 814 people were homeless as a result of the disaster.
While speaking during a visit to flood victims housed at Shekinah Ministries, Tshelimnyama, outside Pinetown, west of Durban, Khoza said it was imperative to show much support and love to the affected families.
Khoza said the government was working very hard to ensure that people’s lives were being normalised following the catastrophic floods that hit many parts of the province.
“We are not pleased that our communities are still housed in these temporary shelters. Equally, we are grateful that churches donated their space while communities also allowed halls to be used to provide shelters to the affected people. We can assure our communities that the government is working around the clock to help flood victims rebuild their lives,” Khoza said.
The MEC said people should not lose hope as their government would never forsake them.
She added that the government had set targets to ensure that people were quickly moved to the safe structures.
Khoza also donated dignity packs to the victims to ensure their hygiene.
She also handed over food vouchers to 53 families of Molweni, whose houses were demolished by the floods.
“One food voucher costs R1 350 and we want to see parents purchase food for their children. We came to Dawede Primary School because most children in this school are from affected families. Therefore, it is imperative that they have something to eat when coming to school,” Khoza said.
Class and ablution facilities from the school were destroyed by the floods.
Khoza said she was pleased that donations for flood victims had reached their rightful owners.
“We have been working together with different sectors to ensure that we meet the demands of affected people across areas hit by the floods. We appeal for patience from our communities as the government can't promise something and fail to deliver,” Khoza said.
She said people should not be wary of misleading information from people who want to use their plight to score cheap political points.
“During this time, we need to be more united as communities to help those in need. As the Department of Social Development, we also have social workers assigned to do trauma debriefing and trauma containment to all victims in shelters,” Khoza said.
Daily News