Cape Town - An urgent plea for assistance has been made by activists working with residents of Flamingo Heights – a small informal settlement in Lansdowne – as unhealthy conditions in the area have caused a health scare for children.
Community leader Estelle Petersen said children in the informal settlement continued to live and play in polluted grey water around homes and shacks and from overflowing drains. She said this resulted in them suffering from illness, skin conditions and runny noses.
“I’m concerned about the water quality and the constantly overflowing drains. When the drains are blocked, everything becomes a mess. Even the rubble outside, and full refuse bags remain outside and are not collected.
“The refuse bags also lie scattered across the streets, leading to mice and rodents infesting the environment, and becoming a health risk to children.
“I was working at an childhood development centre and I could see that we really need someone to, among others, clean out the drains at least twice a week; and fix the taps to ensure that we have clean water. We need to get Flamingo Heights to be a clean and healthy place for children,” she said.
Founder of a community outreach organisation, IndiPam, Pamela Tosh said the ongoing health warnings about the toxic environment in this small informal settlement have been reported in the past two years, but have gone unnoticed.
“And as a mother, I can see the general concerns and the general hospitalisation and health assessments that need to be done for the children and adults in this community. The problem is the health crisis is related to the environment.
“And the environment is a direct physical manifestation of what is happening with the adults in the community and the lack of interest by community leaders due to the sale of alcohol and drugs.
And until the community takes responsibility to elect new leaders, as I said last year, we will not see an improvement in the environment.
“Also, I have an understanding that there isn’t sufficient maintenance, which means we need to do more workshops and skills development with the community,” she said.
Tosh said there was a need for a health and safety inspector to thoroughly assess the place.
Activist Joanie Fredericks who has supported the call, called on the authorities to send medical assistance to the informal settlement immediately.
Ward councillor Mark Kleinschmidt said he escalates these issues to the Water and Sanitation Directorate, however, the blocked sewer was caused by residents disposing of inappropriate articles in their domestic toilets, causing the incessant blocked sewer drains.
“Both residents and so-called concerned persons must report the incidents of blocked sewers and other service requests.
“The City of Cape Town Social services directorate conducts many hygiene and clean-living programs at Flamingo Heights Informal Settlement Lansdowne,” he said.