WATCH: Displaced Masiphumelele fire victims rebuild

Masiphumelele residents salvage what they can after Sunday’s fire. Donations have been sent to support them. Picture: Sisonke Mlamla/Cape Argus

Masiphumelele residents salvage what they can after Sunday’s fire. Donations have been sent to support them. Picture: Sisonke Mlamla/Cape Argus

Published Aug 1, 2019

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Cape Town - Fire victims in Masiphumelele are picking up the pieces and rebuilding their homes after a devastating

fire ripped through the informal

settlement.

Mayor Dan Plato paid tribute to the victims of the fire that left Mathemba Sikithi dead and hundreds homeless.

Delivering his speech during a full sitting of the City council, Plato said: “I’d like to start today with a moment of silence out of respect for the victims of the Masiphumelele fire that has left at least one person dead and hundreds homeless”.

Four people were injured, more than 200 shacks destroyed and 1200 people left without a roof over their heads when a fire engulfed their homes on Sunday.

On Wednesday, residents were still salvaging and picking up building materials and collecting some of the donations.

Gift of the Givers on Wednesday distributed blankets, mattresses, sanitary pads and diapers to the fire victims.

Gift of the Givers project manager Ali Sablay said that donations have been sent to support them. Video: Sisonke Mlamla/Cape Argus

Project manager Ali Sablay said the residents were left destitute after the fire with many since finding refuge in the Methodist Church and the community centre.

Sablay said they were earlier accompanied by the national government’s Deputy Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Pam

Tshwete, to distribute hot meals, bottled water and blankets.

Vuyiswa Yoko, who was sitting outside with her one-month-old baby Athandwa Yoko, said they needed more help to rebuild their lives.

“Many families lost all their belongings and need food and clothes.”

Yoko said their children were struggling to go to school because their uniforms and stationary were lost in the fire.

Living Hope SA chairperson John Thomas said donations had been coming in “fantastically”.

“They’ve been sorted by age, size and gender and 90 bags have already been delivered to victims,” he said.

Masiphumelele residents salvage what they can after Sunday’s fire. Video: Sisonke Mlamla/Cape Argus

Mayco member for Human Settlements Malusi Booi said that during his visit at the Masiphumelele he was overwhelmed by the dedication of various City departments and organisations that had been working tirelessly in the inclement weather to assist more than 1200 residents who had been left displaced.

“We’re working hand in hand with the City’s Solid Waste Department to clear the debris and to prepare the site in order for the families to rebuild their structures,” Booi said.

He said the City’s Human Settlements Directorate would be issuing 256 building kits to registered households.

Booi said the City’s electricity department had made every effort to re-

install the electricity infrastructure.

@SISONKE_MD

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Cape Argus

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