Actress Nomzamo Mbatha is heartbroken by the devastation caused in KwaZulu Natal by the recent floods.
On her way to her hometown, KwaMashu township, a few days ago, the “Coming2America” actress stopped at a road she used regularly to visit her mother’s home.
It now stands as a pile of rubble with remnants of washed away homes, still missing family members.
Mbatha took to Instagram to relay the story of the floods in that area, as well as share pictures of the wreckage.
“It is the most vulnerable and most marginalised that pay the highest price. A road that I use when driving to my mother’s house… that is also a bridge and ‘had’ homes on either side… what I am standing on is the debris of what was once those homes.
“Under the rubble and rocks, missing families… the small structure you see in the far right corner is what used to be someone’s veranda/porch…
“I climbed on to it, found couches overturned, it must have been the living room… a school book with a name on it, Okuhle… she was in Grade 5,” wrote Mbatha.
She continued: “You ask what is needed … Boots, so we can go through the rubble and look for the lost bodies.
“Mattresses and blankets because all the displaced sleep in the community halls and others in neighbouring homes, body cosmetics… WATER… we have been without water for 22 days now and local swimming pools have asked that people come get with buckets.”
The international actress also wrote about her childhood days, where she and her granny would stay up on rainy nights pushing out knee-deep water from their home.
"My grandmother and I would sit and wait for the storm to pass while water would be up to our knees.
“When the rain would finally stop, I would begin with pushing the water out with buckets, then with a broom, then with towels and blankets, then finally with a mop. I had a system.
“There is no system when the rain is covering the roof of a home and sandpits slide and bury the entire inside. I keep thinking of the helplessness of people realising what was happening and having no chance to even run. Families wiped out. 💔.”
She ended her post saying her emotions were high after witnessing destruction.
“As we drive out, I’m reminded of that feeling you have on the day of the funeral of a loved one and when the congregation leaves the cemetery after laying them to rest… that drive back… that feeling sat in the deepest part of my soul on Sunday,” she wrote.
The star is known for her humanitarian work around the globe, and will be assisting the flood-affected community through organisations like the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and clothing store, Cotton On.