WATCH: Gift of the Givers donates water to drought-stricken Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality

Durban - The Gift of the Givers has once again rallied to support a needy South African community.

This time, staffers loaded emergency bottled water from the Cape Town warehouse to be distributed to drought-stricken communities in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro. The water relief aid will be delivered by Titan Cargo to old age homes, hospitals, schools and areas in need.

"There is a huge crisis where they are facing Day 0. Our teams are on the ground, drilling boreholes. We can provide the metropole with water," the organisation’s Ali Sablay said.

Thus far, teams have begun drilling boreholes at the Malabar Primary School, Walmer Junior Primary School and John Masiza Primary School – all in Gqeberha.

The organisation is also working with the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber to charter a way to save available water and augment water from alternative sources.

"The situation is very dire. Many areas don't have water at all. In one case, two wards didn't have water for two months. Hospitals are now talking about seven to 14 days with no water," said founder, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman.

A Disaster Risk Management (DRM) team from the City of Cape Town is on standby should their services be required. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said he wrote to the metro's mayor, Eugené Johnson, offering Cape Town’s technical advice, assistance, and disaster management support.

The metro is currently experiencing one of the worst droughts, and the municipality has said it cannot meet the demand, which is causing various shortages in areas.

IOL