Durban - As residents of Tongaat, north of Durban, continue to face the after effects of flooding, the KwaZulu-Natal International Business Association (Kiba) has been providing relief for the community in need.
One of the areas supported under the Kiba initiative is the Plane Street low-cost housing scheme in Tongaat. After residents were hit twice by the recent floods, Kiba undertook to assist the community.
Fawzia Peer, former deputy mayor of eThekwini Municipality as well as chairperson of the sub-committee, and president of Kiba, Omie Singh, together with other members conducted an initial site visit to ascertain the community’s needs.
Two sub-committee meetings were held and items that were requested by the residents were both donated by sponsors and purchased by members.
Over the weekend members of the sub-committee worked into the evening to pack the hampers for the community. On Sunday the much-needed storage boxes, household and cleaning items were presented to the residents.
Singh said the organisation hoped to assist the community in getting back on their feet.
“The community members have faced many challenges since the floods, including water shortages. While they have gratefully received food, they also needed household detergents and other necessities. You can do a lot, but it won’t be enough when it comes to relief.
“People in Tongaat really need help, and we might not be able to resolve all their issues, but we can try. When we realised how severely hit the community was we had to help. They are in a very vulnerable situation,” said Singh.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE