Durban - The Gift of the Givers said they have been providing relief to residents in the Eastern Cape as water issues in the area intensify.
Director Imtiaz Sooliman said striking municipal workers in multiple districts in the Eastern Cape had “paralysed” water supply to entire regions affecting communities, hospitals, clinics, schools, police stations and businesses.
“The number of calls to Gift of the Givers teams have been escalating since Friday, going through the roof in the past two days, in response to the strike which started two weeks ago.
“Apparently, vandalism has been a large contributor affecting water delivery,” he said.
Sooliman said the organisation had been receiving messages of desperation, pleading for assistance, “with hospital CEOs sobbing, afraid they are going to lose patients”.
Sooliman said hospitals reported that there was no water to perform day-to-day activities and critically-ill patients had to moved to other facilities.
In addition thousands of students at the University of Fort Hare have been suffering dehydration, weakness and diarrhoea.
“The threat of a major infective crisis within the entire student population and surrounds is very real. Schools, police stations, businesses and large scale communities are equally in crisis, no entity can function in the absence of life saving water,” he said.
Gift of the Givers teams led by Muhammed Gangat have been worked off their feet delivering water from the early hours of the morning.
Sooliman said two water tankers recently donated to the charity by Redefine Properties in Cape Town will make their way to the Eastern Cape.
Bottled water, hospital linen and other supplies will be dispatched by their teams.
IOL