The people of Tongaat in KwaZulu-Natal will now have access to clean running water following the intervention of humanitarian organisation, Gift of the Givers.
They have been without water since the floods in April. A huge water purification plant in Tongaat was destroyed. Gift of the Givers has so far drilled 17 boreholes in various parts of the town.
Shamin Naidoo lives in Tongaat with her three children and her 80-year-old mother. She and her family have been without adequate water for two months…
“We are a family of three. We have a 80 year-old mom, we try to consume as little as possible so that we can supply water equitably to other families. Among the three of us, we probably consume about 150 litres of water among the three of us.”
Naidoo and other residents of Tongaat have hope that their water woes would soon be over as Gift of the Givers is on site in various parts of Tongaat drilling boreholes.
Five of the 17 boreholes have been completed and are being used by the community. A representative from the Gift of the Givers Alfred Mahlambi says they are happy with the progress so far.
“So far we have drilled about 17 boreholes inside the schools and the Temple and we have put the pump outside the yard of the schools so that the community can come and get the water even after school. Everyone can come and get the water where we’ve drilled the borehole.”
Local residents have welcomed the intervention by Gift of the Givers.
“22 thousand litres of water which is available at any particular time and the community can access this water 24/7 and we really thankful to Gift of the Givers for giving us water. This is going to assist in terms of especially when it comes to the toilets and it will make our lives in terms of working of the toilets,” says one resident.
“It was difficult but now things are quite alright and we are lucky that we have some water tanks coming, thanks,” says another resident.
Chairperson of the Tongaat Civil Association Don Peruman applauded the temporary intervention by NGOs. Peruman says the challenge now rests with the municipality and Umgeni Water to ensure the resumption of water supply to all residents in Tongaat.
“We thank all the NGOs and human aid has been coming in and there are tanks popping all over Tongaat. The boreholes help us with drinkable water. But overall, we still in in distress and we need the municipality as well as Umgeni Water to come down together and get some sort of a solution and we have been told that we can get water on tap.”
