Nest Park grateful for assistance after tornado
Residents of Nest Park, in Bapsfontein, expressed their gratitude for all the help they received after the community was hit by a tornado, in July.
Within several minutes, more than 15 houses were ripped up by the wind, uprooting trees and moving entire roofs.
Thirty-eight plots in Nest Park were affected by the weather phenomenon.
Jill Watson, one of the volunteers who helped those worst hit, said: “We are humbled and overwhelmed by the incredible response we received to our cry for help.”
“Those without insurance are still battling, but most houses are being rebuilt.
“In total, over the first month, we fed and clothed 322 people, 84 of whom were children.”
The Benoni Lakes Lions Club co-ordinated several clubs to help Nest Park and received over R143 000 from the Lions Clubs International Foundation, based in the USA.
The foundation, which supports Lions clubs by providing grant funding for local and global humanitarian efforts, gave the Benoni Lakes Lions Club an emergency grant to support Nest Park.
The money was used to buy clothing, food, toiletries, cleaning materials, first aid kits, medicine and more.
Additionally, the Lions District 410B contributed R20 000, while the Benoni Host, Benoni Van Rhyn, Boksburg, Roodepoort Wilro Park, Henley-on-Klip, Port Shepstone, Standerton, Benoni Lakes and Manzini (Swaziland) Lions clubs contributed R45 000 worth of materials to helping in the area, including fencing, blankets, building material and roof sheeting.
According to Watson, Ekurhuleni Disaster Management was always on call to assist the community and donated 50 blankets, 20 parcels of food and 20 bags of fresh vegetables, as well as eight sheds.
“The community patrollers from Sector Three immediately responded, clearing roads, freeing trapped people and assisting in salvaging pets and possessions,” she said.
Watson added that the senior knitting club from Rynpark, a local temple, Cornucopia Outreach, Calling all Angels Outreach, Connexions Church, the Kempton Park and Springs SPCAs, Welbekend Helping Hands and Mon Ami aided the community.
A large number of local businesses and individuals, including residents of Nest Park, showed their support by donating in several ways.
These included giving food, bedding, furniture, building material and other hardware, fencing, packing, sorting and delivery, administration, clothing, animal food and blankets, manual labour, vehicles for transport and the removal of rubble and trees, stationery, kids’ books, crayons and more.
“The area’s teenagers also came together and formed a group to assist the victims,” Watson said.
Grant de Gouveia, whose house was one of the last in Nest Park to be caught in the storm’s path, was very grateful.
“The donations went a long way for us,” he said.
In the storm’s immediate aftermath, Pauline Parker’s property was strewn with uprooted trees, most of which have now been removed.
She said it was a humbling experience to see how the community rallied and helped each other out.
Watson concluded with: “No words can ever be enough to truly express how much your donations have meant to this community.
“Once again, from the bottom of all our hearts, thank you.”
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