Child Welfare thanks the community

CHILD Welfare Durban and District (CWDD) extended its thanks to well-wishers, volunteers, donors, the media, child welfare and social development departments, and the community of Durban at large for the unstinting assistance over the past two weeks following the fire that tragically gutted the Edith Benson Babies Home (EBBH) on the evening of 20 February.

Speaking to Berea Mail at the site of the burnt out building last week, director of CWDD, Anisha Ramlaul, said she felt they had done ‘pretty well’ since the incident to take care of the children, thanks to the assistance from everyone who heard about the tragedy.

She said the fire started in the roof of the pre-primary section of the building at around 7.30pm, and spread quite quickly through the old building.

“A boy of about four-years-old saw smoke coming from the ceiling and alerted a child and youth care worker. As the staff knew the evacuation process well, all 12 staff on duty plus 55 children aged between three months and six years were evacuated. They saw the smoke but didn’t see the fire. I arrived on scene at about 8.10pm, along with other board members, and found the children all sitting down in the parking area outside William Clark Gardens Home,” she said.

She said the section behind the building and the pre-school which operates from the premises were untouched by the fire.

“One of the carers received first aid for smoke inhalation, but incredibly she was back on night duty and said she was feeling well. I met with the staff and they have had thorough trauma debriefing but are all doing fine,” she said.

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The children have been relocated to four different sites and siblings have been kept together. Anisha said she and the home manager, senior manager and deputy president of the board had visited the sites.

“After midnight following the fire the children were relocated and they looked happy to see familiar faces. Staff from the home have been sent to the sites to help continue their shifts,” she said.

Anisha said collection points for donated items had been set up at the nearby Masjid e Swaliheen Mosque and by the Thursday afternoon following the fire, volunteers had packed boxes to supply items to the children for a week. The sites also received further boxes of supplies the following Friday and Monday.

“Donations have now been moved to William Clark Gardens for the next dispatch and we will do this week by week. We are looking for a 100 square meter warehouse to store donations,” she said.

Anisha said she was waiting on reports on whether the building structure will be kept and restored with a new roof being added, or whether they would have to rebuild from scratch.

Items still needed

Four Defy stoves

Four Defy fridges

Four Defy chest freezers

Auto washing powder

Six five litre cooking pots

Four food trolleys

Three urns

Mosquito repellents

Five foldable trestle tables

Three white boards

Five pin boards

Emergency lights/torches

Five brush cutters

Toilet paper

Juice

Six DVD players

Assorted educational DVDs

Two desks and two office chairs

Four double lockable cupboards

Donations can be dropped off at William Clark Gardens, 23 Garbutt Road, Sherwood, from 8am to 4pm.

For financial contributions, banking details are: Child Welfare Durban and District, Standard Bank, Business Current Account, Branch: Windermere, Branch code: 042726, Branch code (electronic payments): 051001, Account number: 251139042.

Cash donors should email their deposit slips to info@cwdd.org.za with their contact details in order for their donation to be acknowledged.

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