WATCH: Durban Primary School appeals for help to fix storm damage
Principal, Shaylene Miller said there was extensive damage to the property, however her priority was to fix the pool.
THE principal of Durban Primary School, Shaylene Miller, is appealing to the community for any assistance to help rebuild parts of the school following the storm and flooding on 10 October.
Miller said there was extensive damage to the property, however her priority was to fix the pool, which filled with mud after the boundary walls collapsed as a result of blocked storm water drains in the road above.
ALSO READ: Durban faces R300m storm damage
“I really want to get the pool up and running. The children don’t have access to one otherwise. The guys have done a fantastic job cleaning it out, but it is still going to take a while,” she said.
Resident, Ian Tait, appealed on social media for assistance from individuals and businesses in the community to help and received many responses of people willing to get involved.
In his post, Ian said: “So my plea is if there is anyone in a position that could assist with a Bobcat or any other construction machinery, that can help speed up this manual process of spit and elbow grease please let me know. Also if they would like to assist with other repairs this would also be greatly appreciated. A nice little CSR project.”
Miller said the municipality had visited the school last week to assess damage, and had undertaken to fix the stormwater issues in the road, however this didn’t solve the problem of fixing the wall, which had collapsed three places, or any other areas where water gained access and gushed through the school.
“I am worried that there is a breach of security now and we are at risk,” she said.
Deputy head principal Jeff Veerasamy said the water had rushed through like a river, undermining stairways and filling the walkway with mud.
ALSO READ: Clean-up operations continue in wake of storm damage
“The children couldn’t get across the water and had to be helped by staff. We had to close the school for a day, but luckily there were no injuries,” he said.
Miller said the Department of Education had responded to their plight by saying there were no funds available to assist with repairing the damages at the school.
“The Department has been non-committal and said they could help with the plumbing only. I had a visit from the insurance assessor, but have been told they will only cover damage to building structures. We were just at a point where we could move forward, paint the verandas and spruce up the school, and now we have this set-back. We are prepared to do as much as we can, but need help to get the mud out and fix up the grounds and wall. It’s a sad story but hopefully some good deed might come out of it,” she said.
If anyone is willing to assist, contact Shaylene Miller at 031 2051077 or info@durbanprimary.co.za.
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