Thieves leave Umbilo CANSA patients stranded

THE Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) in Umbilo has been left without wheels after its vehicle was stolen last week.

The Association’s Shenaaz Essop said the Toyota Quantum was the lifeline for patients staying at the Mkhuhla CANSA Care Home.

“We have around 27 patients at the home whom we transported in the Quantum to and from hospitals for treatment. We don’t know what we are going to do without it,” she said.

Essop said CANSA did own a smaller vehicle, but it could only carry six passengers at a time.

The vehicle was stolen at around 5am on Sunday, 6 January.

“There were no patients at the home at the time and we had a security guard on duty. On Sunday I received a message from a staff member to say the vehicle had been stolen from the property,” she said.

Essop said the security guard had reported that around 4.40am he heard a lot of noise coming from the St Cyprian’s Church property next door to CANSA and had gone to investigate.

ALSO READ: Criminals take advantage as Umbilo street lights go out

“He found a few youngsters creating a scene and told them to be quiet. When he got back to the building, he noticed the gate had been lifted and the Quantum was gone. We are not sure what happened, but the noise could’ve been a diversion. The theft was reported to Umbilo SAPS however no one has contacted us since,” she said.

Essop said the vehicle was insured, however what the Association would get back from insurance would not cover the cost of a new vehicle. She said the vehicle had been donated to the Association by Al Baraka Bank and they had been contacted and had said they would get back to the Association if they could help.

“We need a reliable vehicle to transport our patients. The Quantum had a tracker and an alarm. As far as we were concerned we had ourselves covered and did everything to safeguard the vehicle, but unfortunately we now find ourselves in this position. I don’t know how we are going to manage. It is really sad. The vehicle was covered in CANSA branding, but was still taken,” she said.

The Association is trying to raise funds to cover the shortfall and is appealing to the community to help with funds or with sponsorship for security.

“It is very expensive and we need help. We will accept any donation, no matter how small,” she said.

If you can help, contact Shenaaz on 031 205 9525.

Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.

You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts