Water donations are pouring in to help drought-stricken ducks and geese at the dam in East Village, Sunward Park, following an appeal on social media.
“East Village has a park area with a dam where ducks, geese and swans live. The dam is not very deep, but in normal rain fall times holds enough water for the animals through the winter months,” said Danie Marx, director of the East Village Residents’ Association.
“All eyes are on the first summer rains but nothing has happened thus far. To assist the animals we put small baths in the dam and filled them with water as an interim measure.
“Since the plight of the animals has been highlighted, it has sparked huge effort from lots of people assisting with water.
“From East Village we would like to express our sincere thanks and acknowledge all who helped with this initiative.”
In an attempt to help these animals, Uniprop Boksburg started the initiative of collecting water from the community to fill the dam. Since their appeal on October 21, approximately 60 000 litres of water was donated to fill up the dam.
It is, however, not nearly enough to fill the dam. Donations were made among others by Paintworx, Costa Farms, Makopano, Graphite Security and South African Water Warriors, along with members of the public.
Organisers Rozelle van Schoor and Biance Smuts said that they are grateful and overwhelmed about the generosity of the community.
“We did not expect this immense response and thought that we’re going to have a hard time convincing the public to contribute. However, miracles do happen and it is amazing to see how the community stands together for the animals,” said Rozelle.
“I was shocked to see that the dam was so empty and my heart went out to the animals as I know they need water to survive. Something had to be done. The heat is getting worse and we can’t bear to lose any animals due to a lack of water.
“Thank you also to the community at East Village for their caring nature.
“These animals are counting on the community for water. This is why Uniprop initiated this project to help the animals.”
She added that they’re still accepting donations and that the drop-off point for water bottles will be at Uniprop Real Estate at 44 Van Wyk Louw Street, Parkrand Piazza.
For more information or to make arrangements, contact Bianca on 072 769 6502 or Rozelle on 082 365 3533.
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