UPDATE: Pinetown vendors given hope after devastating fire
Hundreds of vendors were left with no stock after all their merchandise was burnt to ashes.
THANDAZILE Mdakane, who has been supporting her family by trading in the Pinetown streets for many years, is one of the hundreds of vendors who lost all their stock in a fire behind the Pinetown taxi rank last week.
The fire destroyed two huge storage units in which Mdakane used to keep the goods she sells. Fruit, vegetables, food, clothes and gas cylinders were among the many things destroyed by the fire.
On Friday, the vendors were called to the Pinetown Civic Centre where a truck from City Hope Disaster Relief filled with clothing, toiletries and food parked outside the hall.
ALSO READ: Video: Fire raged at Pinetown taxi rank – Anderson Road interchange closed
The items were organised by Ward 18 councillor, Melanie Brauteseth with Jenni Black who is in charge of entrepreneurship and small businesses in Ward 18.
The 54-year-old Mdakane from Clermont, who takes medication for her high blood pressure, had to be rushed to the clinic after seeing the storage units on fire and everything destroyed.
Mdakane left her job in 1992 to sell fruit and sweets in Pinetown.
“I was working at a firm in New Germany and would put up a table on weekends. I saw that the money that I was making here was better than my weekday job. As years went by I stopped selling fruit and stocked towels, cosmetics and cleaning detergents.”
Through her work as a vendor, Mdakane has tried to make ends meet as her first born child is in his fourth year studying law while her last born child is in matric. “We may not make much here but this is our livelihood, we need to support our families. This money helped me secure a space at the university for my first born before getting financial support from NSFAS,” said Mdakane.
“I am a sick woman now and have recently hired someone to work in my job, whom I now have to pay and I depend on grant money.”
A woman in charge of one of the storerooms, Mamthembu Hlophe, said the incident will stay in her mind for a long time, “seeing people’s goods going up in flames was very painful.
“I live in Zwelibomvu, near Mariannhill. I received a call at about 2am from one of the men who keep guard. I could not believe my ears when he told me that the storage was engulfed with flames, I woke up my brother and nephew and went to check.
“When we got there, there were police and firefighters all over the place. That fire destroyed everything and the pain I felt was unbearable, the misery in people’s eyes, the crying and knowing that I cannot undo what happened was hard. People pay rent, buy food, pay for their children’s education with the money they get here,” said Mamthembu.
She said the help from City Hope Disaster Relief and Brauteseth has come as a huge sense of relief, “now I can sleep peacefully. ”
Councillor Brauteseth said it was unfortunate that so many vendors were left with nothing after the fire. “This is their daily lives and they depend on their goods to earn a living which is not enough. It will take them time to get back on their feet.
“We approached individuals and businesses to try and help and City Hope Disaster Relief came on board and many other individuals. I am overwhelmed with the response. This is a start and will be an ongoing initiative for the next few weeks. The items that they have received today they can sell so that they can get some money to buy new stock. We will keep the information of the the vendors who did not receive anything today, so that they can also get assistance,” she said.
People who wish to assist can contact Brauteseth on 073 257 8574.
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