Urgent help needed for flood victims

LOCAL organisations, The Gift of the Givers and CityHope Disaster Relief, are appealing to anyone who can assist thousands of people who have been left homeless in Gaza and Malawi.

This plea comes after terrible weather hit these two countries. The icy cold weather in Gaza has left four people dead, including three children.

Two boys burnt to death – many families are resorting to lighting fires and candles to keep warm and for light.

Hundreds of residents have already been forced to leave their homes due to flooding.

In Malawi 48 people have been declared dead due to the floods, and over 70 000 people stranded without food or shelter.

Hundreds of hectares of farm land has been washed away. Houses, schools and clinics have been submerged and others destroyed. The Gift of the Givers Foundation is the largest disaster relief organisation of African origin on the African continent, and is responding to both these crises.

CityHope Disaster Relief has also stepped up to the plate with a lightning-fast response. This organisation operates in close conjunction with several South African churches, among them CityHill Church in Hillcrest, and has dispatched 10 tons of aid. The bulk of this is in the form of nutrition-dense Futurelife cereal, and is being transported by road by City Couriers, with Afrigistics handling the logistics.

This is just the first step: costs are prohibitive – around R1-million just for this load – and CityHope is appealing to both individuals and corporate organisations for financial or material aid. The latter can include water, blankets, non-perishable food and similar. To assist visit www.cityhope.co.za or email admin@cityhope.co.za.

Blankets, warm clothing, food, heating apparatuses and building material are priorities for Gaza. People who want to contribute can deposit their money into The Gift of the Givers account, Standard Bank, Pietermaritzburg (branch code 057 525), account number 052 278 611.

For Malawi the priority is food, blankets, plastic sheeting and cooking utensils. Deposit into The Gift of the Givers account, Standard Bank, Pietermaritzburg (branch code 057 525), account number 052 137 228.

Rescue South Africa has also come to the party: on Wednesday, 21 January they will be sending a team of approximately 30 emergency personnel to Malawi to assist in rescue operations. The team will be made up of swift water rescue technicians, doctors, paramedics and media, communications and logistics specialists.

The team will be flying with South African Airlines, which will transport the team as well as the rescue equipment. Rescue South Africa is also appealing for funds to cover the R650 000 needed to fund this rescue mission. To assist visit www.rescue-sa.co.za.