A LEARNER fainted from dehydration and schools were forced to shut their doors amid the water shortage that hit the Pinetown area during the past week. Wyebank Primary School was severely affected by the water outages as it closed for three days last week and one of its learners fainted from dehydration.
“We had to call parents and arrange transport to take all the children home last Wednesday. No water has been a problem,” said the school’s deputy principal, CK Ntuli.
The school has since taken a proactive approach and will discuss buying more JoJo tanks.
Ntuli said children have been asked to bring 2 litres of water to school each day. The cleaning staff are also using water from its vegetable garden JoJo tank to ensure the bathrooms remain hygienic. Eager learners arrived at Lyndhurst Primary School last Friday only to be sent home shortly after classes began as the school was forced to shut down as there was no water.
“We have JoJo tanks but there has been no rain and there is not enough water in them for the whole school,” said the school’s acting principal, Bruce Whillier.
Principal at New Germany Primary School, Dennis Singh, said on Monday, 23 January, the school had no water.
“Two water tankers visited the school and we asked parents to send extra water for their children at school. Should we need to, we have stored water and have pool water available to use for flushing the toilets,” said Singh.
Tips to deal with dehydration:
“People are urged to remember that heat exhaustion can lead to serious complications. Severe heat exhaustion could lead to heat stroke and that may in turn result in a person losing consciousness, experiencing seizures or going into cardiac arrest,” said Russel Meiring, spokesman for ER24.
1. Stay hydrated.
2. Try to stay out of direct sunlight. If you are outside, seek shade or shelter. Also remember to use sunscreen for extra protection.
3. Wear loose clothing, a wide brimmed hat if outside and sunglasses.
4. If you are in an office or at home, ensure the area around you is well ventilated.
5. Do not let children play outside in direct sunlight. Ensure they are hydrated.
6. Keep an eye on babies and the elderly.
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