Kloof mom finds wedding dress 800m from looted storage unit
"It was a very real reminder that only God can bring beauty from ashes," says Kate Broodryk.
WHILE picking through the remnants of the goods from their storage unit, after it was the target of looters last week, a Kloof mom found her wedding dress littered among the rubble and largely undamaged.
Kate Broodryk (43) has been married to Corne for 21 years.
Her family utilised the storage unit for eight years and, due to financial reasons, they moved into her parent’s home and were slowly renovating the space.
They moved into the house in October last year but, due to space limitations, a lot of their belongings were left in storage, including family heirlooms, sound equipment and sentimental extras that included family photos, her wedding dress, tiara and veil.
“Last Sunday, Corne had gone to the storage facility to fetch our six chairs. That same afternoon we started receiving messages from social media that the storage unit facility was being looted. I didn’t really think too much about what we might have lost or what was in there as I was more focused on praying for the safety and clear mind of Corne, who had gone out patrolling,” said Broodryk.
The family visited the site on Saturday.
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“I could not believe the utter devastation on arriving at the storage facility. We had to wear hard hats and sign in and, within a few minutes my hands, were black from soot. There was glass and broken plastic, cardboard boxes, seemingly thousands of ear buds as well as bits of photos, puzzle pieces, school certificates and children’s games strewn over the floor,” she said.
Their unit was full of glass, empty and torn boxes and crates, a broken kist and some old wooden shelves.
Framed family photos had been crushed under foot and a her framed varsity degree was hidden under the rubble.
“We were told to look around the place as a lot of people found belongings far away from their units,” she said.
“I told Corne I was going to look for my wedding dress. A lot of the rows of units were burnt out, with ash filling the air,” said Broodryk.
About 800m away from their unit, she noticed blackened netting and silky fabric underneath the skeleton of a trailer and a metal door.
“It didn’t look at all like my dress. Once I turned the fabric the right way, I recognised the embroidery as my wedding dress. We carefully unhooked it from some metal and we saw that it was 100% intact, not one tear. It was a very real reminder that only God can bring beauty from ashes,” she said.
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