Firefighters’ social club assists displaced flood victims

SIYAKHULA Social Club, founded by members of the Western Region of the eThekwini Fire Department, has pooled their annual funds to provide essentials for people displaced by the KZN floods.

With 30 active members from stations such as Durban Central, Gillitts, Hammarsdale, Jacobs, Mariannridge and Pinetown, the club was formed to offer a support system and encouragement to firefighters.

What is the mission?

Mkhululi Mthethwa, a controller at Pinetown Central Fire Station, says that he and his colleagues worked during the KZN floods. “Everyone saw the devastation first-hand and were heartbroken by what they experienced. At our next meeting, it was unanimously decided to direct our bi-annual charity contributions to disaster relief,” he said.

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The social club corresponded with Disaster Management to see where they could best fill the gap. The members chose to focus on personal care items, towels, cleaning products, bulk food supplies and cooking utensils. The temporary shelters are being used by a great number of people, and the importance of cleanliness to prevent sickness and disease cannot be overstated.

The controller says, “We are trying our best because we come from these communities – most of our colleagues grew up in the areas that were hardest hit by the floods, and that’s where most of our families live. There are people who lost everything, and that just got to us.”

Where will displaced people go?

Mthethwa says that the displaced people in temporary shelters might not be able to rebuild their homes in the previous locations as some places have experienced major geographical damage and may no longer be suitable for housing.

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“Those who don’t have assistance from relatives or friends will be staying in temporary shelters for a while as they really don’t have anywhere to go. Numbers have decreased from the database we had initially, but there is still that portion of people who are destitute following the floods. We would like to assist them for as long as we can.”

The Siyakhula Social Club delivered donations to several areas recently that were seriously affected by April’s floods.

He says, “The infrastructure in the area is not formalised, so no proper town planning was done, and hence, a massive loss of lives and property resulted from multiple landslides.”

How it started

The club started out of a need to support each other. One of the firefighters suffered a bereavement and his ‘brothers and sisters’ decided to step in to help financially.

“We said, ‘This is a brother of ours’. That’s when the idea came about to contribute a small monthly sum, which will add up over time. We try to support each other and to come through for one of our own as much as we do for the community we serve. That’s how the club began, and it’s been growing ever since,” says Mthethwa.

The firefighters from the various stations meet once or twice a year for a social event where they can ‘relax a bit and unwind’.

Mthethwa says that when colleagues meet in person and encourage each other, it allows them to re-enter their workplace rejuvenated and ready to help again.

“Whether you are a member or not, when those hard times come through, we will support you. During Covid, when people were losing relatives, we made sure that we were there as a club. Even if you are not a member, you are still our brother-in-arms,” says Mthethwa.

What can you do?

The firefighters would like to see other community members starting similar initiatives.

“Let’s remember who we are as a people and as a community. Let’s bring back that spirit of Ubuntu. We are all one race, and we just need to take care of each other whichever way we can,” says Mthethwa.

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