South Africa bands together to help victims of inferno

As Knysna was officially declared a disaster area at a special council meeting yesterday afternoon, help for the stricken town and its surrounds was pouring in from around the country.

At a major distribution centre, the basement of the Knysna municipality’s technical services building, volunteers and municipal employees were sorting through mountains of clothing, food, blankets and the like for residents in need.

But, yesterday afternoon, a municipal employee there said mattresses, blankets, clothing, nonperishable food, utensils and water were still in short supply. Among the many around the country who contributed supplies was Caxton Local Media.

Digital editor of Caxton Local Media Chris Louw is coordinating the drive to ensure the collections, logistics and transport are streamlined. Louw said about 20 Caxton Local Media branches were participating.

“We are very connected to all the communities we serve around South Africa. After seeing the immense need for basics in Knysna, and after a few of our branches got involved in donations, we decided to roll this out across the whole group,” said Louw.

He said their drive began on Wednesday and they had used their social media and online articles, as well as speaking to a few radio stations, to appeal to readers to donate.

“The response has far exceeded our expectations. We’ve run out of space in many of our offices and are trying our best to take on as much as we can.”

By Friday afternoon, Louw said, they had collected more than 30 tons of relief items.

“We will be transporting some of the goods via our own newspaper distribution trucks. We have also partnered with many third party courier companies, as well as SAA Express Cargo and Mango Cargo.