DURING the riots in July, Ridgway was prompted to start the group called Rebuild KZN, with the aim of sharing positive stories.
Ridgway, who is also the founder of Kitty Care Durban, said she grew up caring about animals and humanity.
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“My family is big on helping others,” she said.
“At the time, there was so much negativity about South Africa and Durban on social media and the news that it became depressing for me. I started the group, and people joined and shared their positive stories,” she said.
The page’s followers grew to 21 000 within two days, and it was then that Ridgway realised there were many people, like her, wanting to know what was good out there.
“Covid-19 also had a huge impact on numerous people who lost families and incomes. It was a difficult time for all. The destruction caused by the looting had us depressed all over again,” she said.
Rebuild KZN became a platform to help each other, where people posted their needs on the group, connecting them with people who could help. It currently has 31 000 followers.
“It showed us that even though things have been broken, we can rebuild if we work together,” she added.
Then, in April, just when things were starting to settle down, the floods happened.
“It was literally the calm before the storm. The group then turned into a platform to help the rescue workers and canines at the Virginia Airport,” said Ridgway.
She said seeing the community come together and the constant flow of donations that came in was heartwarming.
“From adults to children, people were incredible. It was amazing to be there. We were all friends that became family,” she said.
She said what made her teary was that people trusted her and sent in cash donations to assist at the operations centre.
“I was always transparent, and I posted every transaction on the group. Whatever money was left over, I gave to Brenda’s Angels, a non-profit organisation that helps search and rescue dogs,” she said.
Now that things have quietened down, Ridgway said she has so many plans for the page.
“I’m thinking of choosing a charity to assist, but I still need to come up with a plan. We have been through so much. I am so happy to see that things are getting better,” she said.
She encouraged Facebook users to join the page, post their positive stories and help those in need on the page if they can.
“Everyone is welcome to read all the positive stories and share theirs. Better days are coming. If you’re going through a tough time, I hope the page restores your faith in humanity,” she said.
