On Wednesday, February 3 the Al-Imdaad Foundation, together with the eThekwini Deputy Mayor and poverty eradication programme Operation Sukuma Sakhe conducted distributions of five litre bottled water to four schools in the Waterloo and Seatide areas north of Durban.

Suburbs north of Durban have been facing water restrictions due to the critically low levels of the Hazelmere Dam, which supplies these areas. As a consequence schools in the areas have sometimes had to close their doors due to water cut-offs that handicap toilet and catering facilities serving the children.

Prinicipal Mrs N Ncobo of Waterloo Primary School explained that when water gets cut off they are forced to close school early.
She said that: “with over 1 300 learners at the school, not being able to flush toilets was very problematic and unviable.” Due to the large number of disadvantaged students at the school, both morning and lunch meals are provided, but when water is cut-off catering becomes impossible leaving students hungry and unable to concentrate.

During the distributions at the schools, Deputy eThekwini Mayor Councillor Nomvuzo Shabalala explained the drought situation to the children and emphasised the need for creative ideas to save water.

She said that despite rainfall in the Durban area, the challenge still persisted as most of the water simply enters rivers and is lost to the sea. She explained how eThekwini Municipality was relying on water sources from inland to compensate for the critically low levels in the main dams such as Hazelmere.

Al-Imdaad Foundation’s co-ordinator, Hassan Shazi also addressed the schools explaining the work the foundation had been doing in response to the drought situation in terms of potable water distributions, borehole drilling and the erection of Jojo tanks.

The schools made requests to the foundation for installation of Jojo tanks and Mr Shazi confirmed that he would make the necessary arrangements to facilitate these installations as part of the Al-Imdaad Foundation’s drought relief programme.

The bottled water was distributed at Waterloo Secondary, Waterloo Primary, Sibonginhlanhla Primary and Seatides Secondary schools in five litre bottles. It will act as an emergency reserve supply to be used in the event of further cut-offs.

In other aspects of its drought relief programme, the Al-Imdaad Foundation has thus far drilled ten boreholes across the Eastern Cape, Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Free State with a further 5 boreholes coming up in the badly affected uMkhanyakude and Ulundi Districts of Northern KZN.

Jojo tanks for cattle herding communities will also be installed in Ulundi and Nongoma to increase water storage capacity that will help avoid cattle deaths due to dehydration. Authorities in the area have agreed to fill the tanks via tanker once installed.
For more information or to support the foundation’s drought relief programme, please contact 0861 786 243 or visit www.alimdaad.com