Imtiaz Sooliman – Eastern Cape floods Gift of the Givers extends assistance

Gift of the givers is helping more people

affected by the floods in East London. It

says 14 people died in the flash floods,

and houses were destroyed. For more on this,

I'm joined now by Imtiaz Suleiman,

from Gift of the Givers, and he joins

me for an update. So, doctor Suleiman, I

mean, we saw the visuals, heartbreaking,

videos that were being shared, pictures that were

being shared. What are you seeing in the

wake, of the flooding,

particularly in as far as lives and livelihoods

of people who were in the path,

of these floods?

Hi. It's good afternoon,

It's been a total disaster. My day just

found another body right now. In the river,

I think I think that brings it up

to 16.

The other tragic story is also a short

while ago in a place called Cambridge Cambridge.

They found 6 children in a house where

where their mother and father had washed have

been washed away. So those children are are

left alone completely without family support.

And in the area itself, they found another

6 families that haven't received any assistance.

The problem with this flood is it's an

expanding issue where we are finding more and

more families in these areas. We still don't

have the full scale of what has happened

and where it has happened. So as people

are making progress, we get more and more

stories. I mean, the first day we were

told a small child was washed away and

an 18 year old daughter, and a teenager.

You you everybody knows the story of the

18 year old. Her mother tried to catch

her. The doors the the whole house washed

away and and the and the teenagers washed

away, and the mother couldn't catch her and

to save her in time when she drowned.

And, of course, we turned off. The police

were not passed on. But but each day,

we're getting off more and more, and it's

warning. Because in in the floods, we normally

in this type of floods, we normally have

a 2 or 3 maximum that have passed

on. It's now 15 and probably more. So

it is very, very worrying in terms of

lives, and we I think we're gonna find

more bodies. And in terms of destruction, it's

massive. It's affected so many homes. People's homes

have been totally washed away even though partially

damaged. So we're gonna need a lot of

support to fix up the homes as well

as the contents because these are not rich

people. And whatever they lose is a mess

massive loss to them. They're not insured. They

don't have the means. They can't be placed.

Sure. And as you talk about that that,

need, those needs for

rebuilding,

of lives,

and livelihoods,

what are the most pressing needs at the

moment, and how do South Africans,

and other role players

within South African society,

come to the party to assist you in

your efforts?

Well, the the the initial response is always

always nutritious meals. And in this case, we

have to provide our clothing because everything is

washed away. Bottled water, sanitary

pads, diaper packs, that's what they need. Blankets

and mattresses. But as we're finding more and

more people affected, we need more items.

But overall, in the long run, we're going

to need building material to help people whose

houses are completely washed away. And even those

with people who are partially damaged, we need

to repair those homes. It's full of money.

And then, of course, people will need help

with contents. If people can make furniture available,

a contribution towards that, you know, and and

the other thing that is lost is stationary

and uniforms.

Everything that I'm mentioning to you, we are

going to be doing you know,

providing parts of it, you know, and making

funding available for that, whether require building material,

they require,

the the just, blankets, mattresses,

and and the station is fully formed providing

that. And then the other tragic story is

that many people, you know, are stuck because

of funeral cover. And we also the lady

whose daughter passed away will be helping her

with the funeral, and we may have to

help other people with funerals. So that's a

dignified

that's issue of dignity. And South Africans have

always come to the fore to support crisis

like this. And these we have to understand.

These people can't even replace the pale socks.

They've been living in difficult situations all their

lives. What they've lost is their lives accumulation

of assets, which is basically nothing compared to,

you know, economically strong people. And they have

to replace that. It's gonna be very difficult.

They traumatized. The houses are damaged. You know,

they they've lost lives. They're stunned. They don't

know what to do. And, of course, with

with the the human settlements have to look

at maybe moving them to another place. It

appears that they've built on flood plains, and

that's a big danger. You know, once you

build on flood plains and you go back

there and rains come, you're gonna have the

same problem again like we have in the

Yaxi River year in and year out in

Alex. So, hopefully, we have to move them

somewhere closer while they send you their jobs,

but, you know, in a safer

place. Alright. Doctor Imtiaz Suleiman, I've got to

thank you for your time and the work

that you are doing out there in the

Eastern Cape and urge people really, to just

open up one way or another as you

heard there, some of the needs, for the

response.

Some are immediate in that, you know, it's

about shelter, nutritious meals, etcetera. But, actually, some

of what doctor Suleiman was saying there is

not something you think about immediately, that those

people will need to replace household contents,

furniture. Some of them will not be able

to do that,

you know, anytime soon. So whenever you are

able, if you are able to assist,

I think that is the spirit,

of South Africa, really.