14-year-old feeds stranded N3 truckers
A 14-year-old’s compassion led to over 700 truck drivers receiving water and a warm meal while stranded on the N3, in an over 70km traffic backlog, after yet another fatal N3 crash last Thursday.
While driving alongside the N3 towards Howick on Thursday night, watching the snaking queue of stationary trucks, Kian Lister’s heart was moved to sympathise with the suffering of the truck drivers, stuck on the road with no food, water or place to rest.
“Mom, we’ve got to do something,” Kian told his mother, Karen Lister.
“I imagined how hungry, thirsty and tired they must be. I’d had three meals that day I was still feeling hungry,” Kian recalled.
When his mother responded, asking what he suggested they do, Kian had only envisioned buying some water and muffins for some of the drivers stuck on the highway adjacent to their Hilton home. His humble urge to help, however, ended up rallying the Hilton community to reach out to the famished, dehydrated and exhausted truckers stuck along the N3 from Hilton, backlogged as far out as Mooi River.
Responding to her son’s request, Lister, contacted local security company Aliwal Security director Sewraj Girdhurparsadh for assistance, en route to the shop to buy hot dogs, fruit and water.
She also posted an appeal on the Hilton Chat Facebook group, which garnered over 1000 messages of support, and donations towards hot meals and water for the truck drivers.
Girdhurparsadh responded to the call, bringing his whole team along and placing bulk orders of hot pies from four local garages in Hilton, as well as Chicken Tikka and breyani from a supplier in Northdale.
Donations were soon pouring in from the Hilton community towards the costs of the meals, while others dropped of food donations at the side of the highway, where Lister, Kian and the Aliwal Security team were stationed.
Kian, a Grade 8 learner at Grace College, spent the first day of his June holidays on the side of the highway assembling hot dogs from the boot of the car, which the Aliwal Security team helped distribute along to all the truck drivers, as well as some travellers, who had suffered a very rough start to their holiday.
The united efforts resulted in over 700 drivers being fed a warm meal on an icy winter’s night, as well as water and fruit and other food items being distributed.
Lister, who along with her son, remained on the N3 from 11:30am to 8:30pm on Friday, said she only realised the magnitude of need that evening when she got home.
“Only being there, at the scene, witnessing the extent of the traffic jam, did I start to realise the magnitude of need,” Lister said, adding how ‘immensely proud’ she is of her compassionate, empathetic son.
“No adult thought of the needs of the truckers. It took an empathetic 14-year-old to make a difference. My son has the most empathetic nature and is always looking out for others.”
Kian said he was overwhelmed at how the community had come on board. “The community’s support made me fell like I had actually made a difference.”
Lister said the relief provided ‘was just a drop in the ocean’ compared to what the truckers and drivers stuck on the road experienced.
“It was heartbreaking to see how grateful the drivers were for our humble relief. The drivers were so exhausted, but there was no place for them to rest,” she said, adding that the community’s response reaffirmed Hilton residents’ capacity to give.
“Our plea went viral and majority response from the community was positive. People generally love to attack the truck drivers and blame them for everything that goes wrong on the highways, but the problem is due to a lack of visible policing.
“The logistic industry is the backbone to our economy. What would we do without them?” she questioned.
Girdhurparsadh echoed Lister’s sentiments, saying, Aliwal Security’s core business is securing the transportation of the logistics industry.
“Us helping was also a way to support and give back to the industry my business feeds off of.
“People have no idea the far reaching impact these highway closures have on the economy. Due to the export and import delay fees, the effects of not only the national, but global economy are catastrophic.
“If these inconveniences aren’t resolved, the transport sector will start utilising other ports and KZN will become a ghost town.
“Tourism is already going south, if logistics goes too, we will have nothing else,” he said, adding that active visible policing is the only solution to the N3 crisis.
“We need active law enforcement on the ground. Installing cameras won’t work. I have witnessed how having active visibility polices drivers into behaving. That is the only solution.”
uMngeni Mayor, Councillor Chris Pappas, has also expressed his concerns about the impact of the ongoing traffic chaos on the municipality’s roads and infrastructure.
“There is a national and provincial crisis on the N3 … Pietermaritzburg Town Hill is causing billions in loses and is a death trap,” Pappas said in a statement.
“The responsibility to police this section of road is the Road Traffic Inspectorate’s (RTI). They are sorely absent in this area both in numbers and in operational planning. SANRAL [also] has a lot to answer for in terms of design, safety and planning.
“The economic and human losses are negatively affecting the uMngeni Municipality and our residents and businesses,” he said.