Massive fire relief effort aided by app
WANT to make sure every last one of the 15 000 Imizamo Yethu fire victims gets the help they need to start rebuilding their lives?
Incredibly‚ it turns out there is an app for that.
In one of the biggest relief efforts Cape Town has seen‚ all survivors have been registered on an app that is used by volunteers to make sure everyone is accounted for‚ has received emergency help‚ and is not getting extra supplies that should go to others.
The last 6 000 victims received assistance yesterday at the sports fields below the settlement‚ which sits between rich Hout Bay and poor Hout Bay.
There‚ mobile showers have been set up‚ food is being provided and the Red Cross Society has erected tents which are housing thousands of people.
On an adjacent field‚ a streamlined distribution operation is under way.
“This sums up our basic desire which is to restore dignity to people, which is very fitting for Human Rights Day,” Casey Dolan‚ spokeswoman for Thula Thula Hout Bay, which is coordinating efforts‚ said. “Today we are helping the last 6 000 people affected. Nobody could have anticipated the magnitude of the relief efforts that would be needed.”
She said communities around Cape Town had stepped up like never before to help those affected‚ and registration on the relief app had been crucial.
“The first major effort was to get registration done and dusted,” Dolan said.
“There were people who had moved all the way to the top of the mountain.
“Volunteers climbed over the rocks to find every last person affected.
“This effort is essential because‚ going forward‚ we will continue to give relief. It is crucial in delivering goods that we do it systematically.”
Emergency packs containing items such as nappies‚ towels‚ clothing and food have been distributed.
“We had to buy more than 2 000 toothbrushes and facecloths‚ and other such necessities‚” Dolan said.
Non-perishable items are still being sorted in storage facilities‚ and Thula Thula is working with an actuary to ensure the funds are used effectively.