Giving the gift of water
- In light of the recent water crisis in Knysna, Gift of the Givers stepped in to provide water to affected areas. The intervention, which ran from 29 November to 10 December, saw the organisation bring water to the communities of Dam se Bos, Nekkies and Khayalethu. Gift of the Givers responded swiftly when the mayor, Aubrey Tsengwa, reached out to the organisation for assistance. Recognising the severity of the situation, Director of Infrastructure Grant McDonald also contacted the organisation, highlighting the urgent need for intervention.
During the intervention, Gift of the Givers worked in collaboration with local governance. The water supply was sourced from the Knysna Fire Station, while the municipality also used some of its own water trucks. However, a number of the municipality's trucks were out of order and could not be used, posing a challenge to the intervention efforts.
Gift of the Givers' intervention was successful as they distributed over a million litres of water to individuals, schools, crèches, soup kitchens, businesses and even animals.
Their swift response and dedication were instrumental in providing much-needed relief to the affected communities where many had been without consistent water supply for nearly two weeks.
The allocation of water from Gift of the Givers during the crisis highlighted problems such as the ever-present infrastructural issues, and emphasised the community's concerns about how long it will be before the water supply will be fully restored.
"The microbac for the Khayalethu reservoir has passed and will be opening soon, filling the lines with water and restoring the supply for the respective area," said Acting Director of Infrastructure Services Grant McDonald on Monday. "The two large concrete reservoirs in Dam se Bos will be fully sanitised by close of business on 12 December and water samples will be taken and sent to the Sanas Lab. [We are] expecting the results within 48 hours as per SANS 241 standards. We envisage full restoration of the small Dam se Bos and Edameni reservoirs by next Monday due to the public holiday."
Gift of the Givers' intervention in the Knysna water crisis provided a lifeline to the affected communities. Their effective response, collaboration with local governance, and dedication to providing water were crucial in mitigating the crisis.