KZN has felt SA’s humanity

THE devastation caused by the flooding in KwaZulu-Natal has affected not only the citizens of the province, but people across the length and breath of South Africa.

While those in KZN feel the brunt of what nature had unleashed, the rest of the nation was equally in pain as we witnessed the destruction caused and the suffering of our people who lost loved ones.

The silver lining in this dark cloud of despair was the way members of the public responded to KZN’s time of need.

Ordinary people rallied to donate, members of NGOs came out in their numbers, while search and rescue teams outside KZN offered their services to their counterparts.

In Cape Town, aid group Gift of the Givers made an appeal for water donations.

The response was heartwarming to say the least. The Cape Town International Convention Centre offered 5000m2 of floor space and Capetonians of all hues and backgrounds responded as they always do in a time of need.

From Friday until yesterday at least six truck loads of water had been donated.

“There’s a lot of positivity in this operation and we would like to thank everyone for playing their part,” Ali Sablay from Gift of the Givers said.

South Africa has many challenges. It also has many positives. Our collective humanity is one of these.

This is part of the legacies left to us by great leaders no longer with us.

They include our very own Madiba, Achmat Kathrada, Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Walter Sisulu among others. The tragedy in KZN brought out some of the good in us as a nation.

The water donation is an illustration of what South Africans do when the chips are down.

This is what we do when fellow citizens call for help. This is how we respond when we witness the pain of others and how we display our humanity as a nation. There should be no reason we can’t do this every day of our lives.