In an effort to be proactive against Cape Town’s rainy and cold winter season, Ward 86 in Lwandle has embarked on a blanket and matrasses drive for informal settlements of the area.
On Thursday 19 May, ward councillor, Xolani Diniso and the South African National Civics Organisation (SANCO) in the area delivered 39 blankets and 39 mattresses to Simanyene informal settlement residents.
The community lives close to a canal, which when flooding overflows to the nearby shacks, leaving residents under water and shivering from the cold.
Diniso told City Vision their aim is to delivery to all the informal settlements within the ward, depending on the resources they receive.
“At this stage all the resources come from private businesses from Ward 86. They are ploughing back into this community. All these measures are interim interventions to try and mitigate the effects of winter. We know they affect most informal settlements,” he said.
“To some, these blankets may be a meaningless exercise but when you go into the different homes you see the need. Our people need them to keep warm during winter days because they have absolutely nothing,” said Diniso.
He believes a permanent solution to flooding is proper shelter on a suitable piece of land.
A resident Noxolo Silala said they were happy to receive the blankets and the mattresses as people had nothing for the upcoming winter months. “We appreciate whatever we get, as people are struggling in this area. When the winter arrives, we are hard hit by the cold as we stay near enyhunyhwini,” she said.
Silala said she was one of the first resident to reside in the area in 2008.
She hoped on day they can be relocated to a proper area when land is available for them to live.