Shack dwellers from Strand were over the moon as they received new building material donated by the Human Settlements Department on Thursday 9 and Friday 10 May.
At least 270 residents were affected when the fire fuelled by the strong damaged and destroyed houses in the province last month.
Some of the affected informal settlements were Pholile in Strand, Green Point in Khayelitsha, Wag ‘n Bietjie, Simanye, France, Hellen Square and Ezinkomeni.
Each beneficiary received 16 zinc sheets, a door, a window, four poles, six perelines, a packet of nails and a door latch.
One of the beneficiaries Nozuko Wityi, from Ezinkomeni, said the material will make a difference to her. She is unemployed.
Wityi said she had already started to rebuild her shack with old material.
“My shack was completely destroyed by the wind. The wind lifted the roof and left the structure standing.
“But, because of the movement while the roof was being removed, the structure was damaged. But, I managed to rebuild it even though it was not good because the material was too old,” said Wityi.
She said she would rebuild her shack with the new material.
“I will remove the entire roof and put in the new zinc sheets and pelerines. And I’ll change some of the zincs on the structure,” said Wityi, and thanked the department for reaching out.
Ward 86 councillor Xolani Diniso expressed his gratitude to the department.
He cited that their objective is to provide shelter for all the citizens of this country.
Diniso said it was sad to see people not having a place to stay.
“As a councillor, I took the responsibility to ensure that all the people who were affected by the strong winds got the material to rebuild their shacks. I made a plea to the National Human Settlements Department to intervene and assist my communities. And we are pleased that minister Mmamoloko Kubayi heard us.
“We believe this little that we have will make a difference to the people,” said Diniso, adding that about five years ago, the City stopped providing building materials during disasters.
