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| Wind damage to a shack |
While some of us wake up every day in winter adoring the
snow capping our mountains, others find it very hard to rather cope with the winter
weather.
The past three weeks’ weather has not pleased the
residents of Franschhoek’s informal settlement. The cold, wet and windy conditions
have left many people roofless – one of them is an unemployed parent of two -
Nomthandazo Mtlikithi. Nomthandazo saw her two-roomed shack blown away by the gale
winds. She feels that such conditions are a threat to the residents’ health and
safety, especially the safety of their young ones.
Others affected are the residents of Zwelitsha, which is
the informal settlement closest to the mountains. These community members built
their shelters on a piece of land that was once a dam. The rains are now
starting to fill the old dam and many are at risk of drowning.
Franschhoek’s squatter community keeps increasing, with
almost no land available for housing development. Against this background risky situations such
as the above will predictably increase if no steps are taken.
Athi
Ndita
