Lottery operator Ithuba lends helping hand to flood victims in Molweni

Yogashen Pillay|Published 2 years ago

Food parcels and mattresses for flood victims. Ithuba, the national lottery operator, visited the community of Molweni on Friday to hand over food parcels and other essential items. Several residents lost their home in the floods last month. Picture: South African National Lottery via Facebook

Ithuba, the national lottery operator, visited the community of Molweni on Friday to provide flood relief to residents and families after the devastation of the KwaZulu-Natal floods last month.

The delegation included Ithuba CEO Charmaine Mabuza and representatives from the departments of Trade and Industry and Social Development and the National Lotteries Commission.

The community was given food parcels, blankets and other essentials.

At least 50 Molweni residents who lost their homes are being sheltered at the Bethel Family Church, where the handover took place.

Church leader Sizwe Hlabisa said community members, including babies and children, had come to stay in the church because their homes were washed away.

“In the Molweni vicinity one person is known to have died as the result of the floods and another has been reported missing. The bridges that connect the Molweni community to Pinetown, the nearest urban centre, have been washed away. This leaves many people in a desperate plight as getting to work and school has many risking their lives or not being able to get on with their daily lives at all.”

Hlabisa said many families had to abandon their broken houses, and some homes were completely washed away.

“The pressure on the church to provide support is acute. Besides the 50 or so people living in the church building, most of them women and children, there are also hundreds of other community members coming for food and water. We have had some assistance with cooked food and water from social workers, ward councillors and Sassa, but that is not enough for the number of people we are taking care of.”

Hlabisa said some of the basic items the community needed were food, cooking equipment such as gas stoves, and sanitary pads.

“There are health concerns for the people staying at the church as the flush toilets are not working so they are using a pit latrine that the church members have built. The water supply from the municipality is intermittent and most of the time they do not have water.”

Mabuza said: “The natural disaster that we have recently witnessed in KwaZulu-Natal is quite devastating. At Ithuba we could not fold our arms and do nothing. Ithuba has responded by contributing a total of R10 million towards the KZN flood relief fund set up by the government. As a corporate, it is our responsibility to help our communities and make sure that lives are saved and people’s dignity is restored.”