Gift of Givers volunteers attacked while tackling Knysna's water crisis
Gift of the Givers teams assisting the community of Concordia in Knysna with much-needed water. Knysna is grappling with a major ongoing water crisis.
Image: Gift of the Givers
As the humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers continues to selflessly help those in need, volunteers were attacked in Knysna at the weekend.
Gift of the Givers has been distributing water in the Knysna area as taps have run dry across the area.
Speaking to IOL, Mario Ferreira, who heads the team in the Southern Cape, said the situation in Knysna is not improving.
“All 11 wards are now without water. Gift of the Givers has been active distributing bottled water to businesses, creches, schools, old aged homes, clinics, pre-schools etc, since last week,” he said.
The Knysna pumps are out of order.
“At this stage, there is no indication when the pumps will be replaced, and the reservoirs are running dry. Due to slugs in the reservoir, the water is not drinkable,” Ferreira said.
He said the area is getting extremely volatile, and people are getting aggressive due to the water scarcity.
“It’s a recurring problem over the last couple of years. Barricading of roads is happening on a constant basis in certain areas. We need to clear roads ourselves at times, just to go through and help people who need water,” Ferreira said.
He explained that crew members were attacked on Sunday.
“We had an occasion on Sunday where our tankers had to move forward, and one of the residents picked up a brick and threw it at one of our vehicles, damaging it. We will continue doing this and will not allow something like this to break our spirits,” Ferreira said.
The Southern Cape police spokesperson, Sergeant Christopher Spies, confirmed the incident.
“The matter referred to in your media enquiry was brought to the attention of the local police. However, no formal case was opened for criminal investigation,” Spies said.
IOL