The area of Adelaide has been drought stricken since 2017 with poor infrastructure which has left community members without water. For these reasons, The Gift of the Givers has drilled six more boreholes and 400 food parcels, sponsored by Woolworths.
According to Dr Imtiaaz Sooliman, the founder of the Gift of the Givers: “There is a huge crisis for months, with absolutely no water available, affecting health facilities and the community. Our water tankers deliver water several days per week”.
The disaster relief group drilled four boreholes in the area two years ago when they were approached to intervene. This came after levels at the Adelaide Dam dropped at a sharp rate.
“Four boreholes were drilled at the dam, two at schools and one in the town. These boreholes were augmenting the municipality’s dwindling water supply and reduced the rate of ’emptying’ from the dam. This intervention assisted the town to pull through a whole year but the inevitable, in the absence of rain, came to pass,” said Sooliman.
Implats provided R18m to assist in drilling an additional six boreholes, with Dr Gideon Groenewald leading the operation.The donation also enabled the organisation to donate to the Eastern Cape, food parcels, hospital infrastructure upgrades and PPE donations.
The disaster relief group has also installed Honda-sponsored generators in Adelaide to help the community cope with load shedding.They have also laid pipes and taps into communities, with JoJo Tank-sponsored water carriers installed at outlying communities.
“Gift of the Givers water teams are currently engaging the municipalities of Peddie, Makhanda and Graaff-Reinet to consider options on increasing water access to many more communities in the face of the crippling drought,” concluded Sooliman.
