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A Helping Hand to those in Distress

A Helping Hand to those in Distress

Date: 2019-11-29

The words "Tornado Alley" send a chill through the inhabitants of the Great Plains tornado belt in the Central United States between the Rockies and the Appalachian Mountains. Fifteen thousand kilometres away in the KZN Midlands, stories of the destructive force of these powerfully swirling masses of air seemed the stuff of what happens to other people in faraway places. That was the case until a Tuesday afternoon in mid-November when nature unleashed a furious onslaught on the Mpolweni region of the KZN Midlands and a tornado lambasted New Hanover and its surrounds, with a second tornado hammering Bergville two days later.

The call to action was heeded by The Domino Foundation's Disaster Relief Unit which sent out a team of five to an informal settlement at Mpolweni, New Hanover where they met distraught survivors of the devastation. Cathy Whittle, who heads the DRU, was moved by the scenes of destruction which met the team: "Uprooted trees and twisted corrugated iron sheeting were strewn over the landscape and members of the community still looked absolutely shell-shocked as they began to piece their lives back together."

The Disaster Relief Unit initially was formed in response to the floods which have hit Ethekwini communities on a number of occasions in the past couple of years and also responded to the humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Idai earlier this year in the Beira area. One of the other members of the DRU, Tarin Stevenson, said that the previous catastrophes had primed the group to stockpile relief hampers, tarpaulins, blankets, rice, beans and oil in readiness for contingencies like this. "Our team worked together with the Red Cross and City Hope assisting affected families and showing care to deeply traumatised people."

One of the local survivors of the havoc left in the tornado's wake, Isaac Tshabalala, told of the horror he and his family had experienced during the storm, but, he said, "the Disaster Relief Unit's help and kindness and the love they have shown us after this disaster have touched us very much. We now start to rebuild our lives."

Cathy said the collaboration of the DRU, Red Cross, City Hope and Zoe Life is the start of a KZN Disaster Response group with local like-minded NGOs each bringing something different to the table to make for a highly effective co-ordinated response in a disaster setting. "Our planning and preparing to have a 24 hour 'Go Time' with shelter, food and hygiene packs on standby could only have happened as a result of incredible partnerships. Local families and businesses generously donate money as well as life-changing products enabling the team to be the manpower on the ground when disaster strikes". Tarin added, "The landscape is changing. Instead of scrambling in a panic in the wake of a storm or flood, being prepared and on call in readiness changes the game completely."