Read: The truly heart wrenchin

: Sullivan Photography

Read: The truly heart wrenching stats from Cape Town’s latest township fire

These numbers are truly tragic…

Read: The truly heart wrenchin

: Sullivan Photography

This weekend brought the news of a massive township fire in the Imizamo Yethu Township in Cape Town. The fire has taken the lives of three people but absolutely devastated the homes and belongings of tens of thousands.

15 000

Let’s start with the number above,  that’s how many human beings have been affected in one way or the other by this fire. Think about how many people probably live in your own area, probably A LOT less, right?

3 500

This is the number of homes destroyed, that should also help you to understand just how many people are forced to live cramped up together in a tiny little shack. Those 3 500 people had next to nothing before, most people reading this probably deem living in a shack as having nothing. Now these people have lost their “nothing” home. Now they really have nothing…

One of eNCA’s reporters were told by residents that they have been given permission to rebuild, they are just waiting for materials. Emergency shelters have also been made available to those who have lost their homes. There have been reports though, that some residents and children spent last night sleeping under a tree in the area.

From sleeping under a shack to under a tree, things have gotten a whole lot worse for the residents of Imizamo Yethu.  We urge you to donate to help these people, check out this link for more details. Food and clothing donations can also be taken to the Imizamo Yethu soccer field.

With township and shack fires being a regular occurrence, people have called on local government to provide any sort of solution. If not a brick house surely at least flame retardant materials to build safer shacks? Do you have any ideas how we can come together as South Africans and stop this happening?

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