Thembalethu community unites to assist dozens displaced by fire

Update

GEORGE NEWS - The informal settlement fire that ravaged Zone 8, Thembalethu, on Friday afternoon, 6 June, is the third major blaze during Eric Mdaka’s tenure as Ward 12 councillor.

He recalls previous fires in 2022 and 2023, each destroying between six and 30 homes, including his own.

Mdaka believes the absence of injuries or casualties (human or animal) is largely due to the fact that the fire broke out during the day, when many residents were not at home.

"When fires start at night while people are asleep, the outcome is often very different," he said.

The charred remians of someone's home

Community rallies together

George Herald visited the scene on Saturday afternoon, where volunteers from surrounding communities had gathered in support of the estimated 70 people who lost their homes and personal belongings in the blaze.

The selflessness with which volunteers set aside their own priorities to help others stood in stark contrast to the devastation on the ground.

Men and women rolled up their sleeves and worked side by side, digging through the charred remains of approximately 46 informal structures gutted by the fire. Items such as tyres, corrugated metal sheeting and timber beams were meticulously recovered and sorted into piles for removal to clear the way for rebuilding.

While rebuilding in the same way is far from ideal, Mdaka said it currently remains the only option. He discussed the catch-22 faced by communities in informal settlements and shared thoughts on possible long-term solutions to repeated fire disasters. George Herald will explore this in greater detail in next week’s edition.

Mandla Gumede, Clarence Mtyenele, Lutho Bacela, Eric Mdaka and Black "Ta Fire" getting their hands dirty to clean up the site

Feeding the victims

Meanwhile, Ward 15 councillor Faith Mdaka and her team were hard at work preparing an evening meal in large cast-iron potjie pots at a nearby church. While Friday night’s meal was supplied by the George Municipality, the ingredients for Saturday’s dinner - chicken, rice and vegetables - were donated by foreign nationals who own local shops.

PR councillor for Ward 13, Thandiswa Qatana, said meals would continue to be provided until the victims' homes are rebuilt, a process expected to take only a few days. She called on the broader George community to assist with food donations, whether in the form of ingredients such as tinned and raw goods or prepared meals like sandwiches. Firewood is also urgently needed to cook the food.

The inside of a home gutted by Friday's fire

Call for broader support

Since the fire victims lost everything and do not have the luxury of household insurance, Qatana appealed for donations of blankets, old furniture, appliances, crockery, utensils - essentially all the things that make up a home.

A church across the road has also begun receiving mattresses and food parcels as part of a coordinated relief effort involving Love George, the George Alert Team and the George Municipality’s Social Development unit.

Volunteers are currently documenting each victim’s personal details and clothing sizes to help coordinate donations and minimise wastage - and to guard against opportunism.

For food donations, please call Faith Mdaka on 072-326-7726

For more information on what kind of assistance is needed and where, the public can contact Herman Pienaar (Love George) on 082 829 6428 or Pieter Nel (George Alert Team) on 078 874 6927.

While cleaning operations are ongoing, children play among the burnt debris