Reports of the Khayelitsha fire spread through news outlets and on social media last week and prompted the Stellenbosch community to unite to make an emergency donation to the victims of the blaze on Friday.
“It is a major emergency and a crisis because so many people in Khayelitsha are underprivileged and do not have access to alternative measures especially when it comes to necessities such as food, shelter, water and stationery for the matric students who need to write,” said Luke Waltham (20), an activist and BA Law student at Stellenbosch University (SU).
Snapshot of Stellenbosch donations to Khayelitsha fire. INFOGRAPHIC: Alundrah Sibanda/Canva
Through WhatsApp groups and face-to-face meetings, the team of student activists including BA International Studies student Liana Maheso and Honours Psychology student Kaylon Weppelman mobilised students, staff and corporates to contribute to this cause before their first handover deadline on Friday.
SU staff member Bantubonke Louw and SU student Thabani Mtsi unload donations from the SU SRC car at the Thusong Centre in Khayelitsha. PHOTO: Alundrah Sibanda
“The Student Representative Council (SRC) acted swiftly because one of the values it strongly believes in is empathy and we also believe that in times like this we do need a swift response to try and insulate the community from the harsh effects of the disaster,” said Tariq Khan (21), SU SRC communications officer.
LISTEN: KHAYELITSHA REPRESENTATIVE MAM’THEMBAKAZI, EXPRESSES GRATITUDE STELLENBOSCH DONATION (XHOSA AND ENGLISH)
https://soundcloud.com/matiemedia/recipients-grateful-for-stellenbosch-donations
The SRC office served as one of the central and easily accessible drop off locations for the donations, others were at the LLL Village, Academia and Harmonie student residences.
Student activist Liana Maheso holds up a donated baby romper. PHOTO: Alundrah Sibanda
As soon as the student activists approached Van Schaik bookstore, it gave them a discount on the stationery they bought from the store with money from the Rotary Club and added free stationery to the mix to support Khayelitsha’s affected matric students.
“We believe that we have to look after each other and community projects are close to our hearts especially in this case were people have lost everything. We knew that our small contribution would be able to help a few learners,” said Erna Minnie, Van Schaik Neelsie branch manager.
SLIDESHOW: MEMBERS OF STELLENBOSCH COMMUNITY UNITE FOR KHAYELITSHA
Leighton September (19), SU SRC secretary general said that it was important for the SRC to take a personal approach to the Khayelitsha fire by encouraging students to donate on their personal social media platforms.
“We are looking into contributing more to this initiative which has been started by students and we would like to support that either financially, through resources or emotionally. We also welcome any suggestions on what people would like us to do to help,” September added.
Stellenbosch donations to Khayelitsha included sanitary wear, toiletries, clothing, shoes, food, blankets, stationery and bedding. Huis Visser Primarius, Stefan Janse van Vuuren and the SU SRC provided transport to the Thusong Centre in Khayelitsha where the donations were dropped off on Friday afternoon.
WATCH: KHAYELITSHA FIRE DONATION COLLECTION AND DELIVERY PROCESS
“We needed to do something because Khayelitsha is within our community. We have students and staff who come from Khayelitsha. Our kitchen and cleaning staff come from these communities so society can’t expect us to sit and do nothing,” said Maheso (22), adding that the distance between Stellenbosch and Khayelitsha shrunk into a non-factor.