Gift of the Givers Provides Aid to Cholera Stricken Town

June 09, 2023

Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers has stepped in to assist those affected by the cholera outbreak in Vredefort, Free State.

The non-profit organisation (NPO) was informed on Wednesday, 7 June, that three patients had succumbed to the bacterial outbreak recently. Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, the chairman and founder of the NPO, told a local publication about how his team came across the unfortunate news.

“Our teams from Hammanskraal were dispatched to Vredefort on Wednesday night and as part of their assessment, visited the Monoto family where three members — a mother, aunt and grandmother — passed on within a space of three days leaving behind a traumatised teenage girl and her siblings,” Sooliman said.

People within the surrounding area have been advised not to drink the tap water, as it could contain traces of the disease. In an effort to provide relief to some of the affected communities, the foundation distributed 2 304 5-litre water bottles and 5 000 rehydration sachets to those in need on Thursday, 8 June.

“In the meantime, our teams are also dealing with E coli-infected water in Makhanda,” Sooliman told the same news outlet before adding: “Gift of the Givers water tankers are at work seven days a week bringing relief to stressed-out communities in these districts.”

Image Credit: Source