Wednesday 2nd November 2005
A serious setback greeted the volunteers when they arrived at the township early this morning. Overnight in Cape Town a storm blew across the Peninsula bringing with it teeming rain and high gusts of wind. The result - a devastated township.
At least half of the houses that have been constructed since the builders arrived were either badly damaged or destroyed. Some 35 houses were affected by the storm. Walls which had been built with such gusto and determination by the Irish volunteers were reduced to rubble. One newly constructed roof blew clear off a house and crashed into a lamp-post across the road. Because the teams have been using 36 hour mortar (which does not harden for a day and a half) many of the walls were not 'set' before the storm hit, hence the huge level of damage.
Volunteers were devastated by the damage. Many, even tough male builders, were reduced to tears by the sight of their hard work turned into broken bricks. Obviously, the thoughts of wasted work weighed heavily on many, but most people spoke about how their main concerns lay with the township beneficiaries. The builders are worried that the people of Imizamo Yethu may not get their houses as promised at the end of the two weeks.
However, Niall Mellon is adamant that he will make the target. While disappointed by the turn of events, he says that this is just a set-back. The founder of the project says he will ask volunteers to work on Friday, which was originally designated as a day off, and that will make up for the lost work.
While the newly built brick houses faired badly, the shacks were even worse. Many were completely destroyed. Most Imizamo Yethu residents left their shacks at around 2.30am as the winds got stronger and congregated in the dark and wet streets. They did this for safety purposes, so that their shacks would not literally collapse upon them in their beds.
The clean-up operations for both the Irish volunteers and the township residents began in earnest this morning. While spirits were low among the builders, they were lifted by the stoical attitude of the locals. It also really drove home the appalling conditions that shack dwellers face, even in the beginning of summer here in Cape Town. If anything, it steeled the determination of the volunteers to work even harder over the last couple of days of week one.
