By Luvuyo Mjekula
The tragic accident in “O” Street may have left a dark cloud over Makhanda in the past few days, but it has also evoked a spirit of compassion, unity and giving that has not been seen in a long time in the small Eastern Cape town.
After the accident on Saturday, Makhandans from all walks of life cried, prayed and mourned. From church services to messages of condolence and support from all corners of Makhanda, the community reacted to the calamity. With the reaction, also came a remarkable spirit of giving.
It was pure luck that Zibongile Jali and his young children were not at home when an out-of-control minibus taxi crashed into his RDP house, killing the driver, four passengers and a young pedestrian on Saturday. But Jali was suffered losses as a result of the tragic accident – his home was flattened by the taxi and he lost a lot of his valuables. Jali had left the house a short while before the accident and his children, including an infant, were with his family and friends. After the devastating crash, he stood in the rubble, counting his losses.
The unemployed father was still in shock on the Saturday afternoon, not knowing where he would sleep at night. “Before they remove this taxi [from my property], they must find me a place to sleep,” he told Grocott’s Mail.
A few days later, however, while Jali was waiting anxiously for government officials to fulfil their promise of providing him with a temporary structure, a delivery truck full of block bricks stopped in front of his ravaged house. One-by-one, the bricks were packed neatly in front his neighbour’s house. Bags of cement and a load of sand were offloaded in front of Jali’s RDP house, which by this time, was hanging by a thread.
“We are a group of more than 50 apprentices from Sinakho Skills Direct and we do plumbing and bricklaying, and when we saw what was happening to this house after the accident, we decided to do something to help. We consider it giving back to the community,” said Bayanda Mawaka, a resident of Tantyi Location.
He and about seven other Sinakho apprentices, posted on Facebook asking for donations towards rebuilding Jali’s home. The response was overwhelming, Mawaka enthused. “The residents responded with donations and we were able to get building materials such as bricks, cement and sand.”
He said local resident Ivy Madyo was one of the big donors. “We will demolish the house and rebuild it from scratch,” Mawaka stated. Jali’s newly constructed house is fast taking shape and soon he will be leaving in a new home. The builders could use more materials such as floor tiles, tile cement as well as nails and screws, among other necessities. Mawaka also attributed their success to the power of social media.
Workers of the Community Work Project, who clean the CBD and the township of Makhanda, were also seen lending a hand by removing rubble from the accident scene, and in turn used the broken bricks to fill potholes on parts of “O” Street, a gesture warmly welcomed by motorists.
Meanwhile, Jali was ecstatic. “I thank the community because I had no hope. I can see now that something is happening and I am so happy. Without the help of the community, I would not have been able to do this because I am unemployed.”
