After the Storm

It's as though the entire neighbourhood was expecting us. Every house had at least two or three people huddling by their front doors, staring fixedly and suspiciously at our vehicle as we slowly drove by looking for house number 14.

Children running carefree in the streets and playfully jostling each other, were a stark contrast to the bleakness that was. Houses stood; some with three walls others without roofs. Further on ahead, the corrugated sheets which used to be someone's house were strewn across a small veld. Leaves, branches and mud, paved the street. Torn clothing lay trapped underneath the dismembered furniture - the situation was desperate.

The family from number 14 had been waiting for us to arrive. The children zipped around us wearing dirty clothes, with their noses running and their hair unkempt. I kept thinking that it was their childish innocence which kept them from internalising the direness which faced their families - they were more fascinated by my colleagues - the white people that had come to their neighbourhood.

We heard about the situation in the township after the tornado hit Grahamstown yesterday morning. A lot of people lost their homes, family members and possessions. We received word about one woman whose house was completely destroyed by the storm and we decided to help where we could.

She and her 3-week old baby were taken in by the family at house number 14. It is a family of six living in a 4-roomed house. We didn't have much resources at our disposal, so we decided to buy the household some supper- at least they would have a meal for tonight.

We visited the site where her house used to stand and found that there was not much which could be salvaged from there. The municipality had come and gone, and social workers had also come to provide some counseling. Now all that this woman could do concerning her house and property, was wait for an answer or direction from the municipality.

We asked what else we could do to help but the damage was so extensive that there was not much that could be done with our hands. We left it there and said goodbye to everyone, feeling rather dejected and hoping that something more would be done to help the victims of that tornado.