The humanitarian organisation the Gift of the Givers has been hailed for assisting the victims of a fire that raced through Masiphumelele on Monday.
As some mense collected burnt metal, others put their homes back together the day after the blaze which razed hundreds of homes, and left a man who was visiting the area dead.
More than 800 people have been left destitute.
Imtiaz Sooliman says they have been on the ground since Monday: “We were told initially that there were 100 shacks burnt but being in the area I can see that there were more than 350.
“As a country, government and people, we need to relook at how people are housed in this country. We can build corrugated homes but we need to give them enough space, a metre or two in between houses so they don’t live on top of each other.
“We did the same thing in Gauteng, and we have been engaging with the City about building such structures, all we need is enough land to do this.”
Sooliman adds that those affected need cement, corrugated iron sheets, clothing, blankets, food, mattresses and more.
“We always know what they need because there have been many fires,” he explains.
Zisanda Nase, 37, expressed her happiness: “I would like to thank the Gift of the Givers for coming out to us and giving us toiletries, blankets and nappies for the children.
“We really needed to know that someone cares about us and our well-being. And they came as we were starting to rebuild our lives once again.
“As everyone knows this is not the first time that our homes have burned to the ground.
“Every year around this time, we lose everything and we have to start over again, with the little that we have,” Nase adds.