Day Zero may have been cancelled for 2018, but this Cape Flats pastor and his wife say they are not letting down their guard and will continue to save water.
Over the next few weeks, the couple will be handing out thousands of five-litre bottles of water to people attending their Sunday church service.
The initiative follows a project started by “The Brothers’ Keepers”, a group of ministers who have bought thousands of litres of water, which will be distributed to congregants.
Pastor Jonathan Naicker and his wife Phoebe, of the Jesus Connection Church (JCC) in Eastridge, Mitchells Plain, says free water will be given to anyone who attends their church this month.
The couple and a team of helpers have been feeding the destitute at their church for years and says this will just be an added service they deliver.
During their annual Christmas party, they feed and hand over gifts to about 3000 children.
And because water is a basic right, especially during a drought, Pastor Naicker says they decided it was time to give it to those who cannot afford to buy bottled water.
OFFER: Free water after church services
“We have always been actively involved in feeding people in the community of Mitchells Plain,” says Pastor Naicker.
“What we found would be children wandering the streets at 8pm without having a meal.
“We began a breakfast at 8am on a Sunday before our service. This is followed by a Sunday lunch.”
Pastor Naicker says together with the Brothers’ Keepers, they’ve raised funds to purchase thousands of litres of water.
The first distribution will take place on Sunday, at their church on the corner of Don Carlos and
Martha Street in Eastridge, after their 9.30am and 5.30pm services.
“This will happen in the next three to four weeks,” the pastor says.
“We want to show the communities that the church is not just a private entity.”
On Wednesday, Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane announced that Day Zero would not take place in 2018.
He said overall consumption sat between 510 and 520 million litres per day, down from almost 1.2 billion litres in
February 2015 - a 60% reduction in consumption.
However, he warned that Level 6B restrictions are still in place, meaning people can still only use 50 litres of water per person per day.