Page 34 - Rural Voice III - Responding to a Pandemic

nobuzE mofokEng
“It hit me personally when my brother was diagnosed with Corona and all his children and grandchildren were living in the same house.”
CORONA CREATED PANIC,
BUT IT ALSO UNITED US
nobuzwe mofokeng wriTes abouT overcoming her paranoia abouT covid-19, Through non-sTop work wiTh communiTy members To ensure The hungry were fed and informed
Before the global pandemic struck us, we at the Inter-Church Local Development Agency were deeply involved in casework with farmworkers, domestic workers and small companies that were not unionised. Cases involved farm owner non-compliance with labour laws, gender-based violence, and the high rate of dismissals at small companies. I heard about COVID-19 on TV, when it was only in China. However, when I returned to South Africa on the 23 February 2020, no one was screened.
It hit me personally when my brother was diagnosed with Corona and all his children and grandchildren were living in the same house. You know, for me then, it was like a death sentence. I was crying. I went into the house, we talked, and luckily I didn’t get it. After that, I bought food and medicine and he met us at the gate. I was paranoid about Corona.
Luckily SCAT had a WhatsApp group for its LDAs and fieldworkers. We were given the correct information about Corona, so reading those messages I’ve learnt more. People were putting nonsense on other WhatsApp groups. They were saying you must drink Old Brown Sherry to be safe”.
INTERCHURCH LOCAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (ILDA)
ILDA was established in 1985 to provide legal assistance and support to families affected by the Langa massacre, where police killed 35 mourners in a funeral procession. Today, ILDA’s main activities include paralegal support for gender issues, children’s rights and farmworkers’ rights, social justice advocacy, and economic empowerment.
MUNICIPALITY: Nelson Mandela Bay Metro
COVID-19 CASES: The Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, which includes Port Elizabeth, Dispatch and Uitenhage, emerged as a COVID-19 hotspot, as a second wave of infections surged towards the end of October 2020. A total of 1,504 people passed away, 30,097 recovered, and on the 19th November 2020 there were 5,196 active cases.
DIRECTOR: Nobuzwe Mofokeng
NUMBER OF STAFF: 4, NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS: 15
BOARD CHAIR: Robert Ranuga
BOARD MEMBERS: Thembeka Msithsana; Nombulelo Bixa; Luvuyo Jayiya;
Mncedisi Netnou
ADDRESS: 58 Constitution Road, P.O. Box 603, Uitenhage, 6230
PHONE: 079 852 1415, EMAIL: iinterchurch@gmail.com
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