Page 40 - Rural Voice III - Responding to a Pandemic

JEannEttE mqomo
“At KSDF,
we did not want to favour anyone – which is what the municipalities and the mayors were accused of doing.”
SERVING OUR COMMUNITY
WITH DIGNITY
jeanneTTe mqomo reporTs:
During the hard lockdown of level 5, we didn’t close the Kgatelopele Social Development Forum [KSDF]. The caregivers were at home, but I was at the office to assist the community with information about COVID-19. The clinic and the health facility assistants also continued working, using personal protective equipment. The gardener who works in the food garden – an essential worker – was with us almost every day, to water the plants and tend the garden. At least people ate strawberries, carrots, spinach and cucumbers out of the garden. We were busy, and the good thing is that no one in our team ever tested COVID-19 positive. We pray it stays like that.
how covid-19 affecTed The communiTy and The work of The ksdf
We didn’t have that many cases of COVID-19 in Danielskuil. There was someone we knew who worked at a local mine, 20km from us. We bought the family groceries and medication, put on our PPE, and the Department of Health guided us on how to protect ourselves.
Three other cases resulted from people going to a funeral and a party. Schools put out notices to say that the parents who attended funerals should keep their children isolated or in quarantine, even if the children showed no symptoms. My aunt was severely ill. I visited her wearing my mask, and I could see she was very ill. I thought she was going to die. She was on ventilation for 10 days. It’s very sad, because when you’re ill, you don’t have access to your family.
KGATELOPELE SELF DEVELOPMENT FORUM (KSDF)
KSDF was established in 2007 in Danielskuil, a small settlement 142 km away from the Northern Cape capital of Kimberley. The forum provides paralegal support, home- based care, and assistance with orphans and vulnerable children. It also runs a very successful communal food garden.
DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY: Kgatelopele Municipality in the ZF Mgcawu District COVID-19 CASES: From March to the 20th November 2020, there were 4,638 cases of COVID-19 reported in the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality of the Eastern Cape, and 48 fatalities. The Kgatelopele Municipality recorded 260 cases and 249 recoveries.
PROJECT MANAGER: Jeanette Mqomo
NUMBER OF STAFF: 14, NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS: 10
BOARD CHAIR: Michelle Fitzpatrick
BOARD MEMBERS: Hennie van Schalkwyk; Deon Ferris; Nompumelelo Baloyi; Lesly- Ann Fannie; Jacquiline Van Wyk
ADDRESS: 208 Park Road, P.O Box 189, Danielskuil, 8405
PHONE: 078 452 8802, EMAIL: jeanette.ksdf@gmail.com
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RURAL VOICE III: RESPONDING TO A PANDEMIC