Living in the Desmond Tutu Hall

Mkwela Juma of Jullard Creations

2011-06-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

reconciliation

2009-01-16T04:28:00.000-08:00

after the reintegration something has been kicking in my heart saying we must unite but i was thinking on how , it took me days and sleepless nights thinking how are we going to unite. in september 2008 i attended lucca leadership course which really gave me the drive to go to the community and speak to the people then i came out with a plan of having a project .

it only took me a short time to engage youth to come to the project eventually we started with 40 creative and talented youth .
we do our class every day and we teach them ART'S & CRAFT , EDUCATION , HIV & AIDS , SPORTS & CULTURE . RECYCLING
by doing these we try and keep the youth off the streets , reduce crime, bringing peace into the community , creating employment and reducing poverty.

we are asking for any help with second hand tools .--- old textbooks , old computer boxes , old tyres , wire & beads .

by collecting these material it will help us run the project in a proper way.

thank you for reading the post we will be happy to receive your donations.

juma.

Update: Thanks to all who helped!

2008-09-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

Hello again everyone,

It's been three months since I sent out an email appealing for your help as the xenophobic crisis hit Khayelitsha. Your response was overwhelmingly rapid and generous, and has enabled us help the people who ended up living at the Desmond Tutu hall. (By now, most have re-integrated into the community, and about 30 of the original Desmond Tutu hall dwellers are now in the nearby Solomon Mahlangu hall).

In total, IkamvaYouth received R76648.95 from a large number of people. Thank you so much to all of you, and especially to those who forwarded the email on and got your friends and family to donate as well. Thanks too to the people in the UK, Ireland, the US, Antigua and Basque Country who collected funds and transferred money to us. A very big THANK YOU is also due to the ikamvanites (learners, volunteers and interns from Khayelitsha, Cape Town, Ireland and the US) and TAC and other volunteers who gave their time and skills to help.

In the midst of this hugely depressing and disillusioning situation, your response gave hope. And it also provided basic essentials to people who have had everything taken away from them. Please see the break-down of the expenditure of your donations below. Your response to IkamvaYouth's appeal to help us help our neighbours was far larger and more effective than we had anticipated. And the impact was also further reaching. In addition to helping the displaced people, the involvement of our learners and volunteers in purchasing and distributing the food, medicines, kitchen equipment etc, sparked discussions and debate on issues of xenophobia and poverty, and helped to ensure that the Makhaza community was one into which many people have been able to re-integrate.

Please also have a look at the letters of thanks from Willard and Juma, the extremely inspiring young men from Zimbabwe who stood up to lead the community of hall dwellers. Despite the dire situations in which they found themselves, and the daily challenges they faced (one example of many: two women employed by the Department of Housing broke into the kitchen in the early hours one morning and stole the donated groceries), Willard and Juma never failed to put the others in the hall before them, and worked tirelessly to ensure that the hungry were fed and the sick received care.

Willard and Juma's response to the xenophobia that has wrecked their lives is one of forgiveness and reconciliation. In order to rebuild their lives and address the poverty they believe caused the violent outbreak, they have established a wire art project in Makhaza. They are inviting the members of their community to join them (both South Africans and foreign nationals), and the objectives of their project are to provide a means for creative expression, income generation and collaboration for peace and prosperity.

If you would like to help Willard and Juma to purchase materials for their project, please deposit donations into the following account:
WILLARD KAMBEVA
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
ACC NO 62176605940
BRANCH ST GEORGE"S MALL

Unfortunately, the crisis continues. There are still many halls and camps filled with many destitute people. The Treatment Action Campaign's amazing work to help people throughout the Western Cape is completely inspiring. From lobbying the Government in court (http://www.tac.org.za/community/node/2400) to continued humanitarian aid on the ground (http://www.tac.org.za/community/node/2392), TAC's leadership and action is interminable.

Please help them with the funds they desperately need to continue: http://www.tac.org.za/community/donate

Thanks again!
Love
Joy

More Zen, Less Phobia
Ikamva Lisezandlei Zethu / The Future is in Our Hands
------------------------------

--------------------------------------
Incoming: R76,648.95

Expenditure:
Airtime for people in the hall to contact family members: R559.76
Food, heaters, medicine, baby stuff, kitchen equipment and gas refills: R37,565.82
Money for displaced Zambian learners at IkamvaYoth KZN to replace uniforms and textbooks: R1000.00
Mattresses: R16,950.00
First month's rent for families to re-integrate into the community: R13,583.54
Printing for survey of needs and plans for the future, plus conversion of dv tape to dvd of footage from the hall: R480.26
Transport and telecommunications: R2610.68
Transport for unwell young woman to return to Zimbabwe: R1000.00
Investment in Willard and Juma's arts and crafts project: R1352.18
Bank charges: R565.11
TOTAL: R76,648.95

Juma's script

2008-08-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

Well it only started like fire coming down from the sky when foreigners where attacked by some of the S.A nationals. Property, goods, belongings were stolen we were left with tears.
But if it wasn't lkamvaYouth who provided us with love, kind care and support e.g. money for rent, mattress, stoves, ean, heaters and groceries e.tc some of us would have been dead by now. We really appreciated that.

Yes they did take our staff but not skills and knowledge but what made them griddy l think its poverty, but how can we kill this poverty which leads to xenophobia, crime, drugs abuse and rape. We as lDP we decided it will be good to forgive them and come out with a solution of working together sharing knowledge and skills.
So we decided to do project e.g. art and craft

Update Re: Desmond tutu Hall

2008-07-22T02:51:00.000-07:00

WELL LIFE IN DESMOND TUTU SEEMS TO BE BETTER BECAUSE WITHOUT IKAMVA YOUTH & TAC
SOME OF US WOULD HAVE LONG COMMITED SUICIDE BUT WE REALLY APPRECIATED IKAMVA'S PROMISES AS THEY PROMISED TO PROVIDE MONEY FOR RENT AND FOF REINTERGRATION.
ON 08/07/08 OUR PROMISES WERE FULFILLED BY IKAMVA AS 11 FAMILIES WERE GIVEN MONEY FOR RENT AND READY TO GO BACK TO THE COMMUNITY SO THEY HAD TO WAIT FOR TAC AS THEY PROMISED TO PROVIDE GROCERIES.
IT WAS AROUND 4PM ON 09/07/08 WHEN A GROUP OF SO CALLED COMMUNITY MEMBERS, PASTOR AND A COUPLE OF POLICEMAN CAME AND FORCED AND WERE TREATENING PEOPLE TO MOVE OUT OF DESMOND TUTU TO SOLOMON MAHLANGU HALL WE TRIED TO RESIST BUT THE THREATENING WAS TOO MUCH AS THEY PROMISED TO BRING GANGS DURING THE NIGHT AND KILL PEOPLE. SO WE DECIDE TO MOVE TO SOLOMON MAHLANGU AND THATS WERE WE ARE OVER CROWDED IN A SMALL HALL.

THE PEOPLE IN SOLOMON M WERE 86 SO ALL TOGETHER WE ARE 239 BUT THOSE 11 PEOPLE MANAGED TO MOVE OUT ON THE 10/07/08 .WE ALSO GAVE IKAMVA ANOTHER LIST OF PEOPLE WILLING TO MOVE OUT. ON 12/07/08 SOME SECURITY THREW TEARGAS INTO THE HALL WHILST WE WERE SLEEPING AS RESULTS OF THAT 8 PEOPLE FAINTED AND WERE RUSHED TO THE CLINICS BUT THEY WERE NOT RESPONDED AS EMERGERCY AND SOME WERE GIVEN WRONG TREATMENT, THEN ON THE 14/07/08 A MEETING WAS SET WITH THE SO CALLED ''COMMUNITY MEMBERS'' AND THEIR AGENDA WAS TO PUT THE 25/07/08 AS THE DEAD LINE FOR CLOSING ALL THE HALLS BUT THEY NEVER HAD A SOLUTION ON HOW TO REINTEGRATE THEM.

SO PEOPLE ARE PRAYING THEY CAN ALL GET MONEY FOR RENT AND STUFF SO AS TO END ALL THIS CONFLICTS.

A small but useful hand-up

2008-07-14T01:43:00.000-07:00

IkamvaYouth is using the rest of the funding it has received (almost R80 000!) from its friends and supporters for the displaced people in the Desmond Tutu hall to cover the costs of one month's rent for families who wish to be re-integrated into the community, but lack the financial means to cover rent.

So far, 11 families have moved back into their homes, and IkamvaYouth has paid the rent directly to the landlords. The TAC provided transport and food parcels.

This seems to be the only sustainable solution to this problem, and we hope to be able to help more families to return, re-integrate and re-build their lives.

Update re: Desmond Tutu Hall

2008-07-14T01:30:00.000-07:00

Things are going from bad to worse. Some of the problems facing the hall dwellers over the past two weeks include:

Severe shortage of food (TAC is struggling to keep up with the demand, and the Mustafadin foundation's food is unfamiliar to most of the hall dwellers, and is causing diarrhoea)
Theft by local officials from the department of housing: Two ladies went into the kitchen at 5am, put all the food donations into black bags, bribed the security guards, and wheeled enough food to feed all 150 people for two days in a trolley. There were a number of witnesses, and the theft has been reported (to their superiors and the police), but nothing has happened.

Then, on 9 July, the police arrived with vans to forcibly remove the (already oft-times displaced) people to the Solomon Mahlangu hall. We received panicked calls from people on the scene, but when there's something strange in your neighbourhood... who're you going to call? The corrupt local officials? The police who're forcing people to move?
... The TAC, of course.
TAC was (as usual) quick to respond, but we lost the battle... there was no choice. TAC facilitated the move, and there are now 200 people at Solomon Mahlangu.

Update from Durban Against Xenophobia

2008-07-14T01:24:00.000-07:00

Things seem even worse in KZN...

------------------------------------------------------
From: Anthony Collins <anti@webafrica.org.za>
Date: Sat, Jul 12, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Subject: its friday night in albert park

Its Friday night. Its cold. It looks a bit like rain.
Somewhere in the dark in Albert Park are about 120 refugees, mostly
women and young children.

Its been a long day. We've phoned all the numbers. We've called in all
the favours. We talked through all the angles.
Its late and we (we who already had breakfast and lunch today) are hungry.
Its late and we (we who have homes) want to go home.
There is no good outcome.
Somewhere in the dark in Albert Park are about 120 refugees, mostly
women and young children.

These are not young jobseekers from Mozambique and Malawi, doing the
African renaissance equivalent of a post-degree work holiday in
London. These are documented refugees from the worst civil war of the
last decade - a war that has already claimed 4 million lives. A war,
as Human Rights Watch has already documented, funded in part by South
African mining companies paying warlords in the Congo for the right to
plunder the local mineral wealth. These are people who escaped with
their lives after their families and communities had been destroyed.

These are capable entrepreneurs who want only an opportunity to live
in peace. No Mike Sutcliff, they don't want the handouts you claim you
cannot give them. They just want to be safe. They just want to not be
murdered for having committed the offence of already being so
desperate that they are prepared to work even harder for even less pay
the people around them. They just want the world to not suddenly again
turn into an insane nightmare that tries to destroy them. They just
want to war to be over.

We don't understand, they say. We thought there were human rights in
South Africa.

I don't understand either.

Six weeks ago they were attacked. They fled to church. There they
waited while KZN province promised to set up a shelter. Nothing
happened. Eventually the church left them on the steps of the city
hall. The city dumped some them in what had been the old SPCA
building. No food. No electricity. Then they evicted them. They were
offered 3 days accommodation in a shelter in town. Then they were
evicted. They went to the city hall. They were assaulted by city
security. The slept outside the city hall. This afternoon police came
and loaded them into vans, telling them they were being taken to
Albert Park to meet with officials to organise their accommodation. It
was a lie to get them into the vans without causing a public
spectacle. There were no officials at Albert Park. There was nothing
at Albert Park. There is nothing at Albert Park. Nothing except 120
refugees, mostly women and children.

Sipho is quiet but looks visibly upset. He lives a block away. He
warns us about the gang that operates on the other side of the park.
I'm worried about the women and children, he says, its not safe here.
We hear stories of murder and rapes in broad daylight.

I don't understand, he says pointing to the enthusiastic church
service that is gathering momentum in the tent nearly. This is my
church, he says.
Its not just the indifference of the worshippers, its that their
security were told lock the toilets and deny water to the refugees.
Didn't Jesus feed the hungry, he asks. Doesn't the bible tell us to
protect the weak?

Sipho is visibly upset. He tries to come up with suggestions. We've
tried them all.
I'll stay here as long as I can, he says. I'll come back in the night
and see if everything is okay.

These are my people, says Sipho in desperation. These are my people he
says, meaning the refugees.

But he means only this: when they sleep out here, they feel the same
cold that I would feel if I had to sleep out here. When strangers come
with knives and guns, they feel the same terror that I would feel.
Those mothers are worried about their children in the same way that my
mother worried about me when I was a child.

But Sipho is not the mayor. Sipho is not the head of disaster
management. Sipho is not in the Office of the Premier.

Sipho is just a someone who happens to live a block away from Albert
Park, who happened to be in there tonight. Sipho is just someone who
can imagine what is its like to be cold, and what it is like to be
scared, and what a mother feels when she realizes she may longer be
able to protect her child from the kinds of nightmares that are not
supposed to happen, but sometimes do.

And Sipho, like us, is worried, and slightly desperate, and doesn't
know what to do.

anthony

------------------------------

-

It's 3am. I can't sleep because of what we've seen and heard tonight.

This evening, we went to Albert Park to see what we could do. The
refugees said that two women were injured. So we offered to take them
to hospital. I'll call these women Sophie and Marie (not their real
names). Sophie's two young sons came with her to our car. There was no
room for them and the other refugees assured Sophie they would look
after her sons until her return. Sophie was moaning and unable to
walk. "Who did this?" I asked the boys in my rusty French? "The
police".

Sophie and Marie moaned softly as we drove to McCord hospital. When we
arrived, we were glad we'd opted for McCord's as the staff treated the
two women with great care and compassion. The nurses were shocked to
hear it was the police who has assaulted them. Marie's hands were cut
and swollen and severely bruised. She told me that the police had
slammed her hands closed in the van door when they were manhandling
the refugees into the van to take them to Albert Park. The doctor said
that Marie's hands will be painful for the next six weeks. She also
diagnosed her with a chest infection - likely the result of her recent
living conditions (many of the refugees are coughing). The doctor told
Marie to drink at least a litre of clean water a day to prevent a
kidney infection. When I translated this for her, she said "Where will
I get water in the park?" I didn't have an answer.

The doctor who treated Sophie said that she had sustained damage to
the ligament of her knee and that she had blood on her knee. She
moaned as he drained the blood off her knee. The doctor said she'll
need to use crutches for two weeks and that she'll be in a lot of
pain.

While we were waiting for Sophie, Maire told me a little about her
experiences in South Africa. She said that she's been here for 3 1/2
years and that she has eked out a living selling goods on the
roadside. She told a story of constant police harassment of her as a
"foreigner" and how she had to keep paying the police "taxes" to be
allowed to stay in business. Marie recounted an incident where she was
picked up by the police for being a foreigner. They threw her goods on
the ground and took her to the Broad Street police station. At the
station, they wrote out a long statement in English and told her to
sign it. She explained to them that she didn't really understand
English and asked for a French translation. They took her by the
throat and crushed her windpipe and forced her thumb onto an ink pad
and onto the statement. She couldn't eat for 4 days afterwards because
of the damage to her throat.

When we took Marie and Sophie back to the park, the refugees were
huddled together under blankets. A UN rep was there talking to some of
them. We told Marie and Sophie we'd be back in the morning with some
medicine. We said we were sorry and we came home and tried to sleep.

I don't know what's happening in the park right now. I just hope it's
nothing too bad.

I know that all of us in the this group lead busy, demanding lives and
that many people have already given so much time and effort to this
refugee crisis. I know that's it's exhausting and depressing. But, if
you can, please let people know what is happening - phone or write to
the media and anyone you know you might be able to publicise this
issue or offer some humanitarian assistance. If you can, please go to
Albert Park tomorrow and ask the refugees how they are and how they
think this situation could be alleviated - I think just giving people
a chance to talk about what's been happening is valuable.

Kathleen

Anthony Collins
School of Psychology
Howard College Campus
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Durban
4041

Durban Action Against Xenophobia
http://durbanaction.wordpress.com/
or on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=18209392749&ref=mf

ph 031 260-2539 fax 031 260-2618 anti@webafrica.org.za
skype: anthonycollins gtalk: tardive

"Cricket civilizes people and creates good gentlemen. I want everyone
to play cricket in Zimbabwe; I want ours to be a nation of gentlemen"
Robert Mugabe

up date from the 19th of June 2008

2008-07-02T04:07:00.000-07:00

Well life is is becoming tougher in the hall because the more we stay the more problems we have ,according to health wise and there is no privacy for the families.

We still 175 including children no one has moved out because we have got nothing to restart our lives so due to the situation which is happening in Zimbabwe it has left us in desperate way . According Ghananians their gvt is promising to help them but I hope by next week they will all leava to their country, and to Maliwians they are still looking any assistance to transport their cars or any paper work to assure free custom duty . We really thank IKAMVA for their care and support we would have been dead by now.My friends &colics are willing to know what is hte way forward according to our future.

we will be looking forward for any assistance or support.

your faithfully

displaced people

Desmond Tutu hall

Mattresses arrive at Desmond Tutu Hall

2008-06-18T06:10:00.000-07:00

150 new mattresses purchased for Hall occupants arrive.

Update 10 June

2008-06-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

We continue on our mission to help those staying in the Desmond Tutu Hall and find a sustainable solution to their displacement problems.

Today there was a community meeting in Khayelitsha run by the Police High Commission. The leaders and many other members of the Foreigners Committee attended the meeting and reported mixed results. Many of the non-government organizations and community members were not in attendance due to unsuccessful efforts to publicize the meeting. Members of the High Commission, some area city councilors as well as members of the religious community were present. They put forth a message of celebration to welcome the foreigners back into the community. Despite this interesting turn of events, there were few plans to implement reintegration or legal documentation of the foreigners. This leaves the residents of the Desmond Tutu Hall with more questions than answers, especially about the possibility of resident permits, which they believed would be available at the meeting.

We took a survey to access the needs of the people in Desmond Tutu Hall. Most of the refugees, who are from Zimbabwe, wish to stay in South Africa. They want assistance to rebuild their lives and businesses. Ikamva continues to supply small necessary foodstuffs and other items. We are excited for the arrival of mattresses tomorrow.

Update: 6 June

2008-06-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

Desmond Tutu Hall was considerably less overcrowded today, as refugees decamped congested quarters to take full advantage of favorable weather. Coordination between organizations are steadily improving in the Hall. Ikamvanites worked closely with government representatives from the Department of Housing and Mustadafin Foundation to ensure purchased food and toiletries are securely stored in an office, and efficiently disseminated to Hall occupants through the weekend. Recent highlights include:

*Purchased two days worth of chicken, sausages, vegetables, margarine, soaps, lotions, etc. for Hall occupants
* Purchased 150 new mattresses for Hall occupants, as a substitute to the cold concrete floors previously utilized
* Generated a preliminary questionnaire to assess occupant needs, living conditions, and future plans
*Updated database with new data recording additional illnesses and decreasing Hall numbers

Ikamva will continue its partnership with local organizations to provide necessary services and identify remedies to the existing crisis.

Where we are, and how to get there

2008-06-06T01:19:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update on the location of Desmond Tutu Hall: We're in Makhaza, on the far east end of Khayelitsha. The community center is adjacent to the Nazeema Isaacs library and to our IkamvaYouth office.

This is a more close up view. We are located just two minute away from the Stellenbosch/Baden Powell exit of the N2. After turning off, turn right southbound and take a right on the first onto Landsdowne Rd. On the second crossroads turn left for parking in front of the library and Desmond Tutu Hall.

(you can drag or resize the map to see the exact route to take)

STOP XENOPHOBIA

2008-06-05T02:04:00.000-07:00

The xenophobic attacks have showed a bad impression to our country. The eyes of the of the whole world are now are now looking at South Africa with shame and disappointment. A country so loved and respected by the world is now turning into a chaotic circus. The attacks on foreigners are not something we can all tolerate and be proud of. It is not all South Africans that are committing this shame and embarrassment, it is a small amount of people doing it without really considering what they are actually doing and it's consequences. They did not think about the innocent lives they are destroying. They have their reasons for committing these violent attacks; firstly these are poor individuals, angry that our government is not delivering; is failing to create jobs for the people; and is not doing enough to fight poverty and crime. But now they are taking out their anger on poor, innocent souls. This is totally wrong and unacceptable.

These refugees didn't come to South Africa looking for trouble, but to seek greener pasturers and make a living just like all of us.

The majority of these foreigners are hard-working individuals trying their best to survive in a country away from home and a country like a promised land to them. They leave their wives, children, families and everything behind, because of political and economical crisis in their countries of birth. Most of these guys don't take away our jobs but instead they start their own businesses. Some of them are even willing to work 15 hours for a low wage of R10, and this is only because they are desperate and have no other options. They shouldn't be blamed for doing something many South African wouldn't because its labor abuse. The ones to blame are the South Africans who offer the foreigners these jobs and by doing so take advantage of their situation, because they know these guys won't say no or turn down the offer since they are immigrants and have no labor laws or unions that protect their rights.

Even the foreigners with false South African Identification documents are not to be blamed. Open your eyes and look around: we have corrupt officials working at Home Affairs that sell these illegal emigrants false Id's. They should be blamed.

Now I'm very concerned about this whole thing and have a couple of questions that I'd like to ask everyone because this thing affects all of us. I believe that these guys are innocent, now why do we have to kill them? Is it because of their colour that we hate them so much? Is it because of where they come from that we have to rob them their belongings and chase them away? Tell.... me what is it? Alright, whatever reason you may have for being xenophobic and killing foreigners, in front of God there's no excuse for killing another human being. When you stand before God on the judgement day and answer for the cruel xenophobic attacks you've committed, believe me you, you'll be found guilty.

My beatiful South Africans, let's not forget where we come from and how we got our freedom. Let's not destroy what we've fought so hard to achieve. You know its easy to destroy but its hard to build. Let's all come together and fight for what we believe in. So I'd like to pledge every Soth African to stand, speak out, join hands and act in every possible way to stop these xenophoboc attacks against our African brothers and sisters. Let's all sing in one voice and say no to xenophobia. Let's come together; the rich and the poor, white and black, young and old and land a helping hand to the victims of xeniphobia. Let's remember that we are all Africans and Africa is our home. Let's become One and bring back back the spirit of Ubuntu. And our first step is saying 'no to xenophobia.'

Update: 4 June

2008-06-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

The number in the hall today is around 248, and our new interns Amanda and Elice have dived straight into work in our office near the Desmond Tutu hall.

We have:
* Liased with the lady from the Department of Housing who has begun trying to get information about the people in the hall. Amanda and Elice have drastically improved from the pen-and-paper system, and created a database. Tomorrow we're going to start collecting the rest of the information, and finding out about each person's immediate needs, and also their ideas and desires about life after living in the Desmond Tutu hall.
* Made contact with the Mustadafin foundation, which has been despatched by the City to provide food to the people in the Hall. This way, we can better coordinate our efforts, and avoid duplication.
* Written a proposal for 200 mattresses: people are getting sick from having spent more than a week sleeping on the cold concrete floor of the hall.
* Met with the foreigner's committee leader, Willard. He gave us a list of their needs, which we sent through to Mustadafin today. Tomorrow, we'll purchase whatever the foundation has been unable to provide from this list.

Our plan going forward is to work together with the City to find a sustainable solution to this problem.

The good news is that the woman who we took to hospital on Monday is still there, and doing a lot better.

Update: 3 June

2008-06-03T03:51:00.000-07:00

We have been so uplifted and impressed with the amazing response that people have had to the email we sent on Friday, asking for support for the people in the hall. We have been able to purchase a lot of essential items (food, medicine, baby stuff, urns, heaters, blankets, gas stoves and bottles), which is helping to make things a lot easier.

The main problem we're facing at the moment, is that many of the people in the hall are sick. Yesterday, we had to take a 25 year old woman to the hospital, as she had a miscarriage two months into her pregnancy. She was in a very bad state, and the ambulance didn't pitch, so we took her to Karl Bremer at about 12:00pm. At 6pm yesterday, the ambulance called to say they were on their way. Luckily for the woman, who had an operation last night and is still in hospital, we did the Department of Health's job for them.

Today, James Porter, a medic intern who received my email via my sister Ryley, has come to help out at the hall. Yesterday, Simphiwe and Thando put together a list of ailments (it's long, and ranges from coughs and diarrhoea to asthma and diabetes), which James is hopefully going to be able to make some progress with today.

The way things are at the moment is really unsustainable, and so we're really pleased (and relieved!) to have a group of interns who are joining us to help. We're going to interview all the people in the hall, and find out where they want to go next -- it seems that some people want to go back to their homes in Khayelitsha (some already have); others need new homes; and others want to move back to their own countries. (Most of the people in our hall are from Zimbabwe).

We're hoping that funds keep flowing into our account, so that we can continue to do our best to meet the basic needs of the people in the hall, and help them to re-build their lives. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped thus far!

Displaced foreigners in Khayelitsha need your help

2008-06-03T03:42:00.000-07:00

On Friday 30 May, I sent this email below to a bunch of people, and the response has been amazing. So I'm setting up this blog, to document how things are going in the hall, to keep everyone updated, and to begin figuring out a more sustainable solution to helping the people in the Hall to rebuild their lives.

-------------------------------------

Hi everyone,

I'm sending this to a big group of people, and I'm hoping that you will all be able to help us. As most of you know, IkamvaYouth is based at the Nazeema Isaacs library, and our new office is part of the building next door, that houses the Desmond Tutu Hall in Makhaza, Khayelitsha.

As a result of the horrendous xenophobic violence, we have had between 400 and 900 people in the hall over the past week - most of them Zimbabwean. Today (Friday 30 May), we have 400 people in the hall, and we don't have enough food to feed them lunch and dinner.

Today is their eighth day here, and the situation is desperate. There are 20 infants, 3 pregnant women (one in severe pain), and people are beginning to get sick. They are all sleeping on the concrete floor, and we are struggling to ensure that everyone gets fed. Although TAC and other organisations are doing an INCREDIBLE job at coordinating civil society's response to the crisis, and ensuring that donations reach those in need across the country, more help is needed.

Ikamvanites, led by Bongani Ndubata, are helping out at the Desmond Tutu hall, and purchasing goods most needed by the refugees, as soon as funds arrive in our account. Please help us to enable the members of the Makhaza community who are against these xenophobic attacks to help the victims of this disturbing violence. Please deposit cash into our account (with the reference "Tutu").

Alternatively, please bring donations to the hall, or drop off them off with TAC volunteers at 50 Cantebury Street, off Roeland Street in Cape Town. Generally, we need food, milk, baby formula, nappies, buckets, jugs, blankets, matresses, cleaning stuff, stoves, medicine, urns for hot water, money to buy airtime so that people can contact their families, etc. If anyone with medical expertise can come volunteer - please call us now!!!

To find out what's most needed at the time of your donation, please contact Bongani on 0726483278, or IkamvaYouth on 021-3626799.

Our bank details are:
Bank: Standard Bank
Branch: Cape Town
Name of the account: Ikamva Lisezandleni Zethu
Account Number: 070188009
Swift Code: SBZAZAJJ

Thanks for your help!

Joy Olivier
IkamvaYouth
South Africa
+27 83 9513336
www.ikamvayouth.org