Western Cape: Solidarity Helping Hand Ceres jumps in to support fire-fighters in Tulbagh

By Juanita du Preez

True to its name, the Solidarity Helping Hand branch in Ceres on 9 January jumped in to lend a helping hand to the approximately 200 fire-fighters in the Tulbagh/Wolseley region, where devastating fires had been raging for three days already.

According to Nellie Malherbe of the Ceres branch, they had received an SOS call from the neighbouring town on Monday night at 21:00. “I then phoned Ria Cronjé, who was acting as co-ordinator, to find out what they needed. She said that water, cold drinks and food were urgently needed for the fire-fighters and those residents who had evacuated their homes,” Malherbe said. “We started phoning around to find out who could assist, and before we knew it, a group of volunteers left for Tulbach in a bakkie laden with water, cold drinks and ice.”

In Tulbagh, Ria Cronjé, owner of the Kuierbossie Restaurant, started to provide accommodation and food to those residents who had had to evacuate their homes – among them a group of 90 school children – as well as to the fire-fighters who had already been fighting the fires for three days on end.

Although the fires had not yet been brought under control the next day, Cronjé couldn’t stop talking about how people had reacted to her request for help, which she had placed on the social media network, Facebook. According to locals, the fires are the worst experienced in their lifetime. The area’s wine farmers, in particular, watched on anxiously, because conditions are very dry and the fires could have spread to the vineyards in no time.

Although upliftment and empowerment through training is Helping Hand’s focus area, immediate emergency relief is an indispensable part of branch activities throughout the country. To become involved in Helping Hand in Ceres, contact Nellie Malherbe on 082 788 8654.