APRIL MAY 2015 www.mountainecho.co.za MOTHS GOLF DAY 16 MAY [email protected] 082 4938700 PAGE 11 NO WATER = NO LIFE: UKUNGABINAMANZI = UKUNGABINEMPILO DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE: KWA SANI PETITION Under The Tin Hat Democratic Alliance Councillors Trish Crawley and David Adam organised an There is definitely a nip in the air and all information table and petition in Underberg sorts of things are going on. Load shedding with DA activists supported by Deputy Leader which causes water problems which in turn MPL Francois Rodgers. becomes a pain in the proverbial! Do you know that 60% of the 223 river The Boot + Saddle MOTHs are pleased to ecosystems in South Africa are threatened advise that we have inducted a new member, by pollution and 255 are critically polluted? Paul Cuthbert, into the MOTH Order. 84% of all deaths caused from diarrhoea, are Welcome Paul, may you enjoy you time with attributed to unsafe water and poor sanitation, us bunch (yes I know that it is not of which 66, 4% are children under 5 years of grammatically correct!) age. Child mortality more than doubles if Early May sees us do a raid to Leadswingers children drink water that does not come from Shellhole, the home of the Swartberg a tap. MOTHs. These raids normally turn into very No access to water means that communities festive events. have no means of ensuring personal hygiene And lastly the Boot + Saddle Golf Day or caring for the ill or elderly family members. Fundraiser on 16 May. The team is slowly There are cases where communities share getting prizes and extra sponsorship in and water sources with their livestock or other everyone feels that it will be a good day. animals. Unsafe water and poor sanitation Please see the Advert that Paul has kindly kills more children than malaria, measles and printed for us giving contact details etc. HIV/AIDS combined. And on that note, till next time, The Democratic Alliance is calling for major intervention to prevent more unnecessary deaths and illnesses caused by the water crisis in our beautiful province, Kwa Sani is having its own share of water issues and our DA councillors have initiated meetings with the Harry Gwala district municipality officials, who have as their main function, water and sanitation. They are Boot and Saddle Shellhole trying to expedite the issues and to urgently Sponsored by Macdonald Steel resolve the instability of the derelict pump Host the 6th Annual station in Underberg and the two reservoirs M.O.T.H. Golf Day Fundraiser in Himeville, which are not providing Date : 16 May 2015 adequate and reliable water for Underberg and Venue : Underberg Country Club Himeville. They have also raised their Cost : R 250-00 continued concern regarding the unsanitary (Cost include: Free Mulligans / Boerewors Roll and Beer/Cold Drink / and unsafe conditions of the portable toilets that are provided in the townships due to the Dinner for Two / Goodies Bag) large number of informal housing that All Players receive a Prize continues to grow due to inadequate formal Plus A Raffle and Auctions Contacts: Bruce 072 376 9537 / Mouldy housing in both townships. They will keep you posted. Cllrs Trish Crawley may be 072 405 8854 / Pete 082 441 1310 contacted on 0834470766 and Cllr. Dave Adam on 0837747257. (Editors Note: Contact us on (033) 397 8500 for all your Underberg and Himeville Villages were without water from thursday 16 - tuesday 21 Steel and Roof Sheet requirements. April because the pumps were not working.) Defending champions Johann Rabie and Gawie Combrinck will be gunning for a second Old Mutual joBerg2c title when the nine-day mountain bike race fires its opening shot near Heidelberg on the outskirts of Johannesburg on April 24. Rabie and Combrinck will headline a field of 800 riders for the 950km stage race, which crosses four of South Africa’s nine provinces en route to the Indian Ocean. OLD MUTUAL JOBERG2C STAGES: Day 1 – Karan Beef near Heidelberg to Frankfort School Day 2 – Frankfort School to Reitz Showgrounds Day 3 – Reitz Showgrounds to Sterkfontein Dam Day 4 – Sterkfontein Dam to Winterton Day 5 – Winterton to Clifton Prep on Nottingham Road Day 6 – Clifton Prep to Glencairn Farm near Underberg Day 7 – Glencairn Farm to MacKenzie Club near Ixopo Day 8 – MacKenzie Club to Jolivet Farm near Highflats Day 9 – Jolivet Farm to Scottburgh LOVE FOR STRANGERS “Papa we’re looking for you!” “Papa’s missed his 8 am connecting flight in Istanbul!” That is the mail I received from my mother in Paris on Wednesday 21st January. According to the staff of Turkish Airlines, “he refused to get onto the plane”, but should she believe that, she asked. My 75-year-old stepfather, a dignified whitehaired man, had just spent six weeks in his home country, Ghana, and was travelling back to France where he had lived for the past forty-five years. He had phoned Mum before starting his return journey, to tell her how much he was looking forward to going back and seeing her again. Immediately, Mum phones the French consulate in Istanbul. They say that due to health reasons, my dad had needed help to get out of his first plane. Later that evening, after a last check at the Paris Airport, in case Papa had managed to catch one of the four next flights to Paris scheduled on that day, my brother, Isaac, and sister, Sephora, book a flight to Istanbul for early the next day. Then began a race against time – the first two days are crucial when looking for missing people. Real detective work, ranging from reviewing the latest airport videos, interviewing security guards who had helped him, to sticking up in the streets 200 posters designed on the spot by Isaac, with a photo of my dad, the headline “HELP US” in Turkish and in French “Papa we’re looking for you” at the bottom, notwithstanding countless calls to the consulate and the police. The language barrier, unfortunately, slowed them down. To complicate matters, Papa had had his bank card stolen before leaving Ghana and his phone was not working! My dad was spotted on a video stepping into a taxi that dropped him in a street near the airport. The next day, a passerby saw him next to an underground stop. Then four interminable On selflessness A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of. - Nelson M a n d e l a . Kliptown, Soweto, South Africa, 12 July 2008 days elapsed with no news whatsoever. What could I do from Underberg? “All you can do now is wait and pray”, texted my non-religious sister. And pray we did… So did my mother in France, relatives in Switzerland, and every day, too, the elders of my mum’s congregation, with her – she, like us, is one of Jehovah’s witnesses (JW). They also sent out a photo of my dad with my sister’s details to the Istanbul branch of JW. Well, nearly a week after the event, Séphora, who was due to fly back to France the next day, received a telephone call from the JW Istanbul branch telling her that our dad was with them! Some of Jehovah’s witnesses on their preaching work had picked him up after he approached them. As we found out, my father had suffered a minor stroke during his first flight and was helped out of the plane in a wheelchair, but left stranded at the airport until late at night. He then spent one night at a hotel, one at the hospital, two in the street, in the dead of winter. When he saw the poster, he tried to walk to the consulate, without success, and finally waited at a coach station where he saw the Witnesses. Travelling could turn one into a tramp overnight. When you are without money, without a phone, aged and sick, a foreigner and the wrong colour, who will show true love to you? Marina Dorland (Dear Paul, Thanks for being welcoming. You will find my story herewith with a photo. Please let me know if you like it. It was so amazing that it’s important for me to share it, as a tribute to those who helped my dad and to promote more love and hospitality (the Greek word means “love for strangers”) in the community. Best regards, Marina Dorland.) My sister, Séphora with my dad, Seth, in Istanbul: reunited after an exhausting search
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