Action by Churches Together (ACT)
Alert - South Africa - 1/2001
Floods in the Western Cape Peninsula
Geneva, 3 September, 2001


The Western Cape Peninsula in South Africa has been hit by a spate of
flooding since mid July this year due to heavy rains. More flooding were
experienced in August forcing more people to leave their homes taking
refuge in community halls. Most people have lost their homes as these
normally are built of poor materials and could not withstand the flooding.
Sanitary conditions have become pathetic as the affected areas are in low
swampy places. This has increased the incidences of water borne diseases
such as diarrhea. Extensive damage was also done to the meager household
goods of the affected families such as mattresses, blankets, clothing and
kitchen utensils. People also lost the food stocks they had in their homes
and as these are very poor people, they would require relief food
assistance to survive. The government has declared the area a disaster
area and has called on relief organizations to join it in helping the
people. The number of the affected are estimated at about 16,000 people.

ACT members South African Council of Churches (SACC) and Evangelical
Lutheran Church in South Africa (ELCSA) responded to the situation in July
through provision of relief items after getting some Rapid Response Funds
from ACT. They have continued to assess the situation and are considering
submitting appeal proposals to provide more assistance to the affected
people. Should an appeal be issued, we would appreciate support from the
ACT donors.


Thank you for your attention.

For further information please contact:

ACT Co-ordinator, Thor-Arne Prois (phone ++41 22 791 6033 or mobile phone
++ 41 79 203 6055)
or
ACT Appeals Officer, John Nduna (phone +41 22 791 6040)


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Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and
their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency
response.  The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of
Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
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   Ecumenical Centre                          Phone: ++41-22-791.60.33
   150, route de Ferney                         Fax: ++41-22-791.65.06
   P.O. Box 2100                             E-Mail: act@wcc-coe.org
   1211 Geneva 2                              Telex: 415 730 OIK CH
   Switzerland                                 http://www.act-intl.org


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