Five-day water outage disrupts hygiene at Johannesburg home
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Daily Maverick
A five-day water outage deprived disabled residents at the St Giles home in Johannesburg of suitable hygiene and care conditions. Emergency supplies ran out in one morning and staff had to collect water from Jeppe fire station, reports Daily Maverick.
A five-day water outage caused a severe hygiene crisis at the St Giles home in Dewetshof, near Kensington, Johannesburg. The 29 residents, several of whom are disabled or vulnerable, lacked water to wash, clean the toilets and do the laundry, reports Daily Maverick.
The emergency supplies of 25 litres stored in each bathroom were used up in one morning, according to the home’s director, Palesa Nhlapo. Soiled nappies and dirty laundry piled up as staff worried about the risk of infection. The teams also struggled to prepare meals and provide drinking water, tea, coffee and juice during the heatwave.
The home hired a van to collect water from Jeppe fire station, an additional expense for the non-profit organisation, whose residents cover only about 40% of operating costs. Kensington residents later brought bottled water and filled 25-litre containers.
The water shortage in Johannesburg has also led to protests in several neighbourhoods ahead of the municipal elections on 4 November. On 24 October, residents of Mayfair, Crosby and surrounding areas took to the streets, reports Daily Maverick. Johannesburg residents protest after a week without water
