Dear colleagues and students
This past Saturday, 20 October, saw two devastating fires consume the homes of thousands of people in Silver Town, Khayelitsha and Kosovo, Philippi. Besides their homes, these individuals lost all their possessions, from clothes to school books and food. Since October and November see learners and students across the country writing exams, we can only imagine how difficult it is for those affected to continue with their studies.
As a university we do not exist in isolation from the communities surrounding us – they are an extension of our university community. We will therefore be making a number of sites at the university available as drop-off points should you wish to donate any items, no matter how small.
Collection points have been organised by Properties and Services at Campus Protection Services’ (CPS) control rooms and reception desks at the following locations:
These collection points will be open from Wednesday, 24 October, to Friday, 26 October 2018, during working hours. The City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management team has identified clothing, school stationery and non-perishable foods as critical items to assist those affected by the fires.
UCT’s Properties and Services department will deliver the goods to the Khayelitsha fire station where they will be given to those in need. Some UCT departments may already have begun their own collections and we thank you for taking this initiative.
If you or members of your family and friends would like to make a financial donation towards relief efforts, please do so via the Gift of the Givers Foundation’s bank account with reference Khayelitsha Fire or Fire disaster:
Account name: Gift of the Givers Foundation
Account number: 052137228
Bank: Standard Bank
Branch: Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Branch code: 057525
Swift code: SBZAZAJJ
Thank you in advance to everyone for their contributions. We know that it is not always possible for some to donate, but simply keeping the affected families in your thoughts is valuable and appreciated.
Sincerely
The UCT ExecutiveRead previous communications:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Please view the republishing articles page for more information.