'The SHAWCO name saved me'

Joe Sadan from Kensington has been working for SHAWCO for 27 years, mainly as a driver. He well remembers the welcome SHAWCO received from those under siege in Cape Town's townships.

"I was driving a truck loaded with blankets and tinned food to Nyanga, to the SHAWCO offices there. I was approaching the township from Manenberg, and as I was crossing the bridge [over the N2 highway] I saw burning, and smoke, and people running. I thought to myself, I can't turn around here. I'm on a bridge – I cannot possibly turn around. What am I going to do now?

"As I came into Nyanga, I saw the fists in the air in a salute, and the people opened up the barricade. I passed through without being harmed. The SHAWCO name saved me. People in the township saw SHAWCO as help. The only organisations that could enter the township were SHAWCO and the Red Cross."

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