16
Jul
Articles, On the Rise

Thousands of People Rise Up to Rebuild After Looting

Posted on by brigitteborelsaladin | 21 comments

The protests and riots following Zuma’s imprisonment have left hundreds of shops across the nation in disarray and killed 72 people. These tragic events have created so much fear and unrest over the past few days, but there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

A volunteer group called RebuildSA, which was founded by Emelda Masango only this Tuesday, has attracted more than 40000 members. These thousands of individuals are willing to clean up our malls, donate money and transport food over Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

“I didn’t expect this small act of kindness to reach so many people. I am proud and overwhelmed”, says Masango. She is “excited to see that so many people care about South Africa”, and so are we.

People have been unable to work or shop for basic supplies due to the lootings, with some queues for shops in KZN being 3 kilometres long and having people wait for over 8 hours. These good samaritans are working hard out of the kindness of their own hearts to remedy an event that has hit our nation so hard.

Beyond just cleaning up the mess that the lootings have created, food drives have been established to help communities in need. Without these efforts they would be unable to access the basic necessities required for living, including essential protective equipment to keep them safe at a time where their security is compromised.

Unfortunately, the many road closure that have resulted from the protest make it nearly impossible to transport these supplies. Prenessan Naidoo, a volunteer from the group, got in contact with an airline that is willing to help with transport from Gauteng to KZN.

Businesses are able to register from support from RebuildSA, and they have just under 100 registrations already. They are also offering mental health support and trauma counselling for those who have been affected, something that is often overlooked during periods of national crisis.

During times like these it’s easy to lose faith in those around us, and even in our nation. Projects like RebuildSA just go to show that there is so much love and light to be offered by the citizens of South Africa. It is incredible to see so many people in such a short space of time band together to care for one another and rebuild what has been lost and affected the lives of so many. Please take care of yourself and remember to stay safe!

If you’d like to get involved with the initiative, visit their Facebook page here.

Stay safe

rubybox HQ

Leave a Reply

21 thoughts on “Thousands of People Rise Up to Rebuild After Looting”

  1. Mikaila R. says:

    I have heard that it may take something like 20 years for the country to recover. If we all do it together as the united rainbow nation though we may just get there sooner than we had expected

  2. Robin G. says:

    Covid has really brought our country to a standstill with people losing their jobs and others looting and all these extras.Now was supposed to be the time that we all stand together as one.

  3. Natasha S. says:

    Wow this is amazing Emelda Masango such a selfless act to rebuild what has been broken down. Well done RebuildSA on everyone coming together for a great purpose. This makes me really proud to be a SA citizen to see the Love shown in times of need. We Pray for each and everyone who has devastatingly been affected by the past few weeks tragic events. #Thank You Rubybox looking forward to the next article! 🙂

  4. Shana B. says:

    This is incredible, a real beacon of hope in this sad time. It is a reminder of who we really are as a nation and a people. This was very much needed in every way!

  6. Lorraine N. says:

    With covid 19 things were jus bad and this violence will jus make things harder for all of us.Lets unite and pray for South Africa in these tough times.we need to stand together like never before

  9. Monica M. says:

    This is great, that we are finally protecting our communities, even though it could’ve been better if we have prevented it. But its no use to dwell on the past events, let’s work together in making this country a better place for all.