Australia, like South Africa in the last week and so many other regions across the globe before, has instituted strict lockdown measures to combat the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Though this is not the first large scale crisis the country has been faced with since the start of the year, as just a few short months ago Australia was still making international headlines … [Read more...]
Protesters demonstrate outside Cape Town oil conference
The Africa Oil Week conference at the Cape Town International Convention Centre this week is bringing together governments, investors, international corporations, and lobbyists, who - despite our imminent global ecological crisis – remain unchallenged by our politicians as they further push our world over the edge of collapse through their aggressively escalating production of … [Read more...]
Gift of the Givers teams to aid earthquake-shaken Indonesia
A volcano has erupted on the same island in Indonesia where an earthquake and tsunami last week killed at least 1400 people. Gift of the Givers has responded to a call for assistance from the President of Indonesia. Gift of the Givers search and rescue teams are heading for Indonesia today with highly specialised equipment, accompanied by a select number of medical … [Read more...]
Our lonely home in nature
The tornadoes that have been devastating parts of the South and Midwest USA, just weeks after a deadly mudslide in Washington, demonstrate once again the unimaginable power of nature. After each disaster, we grieve over the human lives lost, the innocent people drowned or crushed without warning as they slept in their beds, worked in their fields or sat at their office … [Read more...]
Namibia & Angola: appeals for worst drought in 30 years
Desert-hardy Namibians, overwhelmed by the worst drought to hit their country in 30 years, are surviving off wild fruits with no harvest in sight until March 2014, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said as it launched an appeal on Monday. The government of Namibia, the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa, declared a national … [Read more...]
Is your family prepared for a natural disaster?
In this modern era, technology has provided society with numerous means of predicting the natural and man-made hazards that are part and parcel of daily living. But it also makes sense to be prepared for any eventuality. The likelihood of recuperating from an emergency or hazard tomorrow almost always depends on the planning and preparation done today. The City of Cape … [Read more...]
Three more die in Italy floods; Venice waters receding
Three people died when their car fell off a collapsed bridge on Tuesday, as flooding battered central Italy for a third straight day, forcing part of Italy's main north-south highway to close. Water levels were receding, however, in Venice, the lagoon city and Unesco world heritage site that at the weekend saw its sixth-worst flooding since records began in 1872. St … [Read more...]
Climate change impacts on human health
The City of Johannesburg has initiated a dialogue on the topic of climate change and its impact on human health. The aim is to initiate discussion between various stakeholders such as media, academia, NGOs, civil society, the business sector as well as national and provincial government. The science of climate change indicates that the world is now exposed to future warming … [Read more...]
Communities deal with aftermath of heavy rain and floods
The worst might be over, but now reality strikes. Hundreds of people in Mozambique, Limpopo and Mpumalanga must now pick up the pieces of their already difficult lives after heavy rain and floods left them destitute and the community in shambles. It might no longer be front page news, but have you given a thought the terrible trauma of piecing a life together after such … [Read more...]
Calls for Duduza relief aid
"We are worried about school; we have no bags, no stationery, no uniforms. We will fall behind in our education whilst other children will work". During a trauma counselling session with children affected by the tornado in Duduza, besides an overwhelming fear of the "black wind with two eyes" or "the snake that laid its eggs," the preoccupation and greatest anxiety was the … [Read more...]
Club together for Japanese victims
The people of Japan are still struggling to recover from the record breaking earthquake and tsunami that hit over there last week Friday. Thousands of people are dead and many more are still missing or injured. We are very happy to announce that Pick 'n Pay and ABSA have clubbed together to mobilize support for our brothers and sisters in Japan. From Friday 18 March 2011, … [Read more...]
