Gift of the Givers to drill boreholes at Helen Joseph Hospital to avert water crisis

Pretoria – Disaster relief group Gift of the Givers on Friday said it would drill boreholes at the Helen Joseph Hospital following water cuts in and around Johannesburg which have impacted water supply at health facilities.

Earlier this month, Gift of the Givers drilled boreholes at the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital, which has been similarly affected.

“There has been nothing but total co-operation, support and flexibility from the Gauteng provincial health department, CEOs, management and infrastructure teams at both Rahima Moosa Hospital and Helen Joseph Hospital in granting Gift of the Givers permission to drill for boreholes at these two facilities,” founder Imtiaz Sooliman said in a statement.

“The situation demands an urgent response as this is an emergency that affects the normal functioning of the hospitals now seriously challenged by the Covid-19 third wave. Water is critical for every type of procedure, for hygiene and infection control, and an uninterrupted supply is non-negotiable.”

He said drilling at Helen Joseph would commence on Friday morning, at the first of eight possible sites mapped out by Gift of the Givers geologist Dr Gideon Groenewald.

“The drilling rig is on site. The presence of this incredible piece of machinery has created a new sense of hope, a morale boost, a sparkle in the eyes of healthcare workers and management at the two facilities as 23 days of inadequate supply is the last straw following two waves of Covid-19, load shedding and an additional patient load from the now-closed Charlotte Maxeke Hospital,” said Sooliman.

He added that Gift of the Givers teams would on Saturday be pumping borehole water into ten giant tanks and from there via booster pumps into the Rahima Moosa Hospital infrastructure, providing the institution’s total daily requirement of 130 000 litres of uninterrupted supply.

“A special thanks to Implats that have funded the entire cost of the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital borehole which currently stands at R700 000. Donors have been coming forward to commit funding for the Helen Joseph borehole,” Sooliman added.

Earlier this month, an executive at utility Rand Water, which supplies water to the Gauteng province, said an engineering glitch had led to the failure of two transformers, disrupting water supply to communities on the West Rand, parts of the vast Soweto township as well as major health institutions like Rahima Moosa and Helen Joseph.

African News Agency (ANA)