Church 'kicks out' flood victims

More than 120 displaced women and children who are victims of floods in Mamelodi are accusing a local church of kicking them out like dogs.

The group, which includes 73 children, has also accused the Worship Centre Community Church at Nellmapius in Mamelodi of ill-treating them before showing them the door on Friday, sending them packing to the Nellmapius Community Hall.

The women and children are part of about 1,300 people who were displaced when more than 700 shacks, mainly at the Eerstefabriek and Willow Farm informal settlements in Mamelodi, were destroyed by floods last week.

They are now housed at the community hall which also accommodates displaced men and children.

Tiny Baloyi, one of the affected women, told Sowetan that they received bad treatment from the church.

"The church members and caretakers were always hurling insults at us; they accused us of making the church dirty, and making noise. They also told us that we used free electricity and water that we don't pay for," said Baloyi.

The flood victims were placed at the church last Monday. Virginia Mabuza, 58, said: "I'm diabetic and I take my medication three times a day, and it hurt me that every time I needed food I struggled to get it because I don't have a specific time to eat ... the volunteers treated us badly every day."

The victims also claim that they never felt safe at the church as they were made to spend every night sleeping while the doors of the church remained open.

They also alleged that there was a break-in at the church in which thugs tried to steal some of the food which had been donated to them.

Shoki Makofane, 34, claimed volunteers, tasked with preparing food for them, were often rude.

"The volunteers stole food, clothes that people donated for us and there was a cheque of R500,000 that was donated for flood victims but we didn't see it," said Makofane.

The National Lotteries Commission had pledged R500,000 in relief funding to assist the flood-stricken communities in the area.

However, pastor Jonas Masotla said they moved them because they were hosting a wedding, among others.

"Our doors are always open to help others and we love having them at the church and there were lots of donors who donated for them," Masotla said.

Ward councillor Nthabiseng Mokwena also denied the allegations. "On the day of heavy floods we went to pastor
Masotla and asked if we could place some of the victims at the church and there was no time frame of how long they would stay there," she said.

Mokwena said the people were not kicked out but they were forced to move because the church was too small to accommodate all of them.

"I'm shocked that the flood victims now want the donation money and threaten that they won't leave until they get the money. We can't give them the money, it belongs to all affected flood victims in region 6."

Mokwena accused the flood victims of being rude and picking fights with volunteers, telling them that they were not constantly eating peanut butter and jam like when they were still living in their shacks.

"They told them they used to eat donated cheese, polony, and meat, not canned food."