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Gift of the Givers says it will drill for water at Rahima Moosa Hospital

Existing, defunct boreholes near the hospital will be assessed with a view to resuscitating them. Stock photo.
Existing, defunct boreholes near the hospital will be assessed with a view to resuscitating them. Stock photo.
Image: 123RF/Weerapat Kiatdumrong

Gift of the Givers said their team will be drilling for water at the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital to avert a water crisis there.

“Having delivered bottled water on 28 and 31 May, Gift of the Givers drilling teams will be arriving at the hospital shortly, having been granted permission by the management and infrastructure team to drill for water,” said the organisation's founder, Imtiaz Sooliman.

Gauteng's health department on Monday raised concerns about the knock-on effects of the water disruptions on facilities such as Helen Joseph and Rahima Moosa hospitals.

Spokesperson Kwara Kekana said that since last week, the management of the two hospitals had attempted to alleviate some of the pressure from the two worst affected facilities by transferring some patients to other hospitals and performing some theatre operations at sister hospitals.

Gift of the Givers said it was approached by hospital staff and management requesting bottled water, portable toilets and any practical assistance to augment the water tankers arriving daily.

 Sooliman said the crisis couldn't have come at a worse time with rapidly rising Covid-19 numbers in Gauteng, Rahima Moosa being one of the feeder hospitals for the temporarily shut Charlotte Maxeke Hospital and healthcare workers trying to catch up with non-Covid-19 patients between the second and third waves.

“Add to that a desperate community thronging to the hospital in search of drinking water, clearly worsening Covid-19 risk,” said Sooliman.

Sooliman said their geologist, Dr Gideon Groenewald, has identified the drilling site.

“Existing, defunct boreholes will be assessed with a view to resuscitating them while drilling for new boreholes then pumping water directly into the hospital infrastructure using booster pumps and setting up taps outside the hospital for community use once the water has been tested and approved for human consumption,” said Sooliman.

Sooliman said bottled water from companies will be welcomed while awaiting successful drilling, yield testing and laboratory water tests.

TimesLIVE