The civil rights organisation AfriForum spent R22 000 the past week to bring drought relief to farmers in the Waterberg district by renting vehicles to transport and deliver fodder to different areas. The Waterberg drought relief project was launched in cooperation with Boere in Nood to support farmers who have lost grazing. The farmers of Afguns and Ant’s Hill recently received fodder, while Baviaanskloof will receive theirs next week.
According to Jaco Grobbelaar, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for Soutpansberg, these three areas were severely affected by the drought and were the last areas in this region that have not yet received any support. “The battle is not yet over – even though our project has helped large areas that have been subject to the drought, it feels like only a drop in the ocean. The donated fodder is simply not enough to support the farmers until the grazing fields have recovered.”
AfriForum also made R10 000 available from its drought fund to have a grass field mowed which will produce about 200 bales of fodder that will be sent to farmers in the surrounding area. Grobbelaar adds that they urgently need help transporting and delivering these bales to emergency areas. “It is very expensive to transport the bales and we therefor encourage the public to support us with any kind of help or donation. We are very grateful for the fodder donations that we have so far received from farmers.”
People can support the initiative by –
- Donating fodder;
- Making available vehicles to transport the bales to the different areas;
- Sending an SMS with “Droogtehulp” to 38310 to donate R10; or
- Donating to AfriForum’s drought fund, which will be used to purchase fodder and arrange for delivery.
Use the following banking details if you want to make a donation:
Account holder: AfriForum NPC
Bank: FNB
Account number: 623 4989 9398
Branch: Centurion
Branch code: 261 550
Reference: Waterberg drought relief
Phone Jaco Grobbelaar at 081 216 9570 or Tommie Klopper at 062 300 2308 for more information.