The Health and Safety Team spent the day visiting the section of Munsieville referred to as " The Shacks". An area of immense poverty. The team focused on Health and Safety issues, particularly around the use of paraffin and it's safety implications.
It has been determined that at least 90% of the Shack housing in South Africa uses Paraffin for energy/cooking. The misuse of Paraffin causes over 2,500 deaths in South Africa each year.
Many of the Mothers that we spoke to today stated they had experienced shack fires due to Paraffin. Additionally several had children who had suffered Paraffin poisoning through ingestion. The main reason for this is that the Adults use used plastic bottles for containing Paraffin, which are stored on the ground assessable to toddlers.
During the visits the Team provided on fire safety and first aid, as many had a real lack of awareness to the hazards of Paraffin.
The Team will continue to investigate practical and appropriate improvements and work to empower the community to identify sustainable solutions.
by Tim Wighton and Robert Manson
3 comments:
Thanks Tim and Robert....Am following your journey and feeling thankful for all I have.
Increasing awareness and smart education on the risks of storing and using paraffin could help make a real difference here. Your visits and discussions will help spread the word. It will be interesting to hear what sustainable control measures the community identifies under the guidance of their new GSK associates.... many thanks for sharing with the wider team to help give them a sense of at least some aspects of life in the shacks. Take care and we look forward to hearing the next chapter.
Keep up the great work guys. Looking forward to hearing some of the sustainable solutions you come up with. It is great to see your story unfolding in the blog.
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