At Nazareth House, a care home for dozens of vulnerable, disabled and orphaned children, feeding time is executed with military precision.
The children who depend on the Catholic charity’s care are fed according to strict instructions on a whiteboard that shows each child’s name and how much water they need.
“We make so many bottles a day – this is such a big place. And before you go to each child, you need to wash your hands,” care assistant Carmilla Slamdien told AFP as she described the water-intensive routine of feeding, washing and sterilisation.
Nazareth House’s residents are among the city’s most vulnerable people.
They now face the prospect that their taps will be shut off within months as the three-year-long drought – the worst in more than a century – leaves reservoirs empty.
“Is there a plan? No. I can’t think of how we’ll do it after Day Zero,” said Slamdien, referring to the day when ordinary water supplies to more than a million homes will be shut off, currently forecast for May 11.
For Zone Janse van Rensburg, an occupational therapist at the home who is eight months pregnant, Day Zero could bring real hardship.
Most residents will be forced to queue at communal taps at 200 water points – likely under police or military guard – to collect a daily ration of 25 litres or half the amount allowed now.
Read More: News24
