Where We Have Worked
“May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.”
– Peter Marshall, U.S. Senate Chaplain 1940
Fire in Alexandra township, Gauteng – July 2020
On 2nd July a fire tore through Alexandra township in Gauteng, where 200 families watched their belongings go up in flames. Thankfully there were no injuries or fatalities from this disaster, but their homes were completely destroyed and all their belongings burnt...
Covid-19 Food Relief – 26th March – 30th June 2020
CityHope Disaster Relief partnered with the KZN Response team to bring hope to many during the Covid-19 lockdown period in South Africa. The KZN Disaster Response Team is a network of faith-based organisations involved in Disaster Management and Response work,...
Fire in Jeppestown, Johannesburg – February 2020
On the 24th of February 2020, we were notified by a teacher at one of our Pebbles nursery schools of a fire that had destroyed people's shacks near her house in Jeppestown. Although this plea for help had not come through the disaster management, we thought it would...
Flash Floods Orlando, Soweto – February 2020
On the 10th of February 2020, we were notified of flash floods that had affected people's homes near the Orlando West Home Affairs. The water had reached around 60/70cm in height in people’s homes, destroying their appliances, furniture, belongings and so on. How we...
Zambia Food Relief – January 2020
Zambia is experiencing its worst drought in a century. Adverse climatic conditions have left more than 2.3 million people in Zambia severely food insecure. That translates to 19% of the total population. Large parts of southern and western Zambia received their lowest...
New Hanover Tornado – November 2019
The towns of New Hanover and Mpolweni in inland KZN were flattened in November 2019 when a highly destructive tornado tore through the towns, resulting in entire villages being destroyed and leaving hundreds of families without shelter. How we helped The towns of New...
Xenophobia – September 2019
In September 2019 violent and unjust attacks against foreign nationals in Northern KZN resulted in hundreds of individuals being displaced How we helped In September 2019 violent and unjust attacks against foreign nationals in Northern KZN resulted in hundreds of...
Pinetown Traders Fire Damage – July 2019
Approximately 300 traders in Pinetown, KZN, lost their stock to a fire that spread from the railway line through their storage facilities on Thursday 25th July 2019OverviewThe local councilor overseeing that region drove through to the Robin Hood Foundation Conference...
Sea Cow Lake – July 2019
On Thursday 25th July, the same day as the Pinetown Vendors fire, there was also a fire that ripped through the Sea Cow Lake Informal Settlement in the Durban region. How we helped CityHope received confirmed numbers from the local councilor and arranged for a...
Fire Damage Walmer PE – June 2019
On Monday 10th June a fire destroyed 25 homes in the Walmer Township in Port Elizabeth. CityHope reached out to Harvest Church, based in Port Elizabeth, and they were delighted to be able to assist us with responding to this incident. How we helped Hope Kits were...
Fire Damage Masiphumelele – June 2019
On Tuesday 4th June 2019 there was a fire that spread through the informal settlement at Sim Place in Effingham, KZN. This resulted in 25 shacks being destroyed.How we helped Catherine contacted the local Cllr, Ashok Maharaj, and they planned to meet on Thursday 6th...
Fire damage Masiphumelele | 19th May 2019
A devastating fire tore through the Masiphumelele Settlement in the Western Cape on Sunday 19th May 2019. There were 51 households and more than 200 people that faced the trauma of losing all of their belongings to the flames and were left homeless as a result of the...
Community Pulls Together Following KZN Floods | 24 May
CityHope Disaster Relief, a Public Benefit Organisation based in Hillcrest, KZN, has been overwhelmed with the response from the local community following the recent flooding that took place in Kwa-Zulu Natal last month. CityHope responds to natural and man-made...
Malawi Flood Response – March 2019
On Friday 8th March 2019 the Government of Malawi declared a State of Disaster in the country following relentless, heavy rains and flooding associated with Cyclone Idai, which later hit Mozambique on Thursday 14th March. The Cyclone resulted in major flooding across...
Flood Damage Kwa-Mashu | 12th March 2019
On the 12th March 2019 heavy rains battered KZN. Heavy rain and flooding in parts of KwaMashu, Inanda, Verulam and Ntuzuma in KwaZulu-Natal left a number of homes flooded and damaged.Numerous families in informal settlements across KZN lost their homes to the heavy...
Flood Damage Embo | 12 March 2019
On the 12th March 2019 heavy rains battered KZN. As the rains continued to pour down, a family came knocking on CityHope’s door. A young mother, carrying her young baby boy, arrived with her mother and father to see if they could find support for the loss they had...
Storm Damage LadySmith – February 2019
Scores of families were left homeless and were evacuated to community halls following a devastating storm that wreaked havoc, displacing several families in Ladysmith on Saturday 2nd February 2019. Many houses were completely damaged while others had their roofs blown...
Wupperthall – January 2019
On the evening of 30th December 2018, residents of the rural town of Wupperthal were called to assist as a fire began to rage out of control as strong winds lifted lit coals and cast them onto adjacent dry vegetation. Disaster Management Assessment Although 53 homes...
Botha’s Hill – January 2019
On 21st January 2019 there was a house fire that destroyed one family’s home in the Botha’s Hill area. CityHope Disaster Relief were notified via social media platforms and immediately made contact with the victims of the disaster. Within a few hours the team was on...
Lavender Hill, Muizenberg – January 2019
Communication was received from a local Church leader in the Overcome Community on 1st Jan 2019 alerting the team to the fire that had ravaged the community on New Year’s Eve 2018. The RESPOND coalition team leader, Lester Sedras, activated the necessary team to be on...
Muizenburg – December 2018
On the eve of 12th December 2018, a fire devastated the Military Heights informal settlement. Several dwellings were destroyed. News of the extent of the blaze was not widely communicated and residents took to eventually requesting assistance from CityHope Disaster...
Alexandra – December 2018
On 6th December 2018, a fire incident was reported in the early hours of the morning in Alexandra Informal Settlement. Alexandra is located in Gauteng, off the London Road exit. CityHope’s General Manager, Catherine Smith, was notified and activated to undertake an...
Greenwood Park – December 2018
A 13-year-old disabled girl was burnt to death in a fire that destroyed more than 40 shacks at the Thandanani Informal settlement near Greenwood Park on Saturday 1st December 2018. The young girl was left unattended in a locked shack and was unable to escape the blaze...
Hout Bay – October 2018
Two people died and two others were injured in a fire that spread through the shacks in the Hout Bay settlement in the early hours of Friday 19th October 2018. The fire began in Salamander Road in the Hangberg Improvement Development Area. It took firefighters just...
South Sudan – October 2018
South Sudan currently faces a humanitarian disaster of unmitigated magnitude. A disaster that's incomprehensible to those of us who take for granted necessities like food and shelter. CityHope Disaster Relief (CHDR) refused to let this disaster go unheeded. How We...
Denver Fires – May 2018
In May this year, an accidental fire began in the informal community of Denver, just outside the central CBD area of Johannesburg. Approximately 64 shacks were burnt to the ground, leaving over 121 families destitute as a result. Many babies, toddlers and young...
Edith Benson Children’s Home – March 2018
In March 2018, the famous Edith Benson Children's Home in Sherwood, Durban caught fire causing major damage and destruction to a central part of the home. Gratefully, the children and those who care for them escaped harm despite the deathly blaze. Dozens of small...
Dunoon Fire Disaster – March 2018
On Tuesday 13th March, a fire incident was reported in Ususaza Road in Dunoon, Western Cape. Cityhope’s General Manager, Lori Reardon was notified on the 17th March 2018 and activated to undertake a coordinated response on 19th March 2018. The contact person was...
Vaal District – December 2017
Cornerstone Church based in Bedfordview made contact with our team just before Christmas to report a Tornado which ravaged a community in the Vaal district in Gauteng. According to reports, almost 500 people were displaced by the tornado which destroyed homes and...
Clare Estate Fires – November 2017
11 November 2017 - A massive blaze started by a single candle having gone astray, caused widespread chaos this past weekend at the informal settlement in Clare Estate, Durban. More than 70 homes were burnt to the ground, resulting in 933 people being...
Nazareth Floods – October 2017
Torrential storms affected hundreds in October 2017. Many families faced the catastrophic side effects of the heavy downpour including damage to their homes; landslides and loss of personal belongings. How We Helped Responding to a call for help from a local in the...
Inanda Valley – September 2017
In the township of Inanda Valley in KZN, word broke out that a small family's home had been destroyed by a freak storm In September 2017. The roof of their home had been blown off by gale force winds, leaving the family destitute. How We Helped We sent our team...
Somalia – August 2017
In August 2017 a CityHope Disaster Relief response team travelled back to Mogadishu, Somalia to assist a local NGO by providing 14 tonnes of food relief to the starving communities. How We Helped Our teams arrived onsite and documented how war-torn the country was and...