Toddlers at Sydenham informal settlement crèche exposed to leaking sewer
Toddlers at Ithubalethu Crèche on Lacey Road informal settlement forced to play near an open sewer at their school. PICTURE : Supplied Toddlers at Ithubalethu Crèche on Lacey Road informal settlement forced to play near an open sewer at their school. PICTURE : Supplied
Durban - A woman who runs a crèche in an informal settlement on Lacey Road, Sydenham, says she is battling to keep her doors open due to the stench from a constant sewage problem just outside the property.
Purity Mapululo, owner of Ithubalethu Crèche, said she had complained several times about the issue to the eThekwini Municipality, but the leaking sewer was never fixed.
“This problem has been going on for too long now and it is affecting my children. I cannot allow them to go outside and play and I must close the windows,” she said.
“The children and parents always complain of the smell and the children keep getting sick.
“It is because we are in an informal settlement that no one cares to fix this problem, but the children are suffering,” she added.
A community leader who works closely with the crèche said the stench was unbearable.
“Imagine how the children feel? It is their place of learning and they can not play outside,” he said.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said teams would attend to the matter “with speed”. He appealed to communities to refrain from disposing of “alien objects” in the system.
“Over 70 percent of blockages are as a result of this irresponsible behaviour from some of our residents. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused to our residents,” he said.