Good Morning Angels steps in to help those affected by Joburg fire
Good Morning Angels assisted Leona Pienaar, CEO of Mould Empower Serve, in their pursuit to help some of the victims of the tragic Joburg fire.
The humanitarian tragedy in the aftermath of the devastating building fire in the Joburg CBD last Thursday is still unfolding. At last count, 77 people were killed, 52 injured, and around 400 people displaced.
The Department of Social Services and other government agencies are in the process of profiling the survivors. They are temporarily housed at three sites around Johannesburg, with nothing but the clothes on their backs, while authorities decide what to do next.
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Non-government and aid organisations have stepped in to assist by alleviating the survivors’ immediate needs, while awaiting direction from the authorities. One of these organisations is Mould Empower Serve (M.E.S), who have been actively helping the homeless and poor in the Johannesburg Inner-City since 1994.
M.E.S CEO, Leona Pienaar, says they are expecting to create emergency shelter for around 40 of the displaced survivors, as their shelters are already filled to capacity. In the meantime, they are assisting survivors with dignity packs and baby essentials.
"Before the 1994 elections, the building that burnt down was the Dompas Offices - the Heart of Apartheid,” says Leona.
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“After the elections, the building became obsolete. A church group asked us to join them to create a shelter for boys in the building. I remember scrubbing the toilets and cleaning everything, to open the very first M.E.S shelter in the Joburg Inner-City. Over time, we moved to another building and so did the church and that’s when the Women’s Shelter was opened there. I’m not sure why that closed down.”
REQUEST FOR: Leona Pienaar, CEO of Mould Empower Serve, or M.E.S as they are known
ANGEL: The Good Morning Angels Fund NPC
SPONSORING: The Good Morning Angels Fund will assist M.E.S. with R20,000 towards their efforts with dignity packs and help to survivors of the Johannesburg Building Fire.
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