The members of the OD Union have very generoulsy donated over R18 000 to the OD farmers trust, which is greatly appreciated. We do however call the network again as this amount is not enough in order to make a substaintial difference. 

The farmers have recorded rainfall of 12mm in December, while this does contribute to alleviating the dire situation, they cannnot rely on only this. 

Frekkie De Villiers (1994F) kindly drove a truck load of oat hay and lucerne to Grant Paxton (1994F) in December.

  
Robert Graaf (1992F) also managed to transport a truck load of oat hay to Roland Kroon (above) (1984W)

For anyone wihsing to help these farmers please do not hesitate in donating to the trust below; 

Name: Clark Cupido Attorneys Inc
Bank: FNB
Account Number: 62757530897
Swift code: FIRNZAJJ
Ref: DROUGHT RELIEF [your surname]

9 December

Going into the summer of 2016/2017, anxious Capetonians were preparing to queue at designated water-collection points in anticipation of the foretold Day Zero, when the city of Cape Town was due to run out of fresh water.

Day Zero never came.

Since then, there has been a perceived sense of harmony; a sense that the Western Cape – and the rest of South Africa – had beaten the drought. But this is not the case.

Farmers, who form the backbone of South Africa’s food and employment security in rural communities, have been fighting the lack of water and the accompanying effects of the drought for the past seven years.

“At this stage, it would not be necessary to declare a national disaster, but provincially – in the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape, the Northern Cape and Limpopo – a disaster declaration should have come more than a year ago,” said Willem Symington of Agri Northern Cape in an interview with Daily Maverick after a meeting on 12 November.

The meeting was a first of its kind, with members of the farming community coming together at the AgriSA press briefing in Centurion. The agenda focused on discussing the plight of the farming industry, which had been suffering since the drought started seven years ago, according to Daily Maverick.

“It’s been going on for at least six years,” says Grant Paxton (1994F), who farms livestock in the Eastern Cape, near Aberdeen. “Farmers are now throwing money into what has become a bottomless pit, because they need to continually provide feed to their animals.”

 

Roger Sainsbruy (1994F) and Dan Frater (1994F), along with many more, have managed to send Paxton 750 bales of oat hay and 34 tons of white maize from the Free State. This was achieved over a couple of days.