Late in January a sewage pipe serving not only the Mkurnali homeless shelter but three other houses failed. Unfortunately, to say the least, when this happened the waste water gushed out into Mkurnali’s yard. The volume of water was so much that it washed away a set of steps and part of the kitchen wall collapsed.
Getting the sewer fixed was quite a saga. It took two companies and one failed fix to discover that the problem was actually not on Mkurnali property. It took three weeks more to finally fix the issue. First they had to persuade the company responsible to come out, then it took them several teams to locate the problem. Finally, they only hired an excavator for two hours, so Mkurnali volunteers worked through the night with shovels to dig up the street so a new pipe could be installed. After all this, they still had to complete work within our yard to reconnect us to the main drains.
This drama has taken its toll. While Mkurnali were appealing to the authorities for help, one of the children living at the shelter had to be hospitalised because of an infection. The leak also caused damage to the property. A kitchen wall partially collapsed and still needs reinforcement. The steps to our property also washed away and urgently need to be fixed. Unfortunately, Mkurnali are responsible for the damage to their property, even though it wasn’t their fault. It will cost £4,100 to make the essential repairs. Can you help?
