Hlalanikahle family loses everything in a shack fire
After taking a nap, Oniah Mashego claims that her shack was destroyed in a fire this afternoon. She thinks a fire brazier ignited the fire.
'I was feeling hot when I woke up from my nap and went to the bathroom, only to return to find fire blazing,' she said, 'Thank God I was unharmed, but I lost everything in the fire. Fortunately, my children are not here; they have gone to visit.'
Mashego is appealing to the public to help her by offering donations of any kind.
You can contact her on 072 762 5508.
Breaking news at your fingertips … Follow WITBANK NEWS on our website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or TikTok
Chat to us: [email protected]
At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
3 days ago
- The Citizen
Burst manhole spews sewage near Greymont Bridge
On August 7, Ward 86 councillor Chantelle Fourie-Shawe was alerted to a serious issue involving a burst manhole near the infamous Greymont Bridge. The situation has now escalated to a public health concern, as raw sewage is reportedly bubbling up and flowing downstream, even reaching private property on Stellenberg Road. 'It's a health hazard, and a disgrace,' Fourie-Shawe stated. Read more: Pollution and sewage threaten Westdenes waterways The councillor was informed about the manhole burst by one of the civic organisations that monitor the rivers in the area. She emphasised that this incident highlights a troubling reality: The infrastructure in Johannesburg is crumbling before our eyes. 'This is symptomatic of a greater issue in the city, regarding the administration's failure to prioritise maintenance and repairs.' Fourie-Shawe expressed her frustration over the deteriorating state of the city's infrastructure, stating that such incidents are a constant reminder of the challenges she faces in her role. 'When I see this, this is what I always think about. This is why I am here, and why I fight.' She added that Johannesburg Water was alerted about the issue, sending an operations manager to assess and investigate the root cause of the repeated failures, so that repairs can take place. Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates and inspiration!
IOL News
3 days ago
- IOL News
Electric blankets vs fan heaters: Which is better for your wallet?
We look into the costs of 'phantom' power and how much your electric blanket and fan heaters are costing you. Image: IOL As South Africans experience more cold fronts and severe weather, many households are grappling with rising electricity bills. Local energy expert, Wes Reddy, has taken to TikTok to shed light on how various household appliances can cause dents in your wallet, offering insights and tips on how to help consumers save money. His series of educational videos, often featuring practical tests and direct advice, has garnered traction from South Africans struggling with energy costs. The hidden drain of tiny heaters One of the most noteworthy revelations from Reddy's recent uploads shows the surprising expense of small fan heaters. Reddy explained that tiny heaters consume approximately 2000 watts. If used for just one hour each day, they will use 2 units of electricity. At a rate of R4 per unit, this amounts to around R240 per month. If you leave the heater on for four hours daily, the cost escalates to R960 per month. Extending usage to six hours a day could result in a staggering and eye-watering R1440 monthly expense. Viewer comments further emphasise this issue, with one user remarking that R960 could instead purchase "a few extra blankets," a sentiment that Reddy agreed with. Are electric blankets a good alternative for being warm? But are electric blankets a warmer and cheaper alternative? In contrast to the expensive fan heaters, electric blankets present a more energy-efficient option for keeping warm. Reddy's video, "Electric Blanket Power Use: What It Really Costs You!", looks into the actual costs associated with using these blankets. Electric blankets consume approximately 60 watts per hour, equating to 0.06 units of electricity. At a rate of R4 per unit, this translates to just 24 cents per hour. So if you use your electric blanket throughout the night, the total cost amounts to only R1.92 per day, which adds up to R57.60 per month. Chargers and 'phantom power' Another common misconception is whether chargers consume power when not in use. Reddy's video, "Do Chargers Use Power When Not in Use?", explores the concept of "phantom power." To investigate, Reddy plugged in three different cellphone chargers and a laptop charger, but ensured they were not connected to any devices. When cellphone chargers are plugged in but not actively charging, they consume no power at all. However, the laptop charger draws 0.03 amps at 230V, equating to 7 watts of power while idle. If this charger remains plugged in for 22 hours without use, it results in an unnecessary expense of R18 per month—simply for not unplugging it. IOL
IOL News
5 days ago
- IOL News
They once shared recipes, now her family is starving in Gaza
Ghada holds a photo of her uncle and cousins in Gaza. Image: Pete Kiehart/ The Washington Post Danielle Paquette They used to swap TikTok recipes and photos of mouthwatering spreads: crispy falafel, baked chicken, grilled beef kebabs. Now her aunt in Gaza appeared on a WhatsApp video call with sunken eyes. The proud foodie was down to three cups of lentils and her last sack of flour. 'We can make that stretch,' Aunt Fairouz was saying, 'for two more days.' Perched at the marble island in her fully stocked Maryland kitchen, Ghada Tafesh listened and silently did the culinary math. No configuration of those ingredients would nourish a household of six. The youngest, 12-year-old twin boys, had each shed 22 pounds in the last year, a quarter of their body weight. The doctor's diagnosis was all too familiar. Acute malnutrition. The family hadn't eaten meat since early March. 'I pray for you every day,' Ghada replied. Over almost 22 months of war, she had watched from afar as they all shrank: Her 47-year-old aunt with a pent-up flair for hosting; her 21-year-old cousin, Yasmeen, who'd fainted during her volunteer-nurse shifts at the hospital; the twins, Kareem and Ayman, both Cristiano Ronaldo fans who'd lost the energy to play soccer. The Washington Post is identifying them by only their first names because they fear retaliation. No one in their family group chat was surprised when the leading global authority on food crises said last week that the 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip' and predicted 'widespread death.' The emaciated children in images circulating worldwide resembled ones Yasmeen said she saw daily in the emergency room. They all rejected the Israeli prime minister's insistence that there was 'no starvation' in Gaza. They weren't sure what to make of President Donald Trump publicly contradicting him. 'That's real starvation stuff,' Trump had remarked. 'I see it, and you can't fake that.' Ghada, a 30-year-old biologist and newish U.S. citizen, wires cash every other month to her family in the battered enclave, her hometown, despite the transfer fee that fluctuates as high as 60 percent. But the bigger challenge is finding anything edible for sale, and Aunt Fairouz is willing at this point to pluck out the maggots. Ghada prepares dinner in her Maryland home. Image: Pete Kiehart / The Washington Post Thieves loot the aid trucks that manage to roll through Israel's strict blockades, she told Ghada. Otherwise, where were street hawkers getting tomatoes to sell for $20 apiece? She urged her children to avoid supply convoys, fearing stampedes and bullets. Their survival strategy: Stay indoors - though not literally, because strikes had blown out their doors - and wait for those shameful merchants with their bags of questionable produce. Three cups of lentils, for instance, used to cost $2. Now the price tag is closer to $25. They have no choice but to venture out to the water truck, which rumbles down their unpaved road on a frustratingly irregular basis. The twins know to run outside with buckets, shouldering a chore their father used to handle. Sami, who'd worked as a Palestinian Authority police officer, died in January 2024 from a heart attack. There had been no doctors around with the right training to treat him. As far as the family knows, he hadn't been included in the Gaza Health Ministry's death toll, which last month passed 60,000. But the Israel-Hamas conflict has crushed access to even basic medical care, so Aunt Fairouz views her government's tally as incomplete. 'I pray that things get better,' Ghada said for what felt like the millionth time. What she was thinking: I am so afraid to lose you. All my fears are about losing you. She blew a kiss to the screen. Another aunt sent Ghada a photo of all the food she could find over one day of searching in Gaza. Image: Pete Kiehart / The Washington Post The last time they'd embraced was in 2021, when Ghada visited Gaza after nine years away. Visa complications, she said, had trapped her in what stung like exile. She'd first visited the United States as a high school exchange student and returned on a college scholarship, eventually earning a doctorate degree in biological sciences from George Washington University. In June 2024, she became a citizen. All the while, Ghada missed her family's cooking. Food was how they kept in touch. Food was how they showed love - 'our pride and joy,' she explained. During that last trip, Aunt Fairouz and her daughters whipped up all the special dishes. There was chicken with caramelized onions, pine nuts and warm pita. There were ducks stuffed with rice, carrots, peas and potatoes. There was strawberry shortcake and pastries laced with sweet cream. The family's doors were still on their hinges. The second floor was still intact. They still had electricity and running water. Ghada's parents and brother still lived nearby; their house hadn't yet collapsed, and they hadn't yet fled to Cairo. The boys still kicked their soccer ball. Kareem wanted to go pro like Ronaldo. Ayman was more into his mother's laptop and styling himself a 'good hacker.' In an extended family of dozens, they are the only twins. 'Mini-celebrities,' Ghada called them, with bright futures. Now? 'I just want things to be normal,' Kareem muttered on WhatsApp behind his mother's shoulder. 'I pray for you every day,' Ghada tells her family. Image: Pete Kiehart / The Washington Post
