Help is now coming from what seem to be even the unlikeliest of places in the heart-breaking wake of Northern Cape veldfires leaving widespread devastation in only a few days. And much more help is needed.

The Kimberley diamond mining company Ekapa and Northern Cape based agribusiness GWK have joined forces to provide assistance where farmers and other community members are fighting fires that in the past few days alone already left behind more than 100 000 ha of scorched earth in areas between Schmidtsdrift, Campbell, Douglas, Kimberley, Magersfontein and Jacobsdal. The fires were also raging closer to Hopetown and extended into areas of the Free State and, at the time of writing, it was still burning between Douglas and Campbell.

Ekapa and GWK have managed to build up an emergency crisis fund to the value of R2 million since the beginning of the week to provide assistance in collaboration with and through coordination by Agri Northern Cape. Much more help is still needed where the fires impacted countless animals of all sorts and people from all walks of life.

Farmers and their families, farm workers, other members of farming communities and Ekapa personnel with their fire-fighting equipment gathered to fight fearlessly against the fires and to gather food and water while they had to make plans to get animals out of danger. Motorists were trapped behind the fires where reports were received of people who had to watch burnt animals run anxiously across the N12 between Kimberley and Ritchie to seek shelter.

This follows after other recent fires ravaged large parts of the Northern Cape and Free State – it is estimated that more than 400 000 ha may have been destroyed by veldfires only in the last few months.

According to Neil de Klerk, Executive Head of Marketing and Communication for GWK, Ekapa CEO Jahn Hohne approached GWK to get involved in relief efforts. This allowed GWK and Ekapa to take hands and implement help through GWK’s already existing Just One Drop-initiative that was started to support farmers in need during the drought, and is now utilised to assist after the devastating fires.

“It might seem like an unlikely source of help, but we have come to know Ekapa for the way they care about people and the environment in their immediate area. The Hohne family and Ekapa are known for their work and selfless investment in our communities, specifically for wildlife protection that is very close to their hearts. This aligns closely to how GWK and our leadership team feel about our responsibility towards our environment and communities.”