As parts of the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape remain in the grips of the worst drought in a century, the Shoprite Group has heeded the call of South Africans to help Cape Town and other communities that will soon be left without water through its till-point donation facility.

Customers will be able to help with the water crisis in a meaningful way by donating money to the Group’s Disaster Relief Fund starting Tuesday, 6 February 2018. They will be able to add increments of R5 to their purchases at till points at any Shoprite or Checkers store in South Africa.

Donations to the fund will be used to aid Cape Town, currently facing the threat of Day Zero (11 May) which is when the taps are expected to run dry, as well as other drought-stricken areas.

The decision follows requests from customers in other parts of the country who offered to donate bottles of water. A more effective way to help is to donate money, as water is heavy and difficult to pack and transport. The money raised will be utilised to source water optimally and transport it in the most efficient way to provide help to those suffering in the crisis.

The Disaster Relief Fund was established in March 2016 in response to the debilitating drought in the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. It has since been used to assist communities affected by fire, flooding or other disasters.

The Shoprite Group has for months been reaching out to the communities worst hit by the devastating drought. One of its initiatives is The Smart Water Meter Challenge, which has enabled schools, and ultimately the City of Cape Town, to save over 18 million litres of waterto date. It continues and will escalate substantially efforts to save water over the months to come as more meters are introduced at additional schools.