Heavy rains in the Free State have brought on severe floods, posing a danger to community members, infrastructure and daily operations.
As a result, Mpophomo Combined School at a farm in Harrismith has had to suspend lessons, meaning around 180 learners have had to miss out on teaching and learning for a week, and rather stay at home for their safety.
In addition to the overflow of water in the streets, a bridge leading to the school (which was built in the 1900s and required an improvement) has been flooded following the large amount of rainfall in the last few weeks.
Learners in the Harrismith area have to walk 16km a day to get to school; with the heavy rains and the damage it has brought, parents are worried about the safety of their children.
"I don't feel okay, because one learner lost his shoe while trying to pass the bridge, and it's not only learners but also those who are working...Just yesterday, a police vehicle almost drowned," said a concerned parent, Gugu Mazibuko.
Sadly, this is not the first time the Free State has been dealing with severe floods. For the past five years, learners and teachers in the area have been experiencing the same challenge as a result of rough weather conditions.
In September last year, residents in the small town of Jagersfontein experienced the collapse of a dam wall, which had a damaging affect on community infrastructure such as schools and homes.
The Free State is not the only province to be experiencing such drastic rainfalls; seven of the country's nine provinces are in a similar boat.
In order to enable nationwide action to respond to the flooding, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared that South Africa is in a national state of disaster.
Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape have been most affected by the recent floods, which were brought on by heavy rainfall as a result of the La Nina weather phenomenon, according to a statement from the office of the presidency on Monday, 13 February 2023.
Just last year, KwaZulu-Natal experienced detrimental floods that the province is still bouncing back from.
Free State community members say the situation has not changed and they are without the help they need, despite reporting the issue to relevant authorities.
The Free State Department of Education is currently engaging with parents to relocate learners to an alternative space for learning, and a "catch-up plan" is also in the works to help learners who have missed quite a bit of school.
