Durban blogger helps in water crisis
A DURBAN blogger with a strong social media following has used her online influence to help in the Cape Town water crisis.
Riaa Algoo, of Queensburgh, who runs the Blog Box, a beauty and fashion blog with more than 24 000 followers on Instagram, started the #Waterblogbox campaign and sent her first pallet of bottled water to Cape Town this week.
The city has been in a severe drought and is expected to approach what has been termed #Dayzero by May.
This is the day when officials will be forced to cut off the normal water supply to 75% of the city’s homes.
Algoo said she could not sit back and watch Cape Town approach #Dayzero, so she decided to use her social media influence to get people on board to support the cause.
She created a platform on her blog’s website for people to purchase water.
She then partnered with a local logistics company, Kargo National, who offered to transport the water for her.
“Everyone came together and the first batch of water left this week. I knew there was a water crisis in Cape Town but didn’t understand the severity of it until I received a message from a mother asking for water just to make bottles for her babies.
“That got me thinking and it was such a heartfelt message. It really hit home because I am a mother also. We are in a slightly better position and my thinking is, if we are in a better standing, we should help whoever we can,” Algoo said.
She said the response had been phenomenal and the campaign had got off to a great start.
nabeelah.shaikh@inl.co.za