In the Cape Flats, childhood begins with struggle - not choice.

The storm brought conditions that were difficult for Cape Town broadly, but for communities like Manenberg the impact runs deeper. Informal housing and limited drainage infrastructure mean that heavy rain doesn’t just inconvenience — it damages, displaces, and disrupts. Schools were closed across the Western Cape for the day, stripping away one of the few consistent structures available to children and families in the area.

Cape Town was hit by a severe storm bringing torrential rain, strong winds, and widespread disruption. While the city as a whole was impacted, communities across the Cape Flats faced a disproportionate share of the consequences — inadequate housing and poor drainage infrastructure meaning that bad weather quickly becomes a crisis at ground level. With the Western Cape Education Department closing all schools for the day and recommending that Early Childhood Development Centres follow suit, many families were left without their usual support structures at an already challenging time.

On 12 May 2026, the Food for People Cape Town team headed out to the Pink and Grey Flats in Bishop Lavis for a community outreach meal distribution. The visit came in direct response to the severe weather conditions that battered the city earlier that week.