South Africa has been struggling with load shedding for the past few years, but this year things just got worse. We experience load shedding every day, and it seems like this is going to be our new normal because the government is not showing any effort on ending this constant load shedding. We’ve been forced to normalize it. Many people have been crying that load shedding is bringing more harm to them; there are businesses that cannot function without electricity, and with that, women were forced to close down.
A few days ago, there was a trending story about a young girl called Unako Kewane. She’s from Kwazulu-Natal, and she has been suffering from dilapidating lung disease since 2019. This is a disease that makes her unable to breathe without the help of oxygen. A few weeks ago, she was trending on social media after she cried that load shedding has been making her life so difficult because she can’t breathe when her oxygen box is not plugged in. Every time there’s load shedding, she has to run to somewhere where there is a generator.
Unako was asking for the government to help her with a solar power system so that she can survive at home even when there’s load shedding. It was unfortunate that Unakho passed away a few days ago because she couldn’t breathe since there was load shedding and she had no where to plug her oxygen box. She died because of load shedding. Her story touched so many hearts that people are blaming the government for failing to supply her with an advanced solar-powered oxygen box.
Some even said the department of health and the government must be accountable for her death. Load shedding has already caused enough tears in 2022; the government must do something to end this load shedding because there are many people who are depending on electricity for a living. In my opinion, the government must provide generators and solar panels for people like Unakho as a way of honoring her life.