Department of Social Development, Deputy Minister Ganief Hendricks. Picture: Gallo Images/Ziyaad Douglas The Department of Social Development (DSD) has intervened to prevent an older person and her two grandchildren from becoming homeless after their house collapsed during heavy rains in Acornhoek, Mpumalanga. Deputy Minister Ganief Hendricks, who holds the delegation for older persons, was sent to the province following reports that the elderly person, who heads a household of five, had lost her home.
According to the department, the family’s house collapsed during heavy rainfall in Acornhoek. “Fortunately, no one was at home at the time of the incident,” the DSD said. However, it noted that “most household contents and the family’s possessions remain trapped under the rubble”.
Hendricks conducted a site visit on 30 January 2026, where he assessed the damage. The department said the deputy minister was “moved by the condition of the household items that had been retrieved from the debris”. To provide immediate relief, Hendricks sourced “an eight-sleeper heavy-duty army tent, fully equipped with double bunks, mattresses, blankets, pillows, a fire extinguisher and a wash basin”.
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The department said Hendricks reached out to the Chinese Embassy for support. “Hendricks contacted the Chinese Embassy for assistance, which kindly covered the cost of the tent and its contents,” the department said.
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