For most people, a storm is an inconvenience.
For the children and families we serve, it can mean losing a roof, missing school, going hungry, or losing access to health care.
Across South Africa, severe storms and floods are becoming increasingly common, disrupting daily life and placing enormous pressure on communities that are already facing poverty and inequality. While climate change affects everyone, its consequences are felt most deeply by those with the fewest resources to recover.
At Starfish Greathearts Foundation, we see these realities firsthand.
There is a profound injustice in the fact that the people who contribute least to climate change are often those who suffer its greatest consequences.
Across South Africa, rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, prolonged droughts, and increasingly destructive storms are intensifying existing social and economic challenges.
For many of the communities where Starfish works, the effects are immediate:
Communities already facing unemployment, inadequate housing, unreliable water systems, and limited access to health care have fewer resources to recover after each disaster. Climate change doesn't create inequality; it magnifies it.
The impacts are especially severe in rural and underserved communities, where infrastructure is often less resilient, and recovery resources are limited.
In September 2025, severe storms threatened five provinces across South Africa. KwaZulu-Natal, home to seven Starfish programs, was among the hardest hit, with warnings of flooding, infrastructure damage, and severe thunderstorms. Weather alerts continued through November as communities struggled to recover.
Just months later, in May 2026, another powerful weather system swept across six provinces.
The Western Cape experienced devastating flooding, widespread power outages, and extensive damage to homes and early childhood development centers, including several supported by Starfish.
The Eastern Cape was also severely affected, with more than 2,500 people displaced and lives tragically lost.
Together, these weather events affected provinces where 14 Starfish programs operate, highlighting just how vulnerable many of our communities have become.
For Starfish's programs, severe weather affects far more than buildings.
Broken windows, leaking roofs, damaged electrical systems, and flooding force difficult decisions about how to continue providing care for children.
Our teams respond with remarkable resilience.
Some centers install plastic sheeting over broken windows. Others move activities into safer spaces or redistribute resources so children can continue learning despite the disruption.
One program shared:
"Severe weather conditions caused significant damage to several of our classrooms and affected the school's electrical system."
— 1 July 2026
And after months of uncertainty, another center celebrated:
"We finally had our hail-damaged roof replaced!"
— 29 June 2026
These aren't simply maintenance issues.
When an early learning center closes, even for a single day, many children lose access to what may be their only nutritious meal, a safe place to learn and play, and the stability their families rely upon.
Following the devastating storms in May 2026, Starfish launched an urgent appeal to repair damaged centers and help programs continue serving children.
Our supporters' response was extraordinary. Because of their generosity, damaged classrooms have been repaired, electrical systems restored, and children safely welcomed back into learning environments.
But the work is far from over.
Weather warnings continue across South Africa, and climate-related disasters are becoming more frequent.
As climate challenges continue to grow, investing in resilient infrastructure and strengthening vulnerable communities has never been more important.
At Starfish, our vision extends beyond responding to emergencies.
We want every child to have access to a safe place to learn, quality health care close to home, nutritious meals, and opportunities to build a brighter future, regardless of the challenges around them.
That mission becomes more difficult as extreme weather intensifies. It also becomes more important.
Climate change is reshaping daily life across South Africa, but it does not have to determine a child's future.
Together with our partners and supporters, we will continue strengthening communities, responding when disaster strikes, and investing in the children who need us most.
Because every child deserves a safe place to learn, grow, and dream, whatever the weather may bring.
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More About The Author:
Archie Longrigg is a current fundraising intern at Starfish UK with an academic background in International Relations. He is passionate about supporting Starfish's mission to improve the livelihoods of impoverished and vulnerable children in South Africa.