Travelstart failure to tell us about flight suspension and not doing anything about it

Im currently experiencing humiliating and heartbreaking and the utmost poorest service from @travelstartsa. On the 16th of August 2019 my husband and I booked and paid for flight tickets on @AirTanzania from Johannesburg O R Tambo to Dar Es Salaam Julius Nyerere. Supposed to be departing 18th October and returning 25th October 2019. Had my husband not logged onto travel start to try and reschedule our flights to leave on Sunday 20th October we wouldn't have known that our flights have been suspended indefinitely by the airline. So we would have gone to the airport and looked like total *****s waiting for "a cancelled flight". How unprofessional is travelstart not to let us, their clients know that our flights have been suspended. Fast forward to now, we've been sending emails back and forth until today 15th October 2019, Sheldon ****son a customer service agent. To show how low priority our case was, he gave us a call to tell us that they can only arrange for a refund which will take 6-8 weeks. So... we've booked and paid for accommodation at Dar Es Salaam and Zanzibar which we have shown on our email to @travelstartsa that its none refundable, we've booked Avis point to point aswell. Ive advised Sheldon ****son and on our emails to @travelstart that a refund of the flight tickets is not an option instead they should get us flights similar to ours to Tanzania and back. Sheldon tells us that the Airline didnt send any communication about the suspended flights so they cannot get us on alternative flights, which is a LIE because we called the Airline and they insisted that they did indeed send communication and that travelstart knows about the suspension!!!. So Sheldon ****son sends us an email of flights on EthopianAir that we would have to purchase on our expense, FLIGHTS THAT WOULD TAKE US 13HOURS traveling to Tanzania and 12HOURS RETURNING!! and another option worse than the first that will take us almost 22 hours alone traveling to Tanzania!! Whereas the flights we paid for initially were none stop taking only 3 and a half hours to Tanzania. @travelstartsa not going on this trip is not an option, a refund that will take 6-8 weeks is not an option, having to purchase airline tickets for the second time our our expense is not an option. I would like someone in head-office and of highest authority to revert back to us before we take this issue any further than this.