Frequent water supply interruptions to a Phoenix, Durban, special needs school and hostel – which posed serious hygiene issues and numerous cases of infections amongst learners – is a problem no longer, thanks to a R610 000 borehole and ablutions upgrade provided by the South African Muslim Charitable Trust (SAMCT) recently.
The AM Moolla Spes Nova School, which has long provided educational, therapy, and skills development services to young learners with cerebral palsy, physical disabilities, and autism has fought a losing battle against a secure, safe water supply to the school – until the SAMCT stepped in with a financial solution to their woes.
Commencing on its sizable and life-changing donation, SAMCT representative, Mr Gaff Osman, said: “This vital educational facility has experienced interrupted water supply from the beginning of the year – sometimes for weeks on end – and has not been afforded the provision of dedicated water tanker services by the eThekwini Municipality – leading to an unacceptable health hazard for both staff and the disabled learners they serve.”
“We, of the SAMCT, could not allow such an untenable situation to continue without intervention. Accordingly, we have funded the drilling and installation of a borehole to ensure the school has continuous access to safe, potable water going forward.”
Given that the facility is more than 40 years old, staff have found it increasingly difficult to source spare parts for toilets frequently and inadvertently damaged by wheelchair users, a situation which has resulted in regular patched repairs to leaking toilet pans. Many of the existing facilities were either broken or out of order.
Mr Gaff Osman said: “The facility caters for disabled learners with very specific ablution requirements and the prevailing set-up was simply not conducive to their needs. Accordingly and in addition to ensuring the provision of fresh water for drinking, bathing and regular hydration, we ensured the complete overhaul of the school’s ablution facilities, putting in place new fittings better suited to use by disabled persons.”
“The combination of water interruptions and inadequate toilet facilities posed a major challenge to the AM Moolla Spes Nova School; a challenge which brought with it a very real and dangerous threat to the health of all those associated with the school and hostel. Without even access to water tanker supplies, the school was unable to clean toilets properly or provide for the proper hydration of its disabled learners. Equally, the school lacked the financial ability to outlay the capital required to sink a borehole or effectively refurbish its decaying ablution facilities,” Mr Gaff Osman added.
Upon learning of the school’s water and ablutions crisis, the SAMCT was very pleased to be in a position to assist.
The SAMCT was created in 2008, the result of a partnership between Old Mutual Unit Trusts and Al Baraka Bank, for the creation, marketing and distribution of a suite of Shariah Funds.
The organisation provides funding, services and other resources for the improvement of the lives of the vulnerable, deprived and disadvantaged. It has been singularly successful in delivering sizeable assistance solutions throughout South Africa – irrespective of race or religion – and continues to work to support needy organisations in the fields of healthcare, social development, poverty alleviation and education.
Mr Gaff Osman stressed: “It is vital that we all work to create inclusive environments, provide access to essential resources and services and promote opportunities for persons with disabilities. The AM Moolla Spes Nova School has long met such community requirements in the Phoenix area of Durban. However, without a safe and continuous water supply and hygienic toileting facilities, its very being came under serious threat. We could not stand by when such a crucial facility, serving the community of greater Phoenix, batled such an untenable situation without stepping in to assist, securing its future for all its present and future learners.”
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For more information about the SAMCT and its AM Moolla Spes Nova School borehole and ablutions facility upgrade donation, please contact:
Rasheeda Motala
Social Responsibility Officer
Tel: 084 506 2280
Email: samct@samct.co.za
www.samct.co.za