A hygiene crisis at a Benoni-based child and youth care centre has been averted following the intervention of the South African Muslim Charitable Trust (SAMCT), with a donation of R465,000 for a water project.
Water shortages and insufficient pressure in pipes has long plagued Kids Haven, a child protection organisation in Benoni. The water issues have directly impacted hygiene at the organisation’s critical Child and Youth Care Centre, home to 60 adolescent boys. Extensive work has been undertaken to develop a sustainable solution to the ongoing problem, and the SAMCT has recently stepped in with the necessary finance to resolve the crisis, ensuring long-term energy efficiency and cost savings for Kids Haven.
Commenting on its financial support of Kids Haven, SAMCT representative, Mr Gaff Osman, said: “The health and hygiene needs of the affected Kids Haven children is absolutely vital. Unfortunately, the organisation has been struggling for many months to maintain good hygiene and ensure the health of the children in its care is not compromised.”
Kids Haven first opened its doors in 1992 and aimed to assist street children in Benoni. Today it provides wrap-around support to vulnerable children, young people and families.
Mr Osman said: “Our country’s forgotten children need to be off the streets. They need to be safe and Kids Haven is an exceptional sanctuary for the vulnerable youth of Benoni and surrounds. This is an organisation doing amazing work with young people despite facing the almost insurmountable problem of financial challenges.”
“The facility’s crisis arose after the Ekurhuleni Metro reduced water pressure in Benoni, leaving Kids Haven with a totally inadequate water supply, affecting showers and the flushing of toilets. Learning of the organisation’s financial stress, the SAMCT was pleased to cover the cost of implementing a sustainable water solution, involving 2X 10,000-litre tanks, a solar-powered pump and solar geysers, significantly improving water access and long-term energy efficiency,” Mr Osman added.
In addition to financing the water solution, the SAMCT has also provided the fencing of the pumps and Jojo Tanks to ensure the security of the donation
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 to improve the lives of the vulnerable, deprived and disadvantaged. It has successfully delivered 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. The organisation has long served as a pivotal conduit for the channelling of funding, vital services, and resources to approved public benefit organisations, and remains committed to catalysing positive change and creating a lasting impact on the development and upliftment of, especially, disadvantaged individuals
and communities. Its funds are distributed to help improve the health and development of deserving people and organisations, irrespective of race or religion.
The SAMCT is acclaimed for its transformative role, directing substantial donations towards multi-faceted initiatives, spanning education, poverty alleviation, empowerment, community upliftment, and sustainability programmes in its quest to foster social equity and ensure the well-being of the needy.
Solar panels, funded by the Department of Social Development, were installed in December 2023. However, Kids Haven identified a noticeable drop in water pressure as early as 2021. The water problem was quickly identified as the greatest challenge facing Kids Haven, and steps were taken to investigate a range of solutions as the issue rapidly grew to a crisis point.
“During this difficult time, showers provided no more than a trickle of water, whilst toilets seldom flushed, resulting in the maintenance of good or even adequate hygiene becoming increasingly difficult. With an adequate solution in sight, finance became the next pressing need, and the SAMCT is pleased to have partnered with Kids Haven, bringing to the organisation the wherewithal to finally bring to an end the water crisis which has beset the organisation for so long,” said Mr Osman.
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For more information about the SAMCT or its Kids Haven water and fencing solution donation, please contact:
Rasheeda Motala
Social Responsibility Executive
Tel: 084 506 2280
Email: samct@samct.co.za
www.samct.co.za