MEDIA RELEASE
An R800 000 Vehicle Donation Puts Cheshire Homes Durban On The Road Again
For Immediate Release: 6 December 2018
——————–
Crucially missed hospital and clinic appointments, the suspension of recreational activities and postponement of external events are a thing of the past for residents of Cheshire Homes Durban following the recent R880 000 donation of an especially adapted vehicle, incorporating a wheelchair hoist.
The vehicle donation by the South African Muslim Charitable Trust (SAMCT) was seen as a timely intervention, avoiding the future prospect of the organisation being forced to curtail or even cancel the vital transportation of wheelchair-bound residents. The new bus replaces an elderly and unreliable vehicle requiring regular repair.
Commenting during the official hand-over of special bus recently, Mr Gaf Osman, a representative of the SAMCT, said: “For many of us, we take transport for granted and fail to realise that for those in the disability sector, specially adapted transport is key. It literally becomes the epi-centre of their world in terms of ensuring their seamless social integration into mainstream society and ability to achieve their potential as contributors to the economy.”
The organisation’s troublesome transport was proving to be a financial drain on its finances, whilst severely inconveniencing its users, inclusive of scheduled hospital and clinic visits being interrupted, participation in events external to the home being postponed, engagement in regular recreational activities being suspended and the organisation’s own operational tasks being delayed.
“Residents should not have to live with such setbacks and the South African Muslim Charitable Trust, or SAMCT, is pleased to have been afforded the opportunity to ensure that such experiences may now be consigned to history for the residents of Cheshire Homes Durban,” said Mr Gaf Osman.
He stressed that there could be no doubt that the management and staff of Cheshire Homes Durban undertake ‘exceptional work’ on behalf of the residents they serve, adding: “The pity is that deteriorating infrastructure and equipment often impacts negatively on the professionalism and professional execution of the work of such dedicated individuals.”
The lack of the necessary finance to provide a seamless, professional and caring service is a sad reality which negatively affects registered non-profit and public benefit organisations, such as Cheshire Homes Durban, across South Africa.
Mr Gaf Osman said of the SAMCT’s sizeable donation: “We were extremely happy to intervene, significantly easing the plight of both residents and staff of Cheshire Homes Durban by contributing R880 000 towards the purchase of a new adapted vehicle, complete with wheelchair hoist equipment. It is our hope that the provision of this vehicle will ensure the resumption of a smooth and uninterrupted transport service for those in the care of the organisation.”
He added: “We are confident that by again making suitable and appropriate transport the centre of the residents’ world, they will once again be able to engage fully in self-representation activities, restoring in them a sense of dignity, pride and confidence, whilst being transported in comfort and – essentially – safety.”
The SAMCT was established in 2008 with the objective of providing funding, services and other resources to numerous deserving organisations and the associated upliftment of the lives of South Africa’s deprived, poverty-stricken and historically disadvantaged communities – irrespective of race or religion.
“We, of the SAMCT, are very pleased to have had the opportunity to play a role in assisting organisations committed to the furtherance of South Africa’s peoples,” Mr Gaf Osman said.
ends
For more information about SAMCT or its Cheshire Homes Durban vehicle donation, please contact:
Rasheeda Motala – Social Responsibility Co-ordinator
Tel: 084 506 2280
Email: samct@samct.co.za