Inefficient transport logistics, coupled with fuel and time-wasting worries, are a thing of the past for a Lenasia, Johannesburg, school following the donation of a R1 620 000 bus by the South African Muslim Charitable Trust (SAMCT) recently.
The Bilal Combined School has long relied on a small 15-seater vehicle, resulting in the need for multiple round trips every day in order to accommodate the transport needs of its more than 450 learners.
Commenting on the organization’s bus donation, SAMCT representative, Mr. Gaff Osman, said: “Having appropriate and efficient transport for an educational institution, such as the Bilal Combined School, is essential for the effective and timely operation of its daily educational and excursion activities and the general support it offers its learners.”
The purchase of a larger, more suitable vehicle proved to be beyond the school’s financial capability, leaving staff with no alternative but to resort to repeating the same trips three times daily, while also having to call on some learners to arrange their own transport, as well as having no option but to hire buses – an unnecessarily expensive route – to transport learners to and from the different branches of the Al Tawheed centres on a daily basis, as well as for undertaking excursions for the benefit of learners.”
“This was an untenable situation for a school endeavoring to do its utmost for those it serves. Upon hearing of the school’s transport logistics nightmare and associated wasted time and fuel expense, the SAMCT was keen to assist.”
The Bilal Combined School, which was established and registered in 2008, currently offers secular education to learners from Grade R right through to Grade 12 and currently serves the educational requirements of some 461 learners.
Mr. Osman added: “We, of the SAMCT, were privileged to be able to assist the school, providing a much bigger bus, thus eliminating its logistics concerns and enabling staff to devote more time to the school’s core responsibility: that of educating its learners and exposing them to the offerings of the wider world.”
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 organization 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 organizations in the fields of healthcare, social development, poverty alleviation, and education.
Mr. Osman concluded: “For a school, transport is essential to ensure the efficient and timely collection and return of learners, so optimizing the available time for teaching and learning.”
“I am confident that the bus we have provided will greatly assist in resolving Bilal Combined School’s logistics difficulties, ensuring its ability to continue delivering an exceptional learning journey for all those in its charge today and into the future.”
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For more information about the SAMCT or its Bilal Combined School’s bus donation, please contact:
Rasheeda Motala
Social Responsibility Officer
Tel: 084 506 2280
Email: samct@samct.co.za