A severe water crisis in areas of South Johannesburg has led to a charitable organization working tirelessly to assist desperate communities with borehole water, delivered in makeshift tankers, but worsening conditions have resulted in growing demand for water outstripping provision capabilities.
Frequent and prolonged water outages have been commonplace in the region for several years, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving many communities with dry taps. A charitable organization, the Roshnee Team, stepped in to assist, using makeshift tankers and borrowed vehicles to assist with sponsored bottled water and unpurified borehole water.
Areas affected included, but were not limited to, Ridgeway, Ormonde, Southdale, Brixton, Crosby, Coronation, Fietas, Claremont, Thokoza, Orange Farm, Lenasia, and many informal settlements. Requests for help grew rapidly, inundating the organization and exhausting its ability to meet the massive needs of people frantic for water – until now.
A collaborative effort by the South African Muslim Charitable Trust (SAMCT), the Caring Sisters Network, and Phoenix Cash and Carry, in Durban, has resulted in the sponsorship of a dedicated R1,6 million water tanker being provided to the Roshnee Team in Johannesburg, greatly easing its community water provision endeavors and bringing huge relief to affected communities.
Commenting on the water tanker donation, SAMCT representative Mr. Gaff Osman said: “Society depends on water for life. It is a basic human right and is indispensable if we are to live healthy, dignified, and prosperous lives. Simply put, water is hugely important in sustaining the life of every person and community, and recurrent and lengthy outages of this life-giving commodity put that at serious risk.”
He added: “The Roshnee Team has done sterling work in its ongoing and extended efforts to assist South Johannesburg communities which frequently run dry, in spite of having at its disposal only makeshift infrastructure to manage the huge logistics problem of serving those in need. The SAMCT, in collaboration with the Caring Sisters Network and Phoenix Cash and Carry, were therefore pleased to accede to the Roshnee Team’s plea for assistance.”
Now having a large, custom-built water tanker in place has eased the pressure on the Roshnee Team’s exceptional humanitarian endeavors in the region.
The Caring Sisters Network exists to serve the under-resourced with basic daily needs, such as food, stationery, uniforms, and – of course – water. It has emerged as one of KwaZulu-Natal’s leading women’s organizations providing emergency relief in times of disaster nationally and internationally.
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 added: “It quickly became quite evident that in spite of its best efforts, the Roshnee Team was so overwhelmed by widespread community requests that it was simply unable, with the limited infrastructure at its disposal and attendant logistics constraints, to provide effective water relief in the affected area. The organization is to be commended for its ongoing endeavors and it is our collective hope that the water tanker provided now will make a significant difference to its delivery work to grateful communities.”
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For more information about the SAMCT or its Caring Sisters Network and its Water Tanker donation, for provision to the Roshnee Team in Johannesburg, please contact:
Rasheeda Motala
Social Responsibility Officer
Tel: 084 506 2280
Email: samct@samct.co.za