The donation of an appropriate vehicle, valued at R430 000, has transformed the administrative activities of an Overport, Durban, organization dedicated to instilling strong Islamic values in women and girls, guiding and supporting them in their future growth and development.
Islamic Guidance has long relied on its staff members using their private vehicles and petrol for running administrative errands, collecting food hampers, sandwich packs, vegetables, donated items, and other essentials on a daily basis.
That all changed recently, when the South African Muslim Charitable Trust (SAMCT) presented Islamic Guidance with a dedicated vehicle to be used for all the organization’s fetching and carrying requirements.
Commenting on its vehicle donation, SAMCT representative Mr. Gaff Osman said: “The purchase of a capital expenditure item, such as a vehicle, was a financial step too far for Islamic Guidance, resulting in ongoing reliance on privately-owned staff vehicles, given that the majority of its students come from impoverished and disadvantaged backgrounds.”
“Having appropriate transportation for an organization such as this is essential for the smooth and efficient operation of its daily activities and the holistic support it offers its students.”
Islamic Guidance provides programs that support girls’ development and mentorship through primary and high school, as well as tertiary students. It works to enhance students’ overall academic performance by offering them holistic educational support by means of tuition lessons, a homework center, and a reading club. The organization currently provides Islamic training to some 150 women and girls and presently supports 83 schools and 52 tertiary students with bursaries to enable them to achieve their academic goals.
Mr. Osman said: “Islamic Guidance rightly believes that education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty for those in its charge. It offers full bursaries to learners at school level and students entering tertiary educational institutions, supporting them with transport costs, books and stationery, uniforms, laptop computers, and, where necessary, assistance with utilities and monthly stipends. In addition, the organization provides free career counseling and also assists students requiring counseling in other areas of their lives.”
“This is an organization doing incredible community development work, assisting the families of its bursary students and helping these young people overcome the socio-economic hurdles they face in pursuit of their academic journey. It currently supports 150 weekly welfare recipients.”
“Learning of the organization’s transport problem, the SAMCT was quick to respond, providing a vehicle to take care of Islamic Guidance’s administrative concerns, so enabling its staff to focus on its core support business: the welfare and development of the women and girls it exists to nurture,” Mr. Osman added.
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 stressed: “Effective and efficient transport is an essential component to any organization active in the social responsibility space, but – by definition – is an expense such bodies find extremely difficult to fund. We, of the SAMCT, were therefore extremely pleased to be in a position to assist Islamic Guidance with a vehicle which, we believe, will greatly assist in resolving its logistics difficulties now and into the future, ensuring that it continues being able to provide those in its charge with meals and hampers, while more effectively collecting items from donors.”
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For more information about the SAMCT or its Islamic Guidance vehicle donation, please contact:
Rasheeda Motala
Social Responsibility Officer
Tel: 084 506 2280
Email: samct@samct.co.za