South African Muslim Charitable Trust Commits R1 Million to Sherwood Based, Assisted Living Care Centre
For Immediate Release:
05 November 2022
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South Africa’s senior citizens are the pillars of society and deserve care and attention in their twilight
years. However, this is seldom the case with the needs of the aged often being ignored, leaving
many to fend for themselves.
The Islamic Medical Association of South Africa (IMASA) is a body of Muslim healthcare
professionals, formed in the 1980s to practice medicine within the rules of the Shariah and provide
healthcare to the underprivileged and needy in South Africa, and is actively contributing to the care
of the elderly and infirm. It has received a R1 million donation from the South African Muslim
Charitable Trust (SAMCT) to further its ambitions in this regard.
Baytul Nur, the social responsibility wing of the IMASA, has embarked on an ambitious project for
the construction of an Assisted Care Centre in Durban’s Sherwood area, providing a much-needed
facility for the Muslim community in the prevailing challenging times.
Commenting during a recent event to celebrate the SAMCT’s R1 million provision of a four-bedroom
at Baytul Nur’s new assisted living care centre, Trust representative, Mr Gaff Osman, said: “Society
has a duty of care for the aged. We should acknowledge the contribution the elderly and infirm
amongst us have made in the past and ensure that they are safe and well looked after in their old
age. Sadly, this is not often the case in South Africa and it is, therefore, critical that affordable
assisted living facilities be developed to enable our senior citizens to continue experiencing an
independent lifestyle, whilst receiving daily living assistance.”
He stressed: “Assisted living facilities offer a range of benefits which have the potential to help
improve the health, overall wellness and the emotional well-being of the elderly, such as daily
opportunities for dining, activity and socialisation.”
The IMASA sets out to ensure the well-being of everyone, including older people. The organisation
maintains a vision of providing healthcare to disadvantaged communities in South Africa and
beyond. In addition, it is committed to providing a platform for Muslim healthcare professionals to
encourage practice with an Islamic ethos.
The organisation was established by a group of young doctors who recognised that healthcare for
the underprivileged was compromised and of inferior quality. A Doctors’ Committee was formed in
1974, called the Lajnatul Attiba, which evolved to become the IMASA in 1979. Today membership
exceeds 1 000 health professionals, with the organisation catering for the underprivileged through
four primary healthcare clinics, one of which is a mobile facility.
Mr Osman said the organisation had embarked on a mission to establish a Care Centre, with an
Islamic ethos, to provide excellent nursing care in a warm and friendly environment to the frail and
elderly.
He added: “The SAMCT was pleased to be in a position to assist the IMASA’s Baytul Nur Care Centre
with R1 million funding towards a four-bedroom within the assisted living care centre based in
Sherwood, a move which will help provide 24-hour assisted care for the Muslim elderly.”
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.
It 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 organisations in the fields of social development, poverty alleviation, education and
healthcare.
“The SAMCT is proud to be associated with both the IMASA and its Baytul Nur Care Centre, given the
commitment, they apply to the welfare of, especially, our senior citizens. It is clear that the assisted
living facility will provide for the independence and dignity of residents, which will – in turn –
contribute to their physical, emotional, spiritual, cultural and social well-being. We are, therefore,
pleased to have contributed to a cause designed to offer optimal care and comfort of the elderly and
infirm by way of its trained caregivers, nurses and staff,” Mr Osman said.
ends
For more information about SAMCT and its IMA Baytul Nur Care Centre donation, please contact:
Rasheeda Motala
Social Responsibility Officer
Tel: 084 506 2280
Email: samct@samct.co.za