By Bronwyn M Singh
Creating goodwill among people is important in almost every area of life. Spreading goodwill and kindness gives people a sense of hope and encouragement while also building relationships, and spending time enriching the community is a core focus that ActionSA has adopted.
Amajuba Regional Chairperson and Caucus Leader in Council, Faizel Cassim, together with his wife, Razia, and their dedicated team members spent the month of August spreading love and goodwill throughout Newcastle and surrounding areas, spending time and donating much-needed items to the vulnerable.
Their school distribution and sanitary towel drive kicked off on 10 August and the team managed to visit 16 schools in 16 days in a bid to donate sanitary towels, lunch boxes and healthy snacks to learners. Some of the schools visited include S.E. Vawda Primary School, Ncandu Combined School, Lincoln Heights Secondary School and Suryaville Primary School. “Sanitary towels were given out and lunch boxes were given to learners from Grade R and Grade 1 as well as snacks,” said Razia.
The sanitary drive also went to Emthunzini Primary School in Ward 1. Each Thursday, the team has their weekly feeding day where 200 residents benefit from a warm delicious meal. An oxygen concentrator was also handed over to a sickly resident in Ward 21.
“He is one of our Covid-relief patients and has a lung condition so he is permanently reliant on a concentrator. He has been using our concentrator since the beginning of this year and we have been monitoring him closely. Today, this concentrator belongs to him. He has not left the house in six years due to him being unable to breathe without a concentrator. The one we donated is also portable, which means he can now get into a vehicle for visits to the doctor. We wish him well,” said Razia.
Bandages, first aid kits and adult nappies were also donated to Nil Desperandum, Home for Disabled. Faizel Cassim said that the drive was a great success. “As part of our Women’s Month drive, we handed out food parcels, sanitary towels and goodies to children in various areas of Newcastle. We would like to thank FEMME for the reduced prices on sanitary towels and continued partnership on our projects.
“As well as our dedicated volunteers Veronica Nair, Christopher Nair, Saras Mahubi, Nadira Maharajh and my other half, Razia Cassim, for putting the programme together. We would also like to thank the schools and organisations for appreciating and accepting our donations to assist their students and community. A special thank you to the Newcastle Express for following up on our project which falls in line with Women’s Month,” said Faizel. As the saying goes, team work makes the dream work.
