TWO boreholes, drilled at an elderly care centre, Darushifa, and the Al-Hudaar Orphanage and Madrasah in Lenasia, will save these NPOs thousands of rands in monthly running costs.
Funded by the Ahmed Mohamed Baghlaf Waqf (Trust) for Water, and co-ordinated by the well-known humanitarian organisation, Awqaf SA, and a local company, Drill Direct, monies saved will now multiply self-sustainability for these vital centres in difficult times.
Darushifa’s Naseega Botha said that as a residential building that could accommodate up to 23 frail elderly ladies, their municipal account was substantial, bearing in mind the daily needs of its frail residents such as bathing, washing and general cleaning and cooking.
“Our municipal account was ranging around R15, 000 or more per month. So being able to reduce the bill by such a significant amount will go a long way in providing financial relief for our centre,” she said, adding that the borehole created more opportunities for long term social benefit.
Botha added that there was also a plan to cultivate the land owned by Awqaf SA next door for tunnel farming.
“The water will be utilised to feed the crops, as we would like to go green. We would like to provide a sustainable income activity for residents and the community in the future,” she said, thanking Awqaf SA and its sponsors.
Aslam Ismail of the Al-Hudaar Foundation, which teaches 60 children daily at its madrasah and which houses 20 orphans in its neighbouring orphanage, said that the borehole would have a hugely positive effect on the 22-year-old organisation, whose social outreach incudes counselling, spiritual comfort and community upliftment.
“We are always in need of a reliable source of water. The mosque and the madrasah are both continuously using water. We also have the orphanage which will benefit greatly from the new source. Then we have our weekly feeding scheme which also utilises water. So, all in all, the borehole will impact greatly on us, God-willing,” he said.
“The most important impact of the borehole will be the running costs of our organisation, which will be reduced by as much as R5,000 to R6,000 every month. This also means we will not have to worry about the odd average rate cost spike.
“The borehole will take all this stress away from us, which is the most important factor, as that same money can be used on more useful things,” said Ismail.
Zeinoul Abedien Cajee, Awqaf SA CEO, said that Awqaf SA was grateful to its donors and the Ahmed Mohamed Baghlaf Trust, which enables Awqaf SA to provide boreholes and wells to needy communities and food security projects around South Africa.
“Serving the elderly, orphans and the destitute through the provision of water is a noble act and we encourage other donors to contribute generously to our Water Waqf (Trust). We recall one of the first water wells publicly donated in the Prophet’s City of Medina was by a famous companion, ‘Uthman bin Affan.
“Our noble Prophet encouraged him and future generations to establish wells and to make them equally available to all communities.
Cajee explained that Awqaf SA was a leading local and international specialist waqf institution, established to revive the divine tradition of waqf, which is based on the sustainable model of a core investment providing the means to support a particular venture.
“So, think Future. Think Waqf. Waqf has been lauded as the most important Islamic voluntary charity, and the most enduring, because of its regenerative nature and its sustainability, said Cajee, thanking all those involved in their most recent project.
To donate to Awqaf SA’s Borehole and Water Waqf
