Fordsburg Clinic gets a welcome boost
Dr. Goolam Omar, a veteran radiologist who practiced in Lenasia at the Lenmed Clinic for many years, decided to downsize his practice and move it to Fordsburg, where he could get closer to people who needed his services.
Originally built as a home for gold miners in the 1800s, Fordsburg has enjoyed a colourful history as a centre of social awareness. Today it is a vibrant multi-cultural hub in Johannesburg.
Dr. Omar’s Fordsburg practice catered for foreigners and the needy, who could not traditionally afford x-ray services. This year, after decades of service, Dr. Omar decided to retire to a life of reflection.
On 1 October 2017 – coinciding with 10 Muharram, an auspicious day on the Islamic calendar – Dr. Omar decided to donate his x-ray practice as a waqf to the National Awqaf Foundation of South Africa, Awqaf SA.
Waqf is an Islamic institution introduced by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) where ethical investments and assets are bequeathed as a divine trust to benefit the community. The waqf property remains intact until the end of time, and cannot be sold or ceded.
The most salient feature of a waqf trust is that it has to be sustainable, and proceeds from the core investment or asset – which cannot be touched – uses its profits to service the poor and the needy.
Haroon Kalla, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Awqaf SA, says the organisation gladly accepted this donation from Dr. Omar.
“We quickly mobilised a team of dedicated volunteers. Faatima Karani-Mahomed and Farouk Limalia worked tirelessly with the Chief Radiologist, Dr. Khota, to get this practice open.
“As Awqaf SA focuses mainly on effectively mobilising waqf assets, after consideration we deemed it necessary to forge a partnership with an organisation that is focused on the day-to-day operation of a clinic. We chose Sultan Bahu, a well-known humanitarian organisation headquartered in Mayfair, Johannesburg.
“We have now handed over the Awqaf SA Darushifa X-Ray Practice to Sultan Bahu. Sultan Bahu, which does such great work in mental and physical health, also runs a dialysis centre, serving the poor and needy at its Fordsburg Clinic.”
“We congratulate Shaykh Chopdat, the spiritual head of Sultan Bahu, for accepting this venture as part of their portfolio of projects. We are confident that it will grow into a state of the art practice and a thriving centre of excellence that will serve the community well and will become a landmark in Johannesburg,” said Haroon.
Farouk Limalia, who oversaw the project in a financial, strategic and decision making role, said the daily operation of the practice was the responsibility of Faatima Karani a qualified and experienced radiographer.
“She has done has done a sterling job despite the demanding job she has,” said Limalia, who said he had seen the advantage of donating the X-Ray machinery to Sultan Bahu as they had opened a dialysis centre next door in Fordsburg.
“We felt this would be an ideal opportunity for them to expand their health care, as they already had the infrastructure in place. We were delighted when the Sultan Bahu Centre accepted our offer to integrate the X-Ray practice with their operations. We look forward to our relationship with them,” he said.
—–ENDS—-
More Info:
Zeinoul Cajee (Chief Executive Officer)
+2721 697 3556 | info@awqafsa.org.za
