Gift of the Givers is South Africa’s largest disaster response Non-Governmental Organisation(NGO) in Africa which provides 3.2 billion rands in aid to over 40 countries, and spanning a 28-year-old and counting legacy.
“You feel the calling, you feel the need, you see the suffering of man and you want to do something. There’s a lot of prayer involved. You’ve been shown what the right way is; what to do and what not to do. And things are put very clearly in front of you”. These are the words of Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, as he shares the inspiration behind the establishment of the organisation.
In a time when the importance of Ubuntu and active citizenship is desperately needed to end the deadly pandemic that has left many destitute and vulnerable. It has become very crucial in support of South Africa’s heroes, our Frontline Workers.
Gift of the Givers commenced the new year 2021 by paying particular attention to Frontline Workers as the fight against COVID 19 continues. The NGO recently opened an upgraded accommodation for medical staff at Bisho Hospital in the Eastern Cape. The newly refurbished R3 million rands renovation was completed within one month, meaning the Gift of the Givers teams were hard at work during the festive holidays in support of our Frontline Workers.
Medical personnel who were living in guest houses now have 120-beds setup along with High Flow Nasal Oxygen machines, CPAP machines, scrubs, non-contact thermometers, pulse oximeters and general PPE’s. The extra bed capacity now enables an increase in the deployment of additional medical personnel and more soldiers to fight the pandemic.
This is Brand South Africa’s Play Your Part Programme in action. It is through such acts of giving that the nation gets to benefit from resources and services that are sorely needed especially now.
The gift of giving by the NGO will does not end there, as they partner with Hospital Heroes to continue their selfless giving to Frontline Workers. This intervention will raise funds to procure food and refreshments to be distributed to medical staff at hospitals as they toil through the long and lonely hours of caring for those compromised by COVID-19. Gift of the Givers will handle donations and logistics in purchasing the goods and distributing them across hospitals.
Ms Khilona Radia, entrepreneur businesswoman and healthcare trailblazer, who is part of the movement along with her colleagues said, “this is a campaign to share some love and care to our hospital heroes. Our hospitals have become battlegrounds and our frontline staff, the fatigued infantry, who despite the enormous risk to themselves, continue selflessly every day, to care for others and do their best for the sick. We want to show them all that we recognize them and are grateful to them for their skills as well as the sacrifices”.
The first delivery took place on Friday, January 22, at New Somerset Hospital in Cape Town and the second on Tuesday, January 26 at Brackengate Field Hospital, Kuils River.
Brand South Africa commends the work of Gift of the Givers and urges all citizens to play your part and show appreciation to the Frontline Workers with donations of water, juice, energy bars, energy drinks, tea, coffee, and individually wrapped baked items or cash contributions.
Cash contributions can be made to:
Gift of the Givers
Standard Bank, Pietermaritzburg
Account number 052137228
Branch Code 057525,
Ref: Hospital Heroes.
Please send deposit slip to donations@giftofthegivers.org to receive Section 18A tax deductible certificate.
For donations of bulk items please call the toll-free number 0800786911.
Additional sources: www.giftofthegivers.org; www.iol.co.za; www.capetownetc.com
