Cape Town - Gift of the Givers (GOTG) is gearing up for a massive food distribution during the month of Ramadaan.
The organisation prepared 10 000 food hampers yesterday for multi-faith communities and institutions, to be distributed this week.
Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, founder of GOTG, was present at the organisation’s logistics centre on Tuesday when the hampers were packed.
The first trucks will depart for the Southern Cape and Saldanha Bay today, to provide the much-needed sustenance to feeding schemes, feeding some 6 000 people daily.
“Muslims, as part of divine teaching, increase their charitable acts in this month preparing their psyche for perennial service to all of creation unconditionally. Aid and assistance is universal and not restricted to a particular religious grouping or community,” said Sooliman.
“The Ramadaan delivery to various sites has already commenced. This augments 101 containers of food aid delivered to various countries, 320 000 food parcels distributed and 100 feeding centres supported in South Africa during one year of Covid-19.”
GOTG project manager Ali Sablay said, “It will be distributed to various areas around the Western Cape, as far as George, Mossel Bay, Saldanha, Laingsburg, Cape Flats, Khayelitsha, Langa, Mitchells Plain, Hanover Park, all these various areas.
“We’ve seen, especially during Covid-19, the need for food hampers has increased drastically. This is the first lot of 10 000, we’ll then do an assessment to see which areas have been left out and we’ll take it from there.”
Around 25 feeding schemes including soup kitchens, mosques and churches, across the province will receive the much needed aid as well as hundreds of refugees in Bellville and Maitland.
“Volunteers will be packing food hampers each day, during the month of Ramadaan, and in preparation for Eid, to ensure families in dire straits, are able to have a meal, on the blessed occasion.
“Our feeding programme has been beyond Ramadaan, this is just a part of the routine of our daily feeding initiatives around the Western Cape, said Sablay.
Cape Argus