Husain Mohamed – 14/08/2020 

The Gift of the Givers Foundation is continuing its great work, this time by donating a million rand towards relief for victims of the Beirut blast. All this while most of the foundations manpower are at grips in South Africa busy fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic

The blast in Lebanon’s capital city saw more than 160 people killed, around 6000 injured and 300 000 people displaced.

Speaking to Radio Islam, Gift of the Givers’ founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said sending teams out was tough as most healthcare workers are stuck in South Africa dealing with the pandemic.

“In this case, with Covid-19, with so many healthcare workers sick and many who have died, if a whole team suddenly leaves it will cause havoc.”

The intervention in Beirut will be facilitated by a group called Ghirass who will facilitate the purchase and distribution of food, water, blankets, clothing and medical supplies with the initial R1 million being transferred.

Dr Sooliman also hailed the South African community for rising to the occasion and donating generously despite tough economic conditions.

“Even with Covid-19 and saying our economy is not good and people are battling, we’ve had huge support and it’s been our biggest successful campaign in our history.”

The foundation recently celebrated its 28^th anniversary.

Listen to the full interview with Dr Imtiaz Sooliman here: