Hungry benefit from 75 tons of food
The hampers consist of various items, usually including milk, sugar, maze meal, oil, beans, flour, potatoes and cabbage.
THOUSANDS of families received food hampers as the South African Hindu Maha Sabha (SAHMS) worked to distribute essentials to those impacted by the recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal.
Yet, the relief aid programme, which was dubbed Initiative 108, began long before the riots that scourged KZN recently.
Abhir Dayaram, an executive member of SAHMS and project leader for Initiative 108, said they began the project five years ago, under SAHMS, the national body for Hinduism, which was founded more than 100 years ago.
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“We have also run programmes for Covid-19 relief and women’s sanitary wear. We support old age homes and children’s homes. The recent KZN relief programme was specifically done as an independent project. We co-ordinated with the many affiliates we have- just over 150 affiliates nationally,” he said.
Some affiliates in Gauteng had been instrumental in transporting food to KZN when resources were scarce, explained Dayaram.
“We also acquired food parcels here. In the last two weeks, we have done over 8000 food hampers. That’s just over 75 tons of food. This is ongoing. We just received another five tons of food that we will distribute,” he said.
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The hampers consist of various items, usually including milk, sugar, maze meal, oil, beans, flour, potatoes and cabbage.
“We try to give each family enough food for a month,” said Dayaram. He said the organisation received donations from R100 to R1 million as people from all walks of life supported the cause.
“It’s been phenomenal in terms of the support we have received,” said Dayaram.
For more information, visit the website:sahms.org.za or the South African Hindu Maha Sabha Facebook Page.
To register as a beneficiary or find out more about becoming a donor, email info@sahms.org.za.
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