Local Church joins in on international blood drive

OVER 71 000 members of the youth volunteer group, We Are One, head-quartered in South Korea, set a new Guinness World Record for the most people to sign up online as blood donors within 24 hours. We Are One, which forms part of the international church organisation, Shincheonji Church of Jesus, set a goal of 70 000 blood donations in an attempt to raise awareness of the importance of donating blood.

The record was set in South Korea on October 1 within 24 hours. South African members of the church were so inspired, they also decided to launch a campaign to encourage blood donations locally within October to contribute to the cause and to help alleviate the blood shortage in our country.

While 71 121 volunteers registered to donate within 24 hours on October 1 this year, in South Korea, more than 700 of Shincheonji’s congregation members in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwbe also participated in this campaign.

ALSO READ: Grinding the gears: Saint Giles cyclist beats the odds at Amashova

According to the spokesperson of Shincheonji Church of Jesus in South Africa, Msizi Magwaza, roughly 120 members of the church’s branch in Durban participated in the blood-donation drive. “Unfortunately, of these 120, only 71 of our members were eligible to donate. But we were so excited that so many of our members showed their support in helping others by being willing to donate their blood,” said Magwaza.

This will be Shincheonji Church of Jesus’s second international large-scale blood donation drive this year, with the first one occurring in May. “Our members were very excited to help the various blood services around the world enlarge their reserves after facing challenges caused by the recent pandemic.

“They happily joined our fellow congregation members from countries all over the world to show that ‘we are one’, through caring for our various communities and helping those who need blood due to various medical reasons,” said the spokesperson.

Shincheonji is an international church organisation that has branches across the world. The church organisation’s full name is Shincheonji Church of Jesus the Temple of the Tabernacle of Testimony and was established in 1984. The chairman and senior pastor of Shincheonji is Mr Man-Hee Lee.

Shincheonji stands for the Chinese characters of ‘new heaven and new earth’. It has branch churches across the continent of Africa, including Ethiopia in the north, Uganda and Kenya in the east, as well as South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe in the south.

ALSO READ: Get ready to celebrate rising local artists this November

“Our inspiration for this blood drive was born out of the desire to provide hope, love and care to communities with various needs, and our goal is to create awareness of the importance of blood donation to save lives. Every donation can save up to three lives.

“We believe that every donation counts, and if we unite as one, we can all serve our communities in replenishing dwindling blood reserves globally,” said Magwaza.