POLOKWANE – The Polokwane Muslim Welfare Foundation (PMWF) launched in January 2009 and has been a pillar of strength of the most vulnerable in the community.
Located at 32 Church Street, the organisation’s core objective has been to assist those in need in the community irrespective of race, culture or religion.
The organisation assists those in need with food hampers and daily feeding schemes, schools’ fees for basic and higher education as well as small business start-ups to empower the community.
“The aim is to alleviate poverty within the community and we do what we can to help where we can,” explained Mohammed Makda, the manager of the soup kitchens run by the foundation.
The foundation was founded on the Hadeeth (prophetic tradition) that states: “He who removes from a believer one of his difficulties of this world, Allah will remove one of his difficulties on the day of resurrection.”
PMWF strives to be a beacon of hope for the underprivileged people in the community through upliftment and empowerment as they respond to people’s suffering in a way that will have a positive impact.
The foundation wants to increase its reach within the communities they work with. They currently have three soup kitchens which run in Ext 76, Juju Valley and Chuenespoort where they provide nutritious meals.
“We selected these areas specifically because of the dire need there. We feed approximately 270 people daily,” Makda said.
They appeal for more people who are without food to come and receive the meals. “We feed everybody who is hungry. We receive everyone, and nobody will be turned away,” he concluded.