When you think of schools in Roodepoort, your mind will most likely go to one of the larger institutions with hundreds of learners and decades of accomplishments under their belts, but tucked away on Goldman Street in Florida lies the Florida Islamic School, a small independent school that hopes to make a big difference.
In a partnership with Ashraful Aid, learners and teachers from the school, and staff from the charity managed to hand out 120 food parcels and blankets on Tuesday, 7 July. Desperate community members, ranging from car guards to unemployed beggars gathered at the school anxiously waiting to receive a Winter Warm Care Package. The Winter Warm Project has been running since the inception of the school in 2015 and is aimed at helping those who have very little and struggle to keep themselves fed and warm in winter.
This year, Florida Islamic School felt the need to partner with Ashraful Aid in order to reach more people. “Our school, being part of the community, felt the need, now more than ever, to help and assist the needy; especially during this cold winter period,” said the school’s principal, Ibrahim Bismillah. “It is an opportunity to help the most vulnerable members of our community,” he added. With this project, the Florida Islamic School and Ashraful Aid hope not only to alleviate some of the difficulties faced by the less fortunate members of the community, but also to instil a charitable spirit and sense of community within their learners. “We want to show our learners the importance of giving,” explained Ibrahim.
The learners were excited to be able to assist with the project behind the scenes, but were a little bit disheartened by the fact that they were not able to physically hand out the parcels to the desperate community members. While the facial expressions of the beneficiaries of the parcels couldn’t be seen behind their masks, their gratitude radiated off them and was expressed through numerous thank yous and joyful laughs.
For this project, Ashraful Aid was responsible for sourcing and packing the parcels and blankets, and received assistance from the school, whereas in the past, the school conducted the outreach themselves. Florida Islamic School also handed out several food parcels at the beginning of the lockdown, and has been participating in various outreach projects since they have opened.
The school has said that they are committed to ensuring that their outreaches continue; they just need to relook their fundraising efforts and other initiatives due to the current Covid-19 restrictions.
