By Humairaa Mayet
With the exponential spread of the coronavirus forcing the country into lockdown, it is the vulnerable who are suffering as they face poverty, starvation, and unemployment. Although many NGOs and NPOs are assisting greatly in the donation of food parcels and other necessities to vulnerable communities, there is much duplication and certain communities are overlooked.
Councillor Fawzia Peer spoke to Salaamedia’s Azhar Vadi about the establishment of the Muslim Relief Alliance (MRA) in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Peer, along with Mohammed Baghdadi, Dr. Shabir Omar, and Nazeer Malik serve as coordinators of the organisation.
The MRA was formed due to existing NGOs and NPOs focusing only on specific areas and not heeding others. The focus of this new organisation is not to infringe on the independence of other groups, but to allow for integration and establish collaborative partnerships with organisations across the province.
Peer explained how poverty and dire living conditions are exacerbated by the lockdown which has suspended millions of jobs, leaving many households without a steady flow of income. People are starving and desperately need food.
Data will be collected to ascertain the needs in areas across the province, and resources will be allocated to meet these. Mosques around Kwa-Zulu Natal will serve as ports of distribution, and organisations and individuals will be required to collect the food parcels from the mosque closest to them.
“If organisations don’t come together to assist the vulnerable, food parcels will soon be depleted,” said Peer.
Featured image via Capital Newspapers.
