Gift of the Givers deserves its high praise

THE response to the recent mountain fires that led to UCT’s Sport Centre, Smuts and Fuller Halls, and the Jagger Library being gutted raises a couple of questions.

Why did the government, either the Western Cape or the national government. fail to come to the rescue of the 4 000 UCT students who were left “homeless” by the fire? Why was it left to the disaster response and non-governmental organisation, Gift of the Givers, to come to their aid?

We, as law-abiding and working citizens, pay our taxes diligently and would expect the provincial or the national government to assist us, its citizens, in the case of any disaster.

Undeniably, the mountain fire that started on Sunday, April 18, 2021, was a disaster and the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) is the department mandated to deal with disasters in our country. However, based on the media reports, it appears that Cogta has not done much to deal with this disaster.

I take my hat off once again to Dr Imtiaz Sooliman’s Gift of the Givers, who came to the assistance of UCT’s students when their dormitories were destroyed by the fire.

At lighting speed Gift of the Givers set up a collection point for donations and a disaster relief centre at Old Mutual West Campus in Pinelands.

Meals were provided to the students. UCT also responded swiftly to arrange for accommodation for its students rendered homeless by the fire.

The farmers of the Eastern Cape are indebted to Sooliman’s Gift of the Givers who heeded their pleas to assist their starving animals with fodder during the drought not too long ago.

Where was our government, who clearly failed these farmers and their animals?.

Can’t Cogta and its employees take a leaf from the book of Dr Sooliman’s Gift of the Givers when dealing with disasters?

In conclusion, I was touched by an elderly, white, Christian man from the Eastern Cape who lost his faith on what should have been his wedding day when his bride-to-be on her way to the church died tragically in a car accident.

He called Dr Sooliman and pledged his inheritance of about R8 million to Gift of the Givers after regaining his faith after many decades upon witnessing how Sooliman’s organisation assisted people, irrespective of their race or religion.

The work of Gift of the Givers convinced the man that there must be a compassionate God.

ADIEL ISMAIL | Mountview