A life dedicated to uplifting society
Community’s leading light had major impact
HIS religious and cultural awareness and sense of community, especially the desire to help destitute people and build the “rainbow nation”, gets the attention of the king, political and cultural leaders and businessmen.
Ahmed Vallymahomed, more popularly known as AV Mahomed, is an influential figure in the city of Durban.
His opinion is held in high esteem in the various powerful community, cultural and religious organisations he’s affiliated to because when he speaks, it’s usually about making a difference in the lives of the less fortunate.
Of all the community work he does, Mahomed said feeding about 400 destitute people on a daily basis epitomised what he’s about.
Mahomed is one of the vital cogs of the committee operating a feeding scheme from the Denis Hurley Community Centre.
Mahomed’s main duties is to find donors to sustain the initiative.
“This project is close to my heart. I believe feeding hungry people is my Godgiven duty and I will do it until I take my last breath,” Mahomed promised.
The work done at the Denis Hurley Centre is not only beneficial to the city’s less fortunate people but got the local mosque (Juma Musjid), Emmanuel Cathedral and other religious and cultural organisations working together.
As a committee member of the KZN Inter-faith Religious Council and chief trustee of the Juma Musjid Trust, which oversees the operations of three mosques (Grey Street, Bluff and Chatsworth), Mahomed is pleased with the harmony created.
“Being a rainbow nation we have to set aside our racial, religious and cultural differences and work together,” Mahomed suggested.
When waves of xenophobic attacks boiled over onto the streets of Durban in recent years, Mahomed got involved with the efforts to douse the flames of racial intolerance.
“Our mosque and the cathedral teamed up to provide relief to foreigners after the first xenophobic attacks in 2008 and that’s how I got aligned to the Denis Jaycees, a multiracial leadership training and community upliftment organisation.
He represented South Africa when Jaycees leaders from around the world met in St Louis, USA for a conference.
In 1997 Mahomed got elected onto the Juma Musjid’s board of trustees. As the chief trustee, some of his duties include overseeing staff and daily operations at their three mosques and managing religious programmes and special occasions.
Mahomed is vice chairperson of the Islamic Burial Council and a director at the Radison Blu Oceans Hotel in Umhlanga.
It’s not surprising that Mahomed has collected a string awards in appreciation of his community work over the years.
His latest was the recent “Lifetime Achiever Award” from karate organisation SKISA in recognition of his nation building, social cohesion, religious tolerance and social upliftment endeavours.
But before Mohamed dedicated his life to serving others, he started caring for his own family.
“The greatest achievement in my life is caring for and honouring my parents at a time when they needed my help.
“I could have never brought myself into the field of humanity if I couldn’t make a difference in my own home,” he reasoned.
Mohamed was referring to the days when his father, Vallymohamed, a well known timber and hardware merchant in the city, fell on hard times when his business folded.
Vallymohamed was a disciplinarian, he was a big advocate of family values and emphasised the importance of cultural and religious duty to his six children, living in their semi-detached cottage home, initially on Dr Goonam (Prince Edward) Street.
The family then moved to another cottage on Johannes Nkosi (Alice) Street and were neighbours to “Mr Poonsamy” and his family.
Living next door to the Poonsamy’s, a Hindu family, for nearly 40 years did much to stir Mahomed’s appreciation for other religions.
“We were like family and together we observed and celebrated each other’s religious occasions (Diwali and Eid).
“I also got involved in their annual Raksha Bandhan ritual where a sister ties a red string on her brother’s hand.
“Poonsamy’s daughter Sathie still continues to tie the string on my hand and in keeping with tradition, I usually hand her a gift.”
Poonsamy said growing up in the city was great fun, especially games of street football and dodging the “cops”.
He also had fond memories of the food they bought from either GC Kaptain or Patel’s Cafes.
“For four shillings we could tuck into delicious broad beans curry, bread, pickles, patha, a coke and puff on a ‘loose’ cigarette afterwards.
“The Naaz, Avalon and Shah Jehan cinemas were very popular in those days, especially on Saturdays”
He was still in high school at the time and resorted to vending combs and pens at corner of Denis Hurley (formerly Queen) and Yusuf Dadoo (formerly Grey) Streets, to “fend for his family”.
Mahomed enjoyed his school days but when he was forced to care for his family, his schooling suffered.
It caused him to repeat Standard 7 and 8 years until he eventually dropped out of Orient High School.
“If my schooling got my full attention I could have secured a professional career for myself, but I have no regrets because my family’s plight was my responsibility.”
He got a job with Enterprise Shirt and Clothing Manufacturers, owned by the Moosa family, in 1966, where he earned R33.
When he joined Araf Clothing in 1979, Mahomed worked as a sales manager and it required him to travel the country.
“People around the country awaited my visits and treated me like family. They accommodated and fed me.”
In 1968 he married Rashida, but she fell seriously ill in 1992 and lost her memory and never recovered.
‘My son Izhar was a student in Wits’ medical school at the time and my daughter Sumaiya was in her matric year, they both dropped out to nurse their mother full time.”
He married his second wife Fatima, who had a son and daughter from a previous marriage, in 2004.
“We all get on well and it is highly commendable of Fatima to accept and care for Rashida as part of our family.”