Don’t bite the hand that feeds you
THE HUNGRY will be starved of free meals, the sick and frail will be denied life-saving medical care and children will lose out on career-oriented educational opportunities if religious bigots in Pietermaritzburg are allowed to have their way.
Predominantly Zulu-speaking residents of Panorama Gardens are reportedly opposed to a Hindu centre being developed as part of a multimillion industrial complex, claiming a religious facility is unnecessary and other activities such as sports and recreation should be accorded priority.
Two weeks ago residents who blockaded streets near the planned development with bricks and burning logs said a proposed Sai Centre within the development was unacceptable.
However, developer Dev Chetty said the industrial complex, which would have a 40 000m² commercial component, 32 business sites of 2 500m² each and a 2 500m² religious site, would create at least 1 000 jobs.
He said the religious centre would be a non-denominational facility run by the Sathya Sai organisation and would have soup kitchens, free medical care and youth facilities – all of which would benefit the surrounding community.
Personally, I was aghast when I found out that a group of people was prepared to bite the hand that would be feeding them, especially given the sterling work being done by so many religious organisations to feed, heal, clothe and educate people, irrespective of their religious persuasions.
Government departments such as education and health – certainly in KwaZulu-Natal – would be hard-pressed were it not for the many faith-based organisations that have helped to breach the dire shortage of educational, medical and welfare facilities.
Thanks to the vision and foresight of the late Swami Sahajananda, the Divine Life Society of South Africa has been dedicated to the moral, educational and spiritual upliftment of communities in South Africa for six decades.
The Society began its African education projects in 1974 when it built the first school at Mahlabatini in Zululand under the patronage of Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, whose daughter, Mandisi, had lived at the society’s ashram at Reservoir Hills in Durban.
Since then the Divine Life Society has built more than 350 education, health and other community facilities. Its education projects include the establishment of scores of schools and libraries in KwaZulu-Natal.
Owing to the dire need for early childhood education in rural areas, the society has built 30 crèches to provide a haven for children left unattended by working parents or orphaned by HIV/Aids.
The society has also built more than 40 Peace & Skills Training Centres since the first such facility was built as a poverty-alleviation project at Gamalakhe near Port Shepstone in 2006. Basic skills like sewing, computing and beadmaking are taught at these centres which are now in, among other areas, Folweni, Umlazi, Ntuzuma and Esikhaweni near Empangeni.
At Umgababa, the Gozololo Children’s Home was established in partnership with the Miriam Cele Centre. Seven traditional African handicraft centres have been built as part of a self-help initiative in rural areas. Computer training centres have been established in Stanger, Estcourt and Richards Bay.
The Sivananda Luwamba Wellness Centre at Ntambanana in rural Zululand – a joint venture between the Divine Life Society and the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government – provides muchneeded medical and other facilities for the poor in the area.
The facility has 38 beds, a voluntary counselling and testing centre for HIV and Aids, a drop-in centre for indigent children and pensioners, an early childhood development centre for 80 children, a peace centre that houses income generation and skills training projects, as well as offices to house various government departments, including agriculture, social development, community safety and housing.
The Ramakrishna Mission, which provides spiritual, educational, medical and welfare services, has also done charitable work for more than 75 years, irrespective of the race or religion of the beneficiaries.
Voluntary
The mission provides specialist medical and surgical services to poor patients through consultancy services in hospitals and medical clinics. Voluntary doctors perform general and hip-replacement surgery and cataract operations.
The mission has a 35-bed home at KwaMashu and a 45bed home at Inanda for terminally ill patients. It also runs skills-development centres for training in welding, block-making and sewing.
The Sarva Dharma Ashram in Welbedacht, Chatsworth, ministers to the poorest of the poor and feeds 21 000 people every week. A clothing distribution programme includes school uniforms. The ashram also provides a free primary health care clinic for the communities of Welbedacht, Chatsworth, uMlazi, and other surrounding areas. A school support programme sponsors children’s school fees and the distribution of stationery to deserving pupils.
The Hare Krishna movement’s Food for Life programme provides nourishing meals to hungry poor people from its branches throughout the country. In the Durban area alone, the movement distributes 10 000 plates of food each day to poverty-stricken people.
Over many decades, Muslim individuals and organisations have also been most munificent in providing care and comfort for those who are not adherents of the Islamic faith.
Were it not for the generosity of the likes of AM Moola, MJ Joosab, RK Khan and ML Sultan, the country would have been all the poorer in terms of the many educational and health institutions that have been founded, thanks to the funds bequeathed by these benefactors.
Last year the Islamic Medical Association (IMA) and the South African Muslim Charitable Trust established a clinic in Malakazi. The IMA is a body of Muslim healthcare professionals who provide healthcare to the needy in South Africa, especially in rural areas where public such services are still nonexistent.
Religious intolerance, such as the type rearing its ugly head in Pietermaritzburg, has no place today, given the country’s painful past, caused by decreed racial discrimination.
In a multi-religious nation like South Africa, where the practice of the religion of one’s choice is protected by the constitution, there is no reason for any kind of religious bigotry.
Whether Hinduism, Christianity, Islam or Judaism, generally all religions wish to achieve the same end: the enlightenment of the soul and the well-being of mankind.
Relieving poverty and suffering by assisting in different forms of humanitarian relief as a demonstrative expression of faith, is as important as engaging in regular religious worship. It is the practical manifestation of faith in everyday life that makes religion of value to society.
Swami Vivekananda, the patron saint of modern India, so rightly said: “I do not believe in a God or religion which cannot wipe the widow’s tears or bring a piece of bread to the orphan’s mouth”.
At the end of the day, only the hungry, sick and illiterate will be the losers if they allow themselves to become pawns in games played by those who wear blinkers and have selfserving agendas.