Commemorating 35 years of providing relief and aid
FOR more than three decades, the Africa Muslims Agency (AMA) South Africa has provided relief and empowerment to the needy globally. This month, the agency marks its 35th anniversary.
Hassan Choonara, a director at AMA SA, said the late Abdurrahman Hammud Sumayt, a physician, founded AMA, an international Islamic charity, in Kuwait in 1981. He said Sumayt had headhunted his late father, Mohammed Farid Choonara, to start a branch of the organisation in South Africa in 1987. The office was opened in Fordsburg, Johannesburg. The AMA now has 29 offices in Africa, including Mozambique, Somalia and Malawi.
“Being a doctor, Sumayt travelled throughout Africa, and one of his first stops was in Malawi. After seeing the poor living conditions of the people, he decided to start AMA. His aim was to, thereafter, help the people on the continent. While visiting South Africa, he wanted to establish an office here, and that was when he head-hunted my dad, who was well-known for his contributions in helping others.”
Choonara said, at the time, his dad was the chairperson of the Muslim Youth Movement.
“He had already played an active role in communities. He used to visit underprivileged areas across South Africa and undertake relief efforts, including providing educational programmes and workshops. So it was fitting when he was asked to start AMA in SA.”
Choonara said AMA aimed to provide immediate relief, and thereafter, implement campaigns to ensure longterm sustainability.
“We respond to the hour of need, for example, with food, shelter and medication. Thereafter, we implement sustainable campaigns such as building homes and water wells for communities as well as providing education for adults and children. We have built more than 2000 water wells each year, set up schools and assist close to 1000 orphans from various countries with their educational needs.
“We also set up bakeries in a number of countries to help families to earn an income and ensure they have bread daily. We don’t go into a country to provide temporary relief and leave. We start empowerment programmes to help them attain levels of self-sustainability and self-sufficiency.”
Choonara said over the past decade, their work had extended beyond Africa.
“Apart from still offering daily assistance in South Africa and other African countries, we have also responded to the ongoing need for assistance in countries such as Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey, Lebanon and Yemen, among others. Since 2011, we have set up bases
in these countries and assist the refugees and locally displaced people on various fronts. Again, apart from providing immediate relief and humanitarian aid, we also create sustainability and empowerment.
“In October last year, we opened a school for 650 children aged between 6 and 14 of different nationalities. These include Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian refugees and migrants found in the Beqaa region of Lebanon. The school provides formal education from kindergarten to Grade 9.”
Choonara said while there were always challenges in providing humanitarian aid, it did not deter them.
“It is known that one of the main things that human aid organisations rely on is donor funding. However, we are grateful to have a donor community in South Africa who are able to give, and it
is through their generosity that we have been able to do our work. This has benefited thousands of people, especially women and children.”
Countries with conflict
Choonara said while it may be difficult for some to provide relief in countries like Afghanistan, which is under Taliban rule, they had established themselves on the ground.
“Having been around for so many years and establishing teams on the ground makes it much easier to do our work. However, when we go to a country, we are not re-establishing infrastructure and terrain.
“We also have teams who have a reputation for working in the country for many years, and through that, we are able to negotiate in terms of logistics, permission and permissibility
with its authorities to do our work,” he said.
Choonara said while it was known that many of the countries they provided relief to had poor human and women rights track records, they had not been stopped in doing empowerment campaigns.
“We have not come across women’s rights being trampled on. For example, I have recently returned from Afghanistan, where we just opened a madrassa. It will provide education for 300 girls. ‘
“We have never been stopped by authorities, questioned or had our work hampered.
“Many of our projects in other countries are skills developments, like for girls, and we have never had an issue. Our assistance, especially to women who have become widows and are left to
fend for themselves and their children, is welcomed.”
He said they always ensured there was transparency when they carried out their work.
“We have also never used any donor, grouping or authority for activities outside of providing relief, humanitarian aid, and to bring empowerment to communities. In all of our years, we have never been used for terrorist atrocities or to fund any sort of operations.
“We are very strict on how we work,
from the smallest detai,” he said.
Choonara said they hoped to intensify their efforts in providing relief, education and empowerment.
“We want to further enhance the work we do, from South Africa to Africa and the rest of the globe. However, our biggest aim is to always provide dignity to people. They should never feel that they are accepting handouts but are given a chance to live a dignified life through the skills they develop from our programmes,” he said.