Disaster Management

The Eastern Cape is the poorest of the provinces in the country. Statistics reflect that:

• Over 72% of the population living well below the breadline.
• 7 out of 10 of the country’s poorest municipalities are located in the Eastern Cape.
• Large scale unemployment
• Poor health and sanitation conditions, etc.

To address the need for Social Welfare and Development, the Al Fidaa Foundation was formed in 2008 with the aim of alleviating poverty in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The Al Fidaa Foundation is a registered Non Profit (NPO No: 070-651), Public Benefit (PBO No: 930 033 996) and Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE No: CLK006312010/1) organization.

Al Fidaa Foundation initially established soup kitchens that fed over 1000 peoples per month, but has since expanded its operations to currently provide over 100 000 meals a month to schoolchildren and the community in various impoverished areas of the Eastern Cape. Al Fidaa Foundation also has several other social development & welfare projects including: distribution of food and clothing, providing computers to schools, skills development programs (sewing, plumbing, game ranging etc.), community farming projects etc.

Due to the large scale drought in the Eastern Cape, various parts of the region have been classified as disaster areas. However, the governments Disaster Management plan and initiatives are insufficient to adequately address the situation. In most instances, government does not have the means to cope with immediate assistance in a disaster. Furthermore, should a disaster (natural or otherwise) occur in the Eastern Cape there will not be enough resources to assist the distressed. When disaster strikes, many families are unable to rehabilitate themselves or restore their belongings and become dependent on help from outside sources. Furthermore, it is imperative that relief projects are initiated without delay to minimize loss of life and to provide immediate assistance to affected individuals and families.

It is therefore Al Fidaa Foundation’s intention to assist these poverty stricken families when disaster strikes through the establishment of the Al Fidaa Foundation Disaster Management Project. The project will render assistance to all individuals and families irrespective of creed, race, culture or religion in the Eastern Cape initially. Our vision is to have Disaster Recovery Kits which can be rapidly deployed in disaster areas to provide immediate assistance to the distressed.

We envisage raising funds, in order to enable Al Fidaa Foundation to operate such a project when disaster strikes. Our initial target is R1 million which will be sufficient to purchase approximately 280 Disaster Recovery Kits. Each kit will contain food to support a family of 4 for a period of 2 – 3 days, a First Aid Kit, a paraffin stove and tent to provide shelter. The value of the pack is approximately R1200.00 plus an additional R2000.00 where a tent is required. Should the funds grow to exceed R5 million, we will consider operating on a national level or even beyond South Africa.

Detailed contents of the Disaster Recovery Kit are listed in Schedule A. The kits will be pre-packaged into a single package and available as for shipment to the disaster area after assessment by our proto teams.

The purpose of this letter is to invite your company to contribute towards this. Your company will be assisting in a major social responsibility program for people affected by a major disaster and at the same time you will be discharging a social responsibility to the people of the province and South Africa. Furthermore, any contributions towards this project will entitle your company to receive Section 18a Tax Exemptions.

A meeting can be arranged with your Social Responsibility team to discuss the matter further. Kindly contact our representative  Mr Yusuf Lorgat   (at 082 560 2133) to make an appointment, or write to P O Box 10389, Linton Grange 6015 or email to alfidaa@telkomsa.net

SCHEDULE A
DISASTER RECOVERY KIT:
Unit consists of the following items: