Willowton Group, a leader within South Africa’s FMCG sector and Africa’s leading edible oil processor, on Sunday donated R1,250,000.00 to provide much needed 5,000 PPE packs and 1,000 theatre scrub sets to international charity organisation, Gift of the Givers, to aid in the fight against Covid-19 in the Eastern Cape.
Speaking at the handover in Pietermaritzburg today (December 17, 2020), Dr Imtiaz Sooliman (founder and CEO) of Gift of the Givers, said that , Willowton Group had agreed to donate over R1,250,000 to provide this urgently needed equipment for frontline health care workers and volunteers in the region who were assisting Gift of Givers to care for people who had been infected by the Corona virus.
“It is well known that the Eastern Cape and the Garden Route are the epicentre of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa. The donation is intended to help protect the many front line volunteers who risk their lives on a daily basis to help those who are battling this infection,” he said.
Zubeir Moosa, Chief Executive officer of the Willowton Group said that they had reached out because of the urgent need.
“This fits in with our philosophy to help those in need. Our donations are made in areas that have the most need throughout Southern Africa. We are invested in the well- being of South Africans and will do all that we can to assist our fellow South Africans,” he said.
Moosa praised the Gift of the Givers for the work that it had done to help manage the pandemic so far and the work that it would continue to do as the second wave of infections spreads across South Africa and in the Eastern Cape in particular.
“It is one of the best and most organised charitable organisations in the world. They identify a need, find the equipment and go without invitation and are most often the first and fastest responders,” he pointed out.
Although the handover took place in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, the equipment that has been funded by Willowton Group will be distributed throughout the Eastern Cape in places of need particularly the Sarah Baartman District, Butterworth and Mthatha, as well as to those working in major cities such as Port Elizabeth and East London.
Image: Pictured at the handover at the Gift of the Givers Pietermaritzburg depot in Mkondeni are from left to right. Corene Conradie, Ali Sablay and Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman from Gift of the Givers with Shoaib Moosa and Ishfaaq Moosa of Willowton Group