At the handover ceremony on Friday, 19 November 2021, Mohil Bandulal, President of the ABH Council noted the phenomenal work undertaken by Sibaya Community Trust in the upliftment of mankind through its various projects undertaken to support NPOs and change the lives of the vulnerable. The donation to the ABH will help them break ground in the next two weeks.
Bandulal said: âSibaya Community Trustâs care and concern for our childrenâs welfare shows our children that Ubuntu does exists and that they are indeed valuable members of society. We thank Sibaya Community Trust and we look forward to strengthening our relationship. Sibaya Community Trust will positively impact generations of families as their support has enabled our new Childrenâs Home to be a home away from home for our children.
Thank you to Sibaya Community Trust for uplifting our children and for helping them to grow into happy and successful adults.
Eshu Seevnarayan (long-serving ABH Council member) said: âWe are deeply touched by Sibaya Community Trustâs magnanimous generosity. Our existing childrenâs home is old as it was established in 1976 and the childrenâs home also consists of independent cottages. The new childrenâs home, which will cost us R21-million to build will be more communal as it will comprise of a large kitchen and dining hall thus greatly simplifying the cooking and feeding arrangements for our children. In addition, a common central library, study area and central administration offices will enable greater interaction among the children, the management and the social workersâ.
Seevnarayan expressed his sentiments on the crucial role that donors play: âWe are currently commemorating our 100th year milestone of caring, sharing and serving. We have only been able to survive a century of caring, sharing and serving through the inspiring generous support of donors like Sibaya Community Trustâ.
Seevnarayan explained the ABHâs financial situation: âWe rely heavily on donations as our annual operational expenses amount to R50.3 million. 50% of our funding is subsidised by the State and the balance is raised through fundraising initiatives. Capital projects like the new home come entirely from donations. Seen in this context, the Sibaya Community Trustâs benevolent donation ensures that we can sustain our home and create much-needed facilities for our residents. We are extremely grateful to Sibaya Community Trust for lending a helping hand to our home especially in our current economic climateâ.
Speaking at the event, Vivian Reddy, Chairman of Sibaya Casino and Sibaya Community Trust acknowledged the President and its Council members for so ably undertaking such a mammoth task.
âI am deeply passionate about the well-being of our children, thus coming to the aid of ABH in support of their new Childrenâs Home was an easy decision especially in light of the fact that ABH is a reputable long standing NPO doing great work for the aged, victims of domestic violence and our childrenâ, said Reddy.
He added that Sibaya Community Trust has changed the dynamics in the pass rate at 14 schools adopted by the Trust via the Madi programme, which went from a 10 % pass in maths and science to that of 80 percent.
Speaking on gender-based violence, he was glad to note that the ABH has a dedicated facility called the ABH VJ Kara Family Centre that assists abused women and their children.
Reddy added that the Sahara Shelter for abused women was built in Phoenix by the Trust.
Close to R250-million was spend in support to over 125 NPOs, supporting the people behind the humanitarian work.
The cheque was handed over to the Council members by Mr Vivian Reddy the Chairman of Sibaya Casino and Sibaya Community Trust together with Trustee Deshun Naidoo on Friday, 19 November 2021.
