ADF reaches out to communities Government hands were too short for

In March, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a nationwide lockdown among a raft number of measures meant to contain the spread of the Coronavirus in South Africa. A stringent but necessary move in the face of a pandemic that has since ravaged the entire world with devastating consequences, the lockdown began on March 27, sending millions of people into economic inactivity and throwing their future into deep uncertainty. Among those worst affected by the effects of the lockdown are poor South Africans and African migrants, most of who survive on menial jobs, are self-employed or completely unemployed.

As an organisation hard-pressed to not only cater for the needs of migrants, but also to nurture social cohesion among African communities, The African Diaspora Forum (ADF) went all systems out in negotiations with various benefactors who included the donor community, fellow non-profit organisations, faith-based organisations, the corporate world,foreign embassies and government bodies, to raise resources which were later channeled towards some of those whose only sources of income were hardest hit.

Among those who positively answered the call for assistance through various ADF communities were the Moroccan Embassy, Afrika Awake, Zimbabwe’s Ndebele king Bulelani Khumalo, African Medallion Group, Al-Imaad Foundation, Angel Network and the Gauteng Food Security, among other benefactors.

ADF executives who included Deputy Chairperson Abdeslam Habiballah, Spokesperson Amir Sheikh and Organising Secretary Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena were kept busy during the lockdown, traversing the whole of Gauteng Province to provide assistance to needy people.

Among those who positively answered the call for assistance through various ADF communities were the Moroccan Embassy, Afrika Awake, Zimbabwe’s Ndebele king Bulelani Khumalo, African Medallion Group, Al-Imaad Foundation, Angel Network and the Gauteng Food Security, among other benefactors.

ADF executives who included Deputy Chairperson Abdeslam Habiballah, Spokesperson Amir Sheikh and Organising Secretary Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena were kept busy during the lockdown, traversing the whole of Gauteng Province to provide assistance to needy people.

Among the various local and migrant communities that received massive help are those who live in Zamimpilo informal settlement – which has a mixed community of locals and African migrants, Mayfair, Johannesburg Innercity, Thembisa in the East Rand, Yeoville, Berea, Hillbrow, Pretoria, Regents Park, Rosettenville, Bramley and La Rochelle.

The distributions, dominated by food parcels, also included face masks, clothing items and hand sanitizers to those who could not afford.

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