Ali Akbar Moosa (Director & Chairman Willowton Group), Dr Imtiaz Sooliman (Founder & Chairman Gift of the Givers) and Farouk Moosa (Director Willowton Group)
The Willowton Group, a KwaZulu-Natal homegrown company, has donated R1,5 million to support communities that were devastated by floods over the Easter weekend.
Director for the Willowton Group, Abdul Razak Moosa, said that as a family owned business, the suffering of the families in KwaZulu-Natal was very close to the company’s heart.
He said that the group’s donation to a non-governmental organisation, Gift of the Givers, Africa’s largest disaster response NGO and the first to send volunteers to areas ravaged by the heavy rains, reflected the vision and purpose of Willowton.
Willowton Group, which was founded in KwaZulu-Natal in 1970, is one of South Africa’s leading edible oil processors and FMCG companies with well-known brands such as Sunfoil, Sunshine D, D’lite, Crown, WoodenSpoon, and Allsome rice.
“We are committed to being a responsible corporate citizen and there is no better feeling than giving back to the South African community. The aim is to make a meaningful difference and one that can be sustained into the future. We believe that this is a good opportunity to care for those that are unable to care for themselves,”
“As people begin to pick up the pieces and the stories of those who have lost their homes and their belongings are no longer on the front pages of our newspapers, the true work begins. People quickly forget that rebuilding people’s lives requires resources. It is now when the greatest need usually emerges,”
Moosa said when handing over the cheque to Gift of the Givers spokesperson, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman.
He said that Willowton Group believed that, because Gift of the Givers was known for working closely with the victims of natural disasters, it was well placed to assess what was needed and would allocate the funds accordingly.
Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, thanked the Willowton Group for its contribution.
“Many families have nowhere to go and are living in tents or in community halls at present. More than 230 homes have been badly damaged and even more will have to be completely rebuilt. It is through the generosity of people like the Willowton Group that they can still have hope.”
The Willowton Group regularly contributes to various religious, welfare and community organisations including the Community Chest (Pietermaritzburg), the Pietermaritzburg & Cape Town Society for the Blind, the Muslim Charitable Foundation, the Msunduzi Hospice and a number of schools in the KZN region that need funds for building projects, meals and other improvement projects.
The group also provides bursaries and loans to deserving students who are unable to fund their tertiary education and is well known for contributing to sports development at grassroots level. This includes Sunfoil Township Cricket, an initiative that exposes children and teenagers living in townships and rural areas to cricket.
