Healing the community through heartwarming initiatives
Overall, over 2, 500 hampers have been packed and distributed in total through the various hamper drives.
The HEAL Foundation (Humanitarian Environmental Animal Liberation), is the official wing of the Arya Samaj South Africa. The foundation was launched in January 2020.
“With the current systemic challenges facing our country and the lack of government assistance to alleviate poverty, the onus falls on NGOs to help shoulder the responsibility in easing the burden on the lives of people. This is the reason that the HEAL Foundation has embarked on several projects that are targeted to improve the lives of the marginalised communities,” says the foundation.
Their long-term vision is aligned with the 2030 Social Development Goals, to expand the network to include KZN communities that will support community collaboratives through collective impact.
These are some of the key initiatives the foundation embarked on during 2021:
The humanitarian team distributed over 300 blankets across KZN, packed and distributed 250 stationery bags for school children from low-income households, packed and distributed 250 care packs for women and children, who are victims of rape and abuse and held a blood drive in conjunction with SANBS due to the dire blood shortage.
Through their Baby Beanie Drive, they initiated a crochet project and were able to collect over 1, 000 crocheted and knitted baby beanies, which were distributed to various hospitals and NGOs within Durban and Pietermaritzburg.
During the July riots in KZN, emergency aid was brought down from Gauteng with over 1, 500 hampers being packed and distributed to communities in dire need.
Overall, over 2, 500 hampers have been packed and distributed in total through the various hamper drives.
The foundation has flourishing weekly feeding programs that continue to serve numerous communities in Durban and Pietermaritzburg. In addition, the foundation partnered with the Manav Seva Foundation for the HEAL Kitchen@HumanGiG project.
A fully equipped kitchen was installed which resulted in daily preparation and distribution of 1, 000 meals per day from Monday to Friday. To date over 100, 000 meals have assisted in alleviating hunger.
ALSO READ: HEAL Foundation serves up warm and hearty meals
The animal team collected and donated food to the SPCA, animal farms and zoos within KZN. The environmental welfare team launched ‘Plant a Spekboom’, which is a tree planting initiative in commemoration of International Mother Earth Day.
The team also partnered up with KZN Clean Blue Lagoon and Adopt a River Foundation to clean up lagoons and beaches in Durban. This is an ongoing initiative.
During the pandemic, they facilitated the use of oxygen concentrators together with COVID booster packs for the community to assist in alleviating the impact of the virus.
The work of the foundation has been tremendous in uplifting the lives of many people. With the continued support from their donors as well as the selfless work of the volunteers, the foundation aims to reach even greater heights to help in all aspects of society throughout 2022.
If you would like to get involved by contributing or assisting in such projects, send a message to 060-787-2575. Alternatively, send them an email at [email protected]
