By: Colin Windell
Durban: From postings placed on its reporting structure it is clear the loss of
life in the recent KwaZulu-Natal floods is greater than originally estimated
according to Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, head of Gift of the Givers Foundation,
speaking a function in Umhlanga, Durban where the organisation received a
R3-million donation from Hyundai and its parent company, Motus.
The bulk of the donated money will go towards acquiring material to help
flood victims rebuild homes and places of residence that were damaged or
washed away. “The losses and suffering due to the floods in KwaZulu-Natal
(KZN) are of a scale unseen in recent times in South Africa. There was no
doubt in our minds that we had to contribute to the relief effort in the province
by this donation to Gift of the Givers, which has vast experience and many
successes in relief and rebuilding operations of this kind,” says Niall Lynch,
CEO of Hyundai Automotive SA.
“Hyundai Motor Company of South Korea is equally concerned about the
disaster in KZN and have combined with us to make this contribution
possible. We trust that the funds donated in this collaborative
effort will be put to good use to improve the lives and circumstances of
people who have lost homes, all possessions and
modes of transport.”
The latest donation to Gift of the Givers for relief in flood-ravished areas in
KwaZulu-Natal forms part of an ongoing collaborative corporate social i-
nvestment programme of Hyundai Automotive SA, official importer and
distributor of Hyundai vehicles in South Africa, and the Hyundai Motor
Company with non-government organisations (NGOs) in the country.
From 2020 to 2022 Hyundai Automotive SA, also in combination with
Hyundai Motor Company of Korea, donated five H-100 Bakkies and a H-1 9-
seater bus to Gift of the Givers as part of its Covid-19 social investment to
assist with the distribution of food and essential items in communities that were affected by the pandemic.
“Gift of the Givers deeply values the incredible partnership with Hyundai and
Motus who always rise to the challenge at the most critical times during
disaster intervention. At the onset of Covid-19 we had to increase our vehicle
fleet to meet the ever-demanding requests from 210 hospitals nationwide
and to deploy mobile Covid-19 testing teams.
Hyundai and Motus responded rapidly with the donation of three vehicles,”
says Sooliman, founder and head of the Gift of the Givers Foundation.
“In 2021 they added another two, and yet another one at the beginning of
2022 as part of an ongoing supply of vehicles to vastly improve Gift of the
Givers logistics capability. With the KZN floods the response was instant yet
again, this time with a R3-million donation to provide essential immediate
requirements for the traumatised flood affected victims. Gift of the Givers
appreciates this invaluable partnership which synergistically benefits the
people of our country.”
* Other corporates have also donated generously to the KZN relief efforts.
This week Volkswagen South Africa pledged R2 million to the Gift of the
Givers Foundation, while Ford South Africa donated R370 000.
IOL Motoring