Johannesburg, Nov 13 (PTI) To assist indigent local learners and charity organisations in South Africa, several Indian expat women here came together to host a fundraising Diwali banquet.

The annual event by the Johannesburg Indian Women's Association (JIWA) was organised at the prestigious Houghton Golf Club on Saturday evening.

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JIWA members are mainly the spouses or partners of Indian diplomats and heads of Indian companies with a presence in South Africa. The organisation is traditionally headed by the spouse of the Consul General for India in Johannesburg.

For Dimple Bhamboo, wife of Consul General Mahesh Kumar, it was her first time since arriving in the country a few months ago to address the gathering.

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“This celebration is basically a fundraising event. We are grateful to each one of you. Your generosity will brighten many lives. It will touch many hearts. It will create a positive and virtuous cycle of doing good,” Bhamboo said.

She said JIWA thrives on the year-long efforts of its members to raise funds for their various projects.

“Their strong support, and conviction of giving back to society is endless. These wonderful sisters of mine are constantly planning, reimagining what we do, figuring out how we can work together to make our society a little more just, a little fairer, a little more prosperous, a little more secure. They run families and are very well aware of what it takes to do it,” Bhamboo said as she highlighted how the funds were distributed this year.

“We joined hands with Ububele Education Psychotherapy Trust in Alexandria to assist children born into poverty to grow up and become emotionally healthy adults, competent parents, and good citizens,” she said.

Alexandria is a sprawling Black township adjacent to South Africa's economic hub of Sandton in Johannesburg, where many Indian companies have their offices.

“We dedicated our annual fun run to the Home of Hope. This organisation started as an interim ‘place of safety' for children who were abandoned in dustbins to die, violently abused, raped, hungry and neglected due to poverty, infected with HIV and AIDS and those who were born bearing the effects of excessive drug and alcohol abuse by their mothers during pregnancy,” Bhamboo shared.

She said JIWA has also refurbished New Hope School in Pretoria, which caters for learners with cerebral palsy, as well as physical and learning disabilities.

“Next

year we are proudly joining hands with the Maharishi invincible institute to help some women students there,” Bhamboo said.

Bhamboo singled out Elegance Jewellers, who donated all proceeds of the 5,000 Nom Nom Oblatory bracelets that they manufactured in 2023 to JIWA.

In his address, Consul General Kumar congratulated JIWA for the work that they have been doing for over 15 years now.

“JIWA was born with a purpose and what they have done all these years is very remarkable because all their members have full time businesses and homes to look after but despite that they take out the time and reach out to raise funds which are spent in a most productive manner,” Kumar said.

The diplomat said the Diwali celebrations hosted by the Consulate a week earlier for local and expatriate Indians as well as the diplomatic fraternity in Johannesburg was a continuation of plans to mark the festivals of all sectors of the diaspora in the city.

”Since January, we have celebrated (the Sikh festival of) Vaisakhi, the (Muslim festival) of Eid and now we are celebrating Diwali. We would like to celebrate all other festivals that come through during the year,” Kumar said.

Kumar also acknowledged a message broadcast nationally by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the occasion of Diwali.

“This is recognition of the virtual circle of good that we have created and JIWA has played a big role in this,” Kumar said.

Ramaphosa had said as a nation of many cultures and faiths, South Africans have a deep appreciation of the importance of Diwali and members of the Hindu faith.

“Diwali was a reminder of our own personal responsibility to bring light and hope to all those who suffer the effects of poverty, inequality, disadvantage and exclusion,” Ramaphosa said in his message.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)