The Humanitarian Project: A Green Spin

The Union of Muslim Students' Association (MSA Union of South Africa) and it's initiative Green Deen South Africa, in conjunction with SANZAF, takes great pleasure in announcing the National Flagship Project for 2014 - The Humanitarian Project: Repurposing Waste. This initiative follows projects such as the Ramadan Humanitarian Project (RHP), Project IQra and last year’s Humanitarian Project. MSA takes the view that we should make a sustainable contribution towards underprivileged communities in South Africa. We should strive as a society to empower people and overcome poverty. We also aim to create mass student involvement and raise awareness on our campuses. 

About The Humanitarian Project:

The Humanitarian Project is MSA’s flagship project. A flagship project aims to fulfil the following objectives:

- Student involvement on a mass scale

- To fulfil a social need

- To encourage social development and eradicate social apathy

- To be replicable across campuses

- To be edgy and address current needs and hypes

This project builds on last year’s project where a second hand clothing collection was conducted on some South African campuses and communities and then given to identified entrepreneurs to sell. This year we incorporate this aspect of empowerment of entrepreneurs under a broad banner of ‘Repurposing Waste’ projects. This has arisen from a collaboration between the Union of Muslim Students' Association and it’s initiative Green Deen South Africa, in conjunction with SANZAF.

Items that will be collected are: second hand clothing, electronic waste and upcycling material. Collection boxes will be placed at campuses around the country. The recipients of the second hand clothing will be people identified by SANZAF, who will also liaise with the recognised recipients. The recipients will receive training and support by SANZAF, which will ensure continuity and success of the project. Additionally campuses can choose to raise awareness by upcycling waste into cool novelties on campuses, collecting electronic waste for recycling and raising awareness on the importance of repurposing waste.

This project is envisioned upon an eradication of social apathy, replacing it with social development. It goes far beyond the realms of charity work, in that we aim to empower underprivileged people with the opportunity to start businesses of their own as well as educate people about the importance of repurposing waste. The project will be rolled out by MSA chapters across South Africa in campuses in Gauteng, North West, KwaZulu Natal and the Western Cape by a team of dedicated individuals.

For more information like our Facebook pages 'The Humanitarian Project', ‘Green Deen Campaign South Africa’ and ‘MSA Union’, follow @MSA_Union and @MSA_GreenDeen on twitter or go to the website http://greendeen.msa.org.za/

Statement issued by Nasreen Hamdulay, Head of Community and Social Outreach at MSA Union of South Africa and Fatima Ragie, Project Manager at Green Deen South Africa

Nasreen Hamdulay: nasreen.hamdulay@gmail.com/ 072 897 7850

Fatima Ragie: fhragie@gmail.com/ 076 258 5251