Turkish charity distributes meat to 27,000 families in South Africa, Lesotho

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - A Turkish humanitarian organization and its local partners have distributed meat to nearly 30,000 needy families in South Africa and the neighboring kingdom of Lesotho, according to an official.

Ahmet Yilmaz, the social affairs counselor at the Turkish Embassy in Pretoria who oversaw distribution, told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that the project was led by the Türkiye Diyanet Foundation.

“We distributed the meat as part of qurbani from 10 July until 24 July 2022 in about 158 different locations in South Africa and the Kingdom of Lesotho reaching some 27,000 families,” he said.

Qurbani is the practice of sacrificing livestock during the festival of Eid al Adha. It commemorates the willingness of prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son, at God’s command, but was told at the last minute to instead sacrifice a livestock animal.

Yilmaz said Türkiye Diyanet Foundation collaborated with Jamiatul Ulama South Africa, Awqaf SA, Hadiya Sipho Esihle NPC, and al-Qaasim Islamic Center in the project.

Three Diyanet volunteers came from Türkiye to help with the distribution. Diyanet has been conducting qurbani in South Africa since 2013.

The organization also distributes Ramadan food packages in cooperation with its South African partner organizations.

Yilmaz said this year the foundation slaughtered 461 cows and it thanked Turkish people for their contributions.