By Umamah Bakharia

South African aid organisation Gift of the Givers is to provide humanitarian aid to people affected by the war in Ukraine. The crisis in the country is intensifying with more than a million people who have already fled Ukraine and millions stilled trapped as Russia continues bombarding the country.

Radio Islam speaks to the Gift of the Givers’ founder, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman on the assistance that will be provided to Ukraine.

“My biggest concern is the old age homes, the homes of the physically and mentally challenged and those people who are left in their homes,” says Dr Sooliman.

The NGO will be focusing on assisting students to leave Ukraine, lending a helping hand to those in need and those that require help from the frontline.

“We are busy with the coordinators from Europe [regarding medical supplies],” says Dr Sooliman and adds that some items will be bought in Europe and Ukraine while supplies from South Africa will be sent on scheduled flights through Poland.

“Our job is to get the stuff to them, their job is to create the corridor,” says Dr Sooliman.

The NGO says it was invited to a private international discussion that included representatives of different countries including Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine to discuss the humanitarian struggle in Ukraine at the moment.

In the discussion, various European countries raised the point that despite the country opening state facilities to assist refugees, the various countries’ own citizens have opened their homes to the refugees.

Dr Sooliman says the situation in Ukraine is similar to Syria as it is unfolding.

“The methodology is the same whether it’s starting to move in the troops slowly and then starting the bombardments [and] there is a mass movement of refugees,” says Dr Sooliman.