First General Meeting of the Kholvad Social Welfare Institute convened on the 24th of September 1944. This address is from Chairman, Mr. S.M. Desai:
“Gentlemen, I very heartily welcome you to this, the first General Meeting of the Kholvad Social Welfare Institute. Just a little more than a year ago, Hajee Yusuf Timol conceived a scheme for the more speedy release of the Madressa Anjuman Islam of Kholvad from its overburdening debt. This scheme he fully discussed with me and thereafter we outlined it to memebrs of the Board of Management who all, without exception, I am glad to say, gave it their blessing. The idea behind the scheme was not only to help release the debt of the Madressa, but included some novel innovations, such as aiding monetary assistance to compatriots in India by means of loans, etc. etc, who stand in need of such aid.
It is, as I feel sure you will all agree, a beautiful ideal towards we strive, and in order to put this ideal into practice at the earliest moment, some of the memebrs of the Board of Management met in Carolina, at which meetign our aims and objects were fully gone into and the pros and cons thoroughly discussed, and to our great satisfaction the scheme was enthusiastically welcomes by all present.
A committee was thereupon appointed to get the scheme going and to draft a constitution for the new body to be known as the Kholvad Social Welfare Institute. This committee immediately put the machinery in motion to promote and further the good work, and with the grace of the Almighty Allah and your loyal co-operation we can come before you today and give an account of our stewardship and to lay before you the draft of the constitution we would ask you to adopt. You are of course, at liberty to propose and mane any amendments or deletions you may wish.
Gentlemen, it gives me the greatest pleasure to have to state that the committee during the past month has visited practically the whole of Transvaal and the aims and objects of the institute having been briefly explained fully 95% of the people with whom we came into contact wholeheartedly welcomed the scheme and not only contributed according to their means, but willingly offered and gave donations towards the funds. The committee, through me, would like to take this opportunity of thanking most heartily and sincerely all friends who so generously contributed to the funds and to record its appreciation of the welcome it received from all m everywhere.
I can honestly say from observation made during our journey, throughout the Province. That with the new spirit of co-operation for mutual aid and assistance now prevailing our community, the future of our people is being built on solid foundations. The whole scheme has worked so magnificently up to the present now lies in your hands and it is your power to make or mar it.
I, for one, however, have the utmost faith and confidence that having once put our hands to the plough we are not going to turn back and allow this beautiful ideal to become but a memory. Let us all strive then and give of the best that is in us in order that we reach the goal we have set out to attain.
I regret to have to say it, but there are a few of our friends – a very few I am glad to say who are up to the present have not co-operated with us. To these friends I would earnestly appeal and ask them to sink their differences and take an active part in assisting and furthering this noble scheme so that at the end of 1950, may it please the Almighty Allah we can look back upon a work well and truly done and a tower of strength erected to this glory and to the everlasting benefit of our community.
It is our aim to see the Madressa once again takes its rightful place as a torchbearer in our educational life so that in the not too distant future our children and children’s children may once again enjoy the inestimable privilege of going to our own hostel”.