Imtiaz Sooliman – Honorary Doctorate
AI: Summary ©
MTS, a gift of the givers, has been awarded with a honor at the
nthoodal Research Conference. Dr. MTS's
is a gift of the givers, and the
is a recognition of his family, children, teachers, and
the
nthoodal Research Conference. Dr. MTS's
is a gift of the givers, and the
is a recognition of his family, children, teachers, and
the
AI: Summary ©
Music, Mr. Vice Chancellor, I have the honor to present to you MTS
Ismail Suliman
with a request that you confer on him the degree, Doctor of Science,
honoris causa. The decision by council and Senate award in this
degree has been taken on the grounds of the following
considerations, Doctor MTS Ismail Suleiman and his organization,
gift of the givers have become synonymous with hope and relief in
South Africa and across the globe.
An MBChB graduate, Dr Suleiman's first experience of humanitarian
humanitarian aid followed a visit to a drought streak in Mozambique
as a member of the Islamic Medical Association,
alarmed by what he observed, he returned home and raised 1 million
Rand in five days, enough to draw 30 boreholes and supply Mozambican
authorities with malaria medication two years later, in
1992 he established gift of the givers, which has since become the
largest Non Governmental Organization in Africa. Its
objective is to serve people of all races, all religions, classes,
political affiliations, and of any geographic location, and to do so
unconditionally with kindness, compassion, mercy and respect for
human dignity,
funded entirely by ordinary South Africans donations. The
organization started out by tackling the Bosnian conflict
here, Dr Suleiman delivered 780 tons of food, clothes and
blankets, and developed a unique, completely self sufficient,
unwritten, 30 bed, containerized, mobile hospital with little
international support, he sold his home and cashed in his life
policies to Have the hospital commissioned. He went on to create
similar, containerized primary health care clinics, which he
placed in rural areas in South Africa and Malawi to provide easy
access to care.
Thomas in here and now, Bosnia, a doctor. MTS Ismail Suleiman is a
gift of the givers, or hanisa sur huyenam, it
on ferveille based on
a habit and the arena here, gift of the givers of the in
Libya, the
entwenty fear, 13 is Dr Suleiman Sua bequam and I on handling funny
bureaucracy that a Karen roll for Phillip on beer, Corky funny al
Qaeda, Malita of the neighbor key in a village,
always seeking to provide improved aid. Dr Suleiman has also
established the Education Support Program, the Jumpstart
entrepreneurial program, and partnered with his wife Zora to
found Caroline. He collaborated with the international company
DuPont to develop Sibu sisu, a supplement providing disaster
stricken populations with essential micronutrients, which
has since achieved excellent resulting clinical trials. Awards
recognizing his remarkable achievements include the
president's order of the star in 1993
the order of the boab Bab in 2010 and an award from the Pakistan
President Parvez Musharraf in 2006
Doctor Suleiman's quest to improve people's faith,
often risking his own safety,
his perseverance in the face of multiple challenges, and his
ability to inspire others to be of service to his fellow man, Mark
Stellenbosch, university's highest honor,
Mr. Vice Chancellor, I thereby request you to confer the doctor,
the degree Doctor of Science, DSC honors, causa on Imtiaz Ismail
Suleiman for having established the gift of the givers as a
renowned vehicle of hope and relief, for skillfully harnessing
his medical training to improve disaster stricken and vulnerable
people's fate, and for his leadership in inspiring others to
follow suit and to serve society the.
I hereby confer on you. MTS, Ismail Suleiman, the degree Doctor
of Science. Honoris causa. You.
Professor Wim De Villiers, staff and Senate of Stellenbosch
University, fellow degrees, Professor Peter Jones and
Professor Anna. Parents and students, congratulations on the
100th anniversary of this great institution. I know it's great
through personal experience for the MediCal members of your
university that have joined my teams in disaster regions across
the world,
I'm really honored to be honored by this university, by the Senate
and the people of this town.
It is about building race relationships, looking across
color, race and religion, looking across culture. But I will be
failing in my responsibility if I don't thank and remember today a
great teacher on the sixth of August 1992
in Istanbul in Turkey, on the Thursday night, who told me in
FLUENT Turkish, and I don't understand a word of Turkish,
but I understood every single word that he said, Because he explained
to me later on, when the hearts Connect and the souls connect, the
words understandable and the message he gave. He said, My son,
I am not asking you,
I am instructing you to form an organization. The name in Arabic
will be walkful, vain. Translated, it means gift of the givers. You
will serve all people of all races, of all religions, of all
colors, of all classes and of all cultures, of any political
affiliation and of any geographical location, but you
will serve them unconditionally. You will not expect anything in
return, not even a thank you. Remember that in what you're going
to do for the rest of your life, expect to get a kick up your back.
If you don't get a kick up your back, regard it as a bonus. Serve
people with love, kindness, compassion and mercy, and remember
the dignity of man is foremost. So if somebody is down, don't push
them in the ground further. Hold them and lift them up. Wipe the
tear of a grieving child, care caress the head of an orphan.
Say words of good counsel to a widow. These things are free. They
don't cost anything. Clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and
provide water to the thirsty, and in everything that you do,
be the best at what you do, not because of ego, but because you're
dealing with human life, human emotion, human suffering and human
dignity. Now go back home. This is an instruction for you for the
rest of your life, and remember my son, hainonas meyen, for unas best
among people
are those who benefit mankind. And my emphasis is on the word
mankind, he said. And the most important point of all, he said,
My son, remember that whatever you do
is done through you and not by you.
This doctorate is not for me.
It is a recognition of my family, my children, my staff and South
Africa, because without you, we could have never done it, the
medical teams, the search and rescue teams, the volunteers, the
donors, even from the smallest of schools, the academic
institutions, the media and the government. And this recognition
is actually a recognition of your own Ubuntu, your own spirituality,
your own good heartedness and own generosity. People, this is a
great country. It is great to be South African. Never forget that.
Thank you very much. You