Imtiaz Sooliman – Interview on the Global Citizen Award

Imtiaz Sooliman
AI: Summary ©
The speaker describes a disaster response agency in South Africa that provides various projects such as housing, agriculture, and emergency response. They emphasize the importance of unity and calmness between people and encourage them to use their own heart and soul to achieve success in life. The speakers also discuss the need for transparency and honesty in the organization's work, citing the success of their own company and the potential for it to enhance their own countries.
AI: Transcript ©
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It was a Thursday night. I was in Istanbul. I met a spiritual

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teacher that Thursday night, after a prayer session, he just looked

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at me in the eye as if he was connecting somewhere out of the

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world. He said, My son, I'm not asking you, I'm instructing you to

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form an organization. The name in Arabic will be what for what we

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feel. Translated into English, means gift of the givers. And then

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he said something very important. He said, Whatever you do is done

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through you cannot buy you. It's a spiritual calling. This is an

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instruction for you for the rest of your life. So gift of the game

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was born on that night, sixth August, 1992 in Istanbul.

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Interior.

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Gift of the game was started off as a disaster response agency,

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with still our primary function, we'll be specialists in disaster

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response. So disaster this a complete disaster package. People

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don't either primary health care, or they do trauma or they do

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certain rescue. We do the whole package. I don't think any

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organization will understand, and that's only one aspect disaster

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response. But we do housing projects in South Africa and in

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disasters. We do agriculture, provision of water. We probably

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the biggest agency dealing with travel to South Africa right now.

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We do food parcels, feeding streams, bursaries, education

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projects. We do sports development, life skills

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counseling, provision of fee or wheelchairs management support

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hospitals. We do a range of different things, and it's

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probably the most complete organization in the world in terms

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of disaster response and the type of projects that we do, because

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people then look at us and say, but what do you really do? You

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know, when they see so many different types of products, they

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get amazed. And everything that we do, we design ourselves. The

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housing project that we designed in Kaiji, Chai, Cape Town and

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Alexandra in Venezuela has been seen by the big construction

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companies themselves. Came to see what we did many years previous,

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international guest ambassadors have come to see that kind of

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project. And then we designed the world's first containerized,

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private containerized mobile hospital, the world's

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containerized Primary Health Care Unit. We designed the world's

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first groundnut, soya, high energy and protein supplement.

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Our first project was Bosnia. We got involved in the civil war in

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Bosnia, where there were tons of refugees coming out from the

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country, and we responded to the needs of the refugees, and we

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responded to the needs of the country. And this, I'm proud of

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Africa, because the first containerized mobile hospital in

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the world was designed by us in Africa in 1993 and we took it from

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Africa to Europe. And that hospital was filmed by

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international media, and they said CNN covered it, and said that this

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South African hospital is comparable to any of the best

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hospitals in Europe. And when I went back in 2005 at the

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invitation of the Bosnian government, the people who are

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still running hospital said that this South African Hospital has

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given life to 10s of 1000s of people. Many babies have been born

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here, and so disaster response was our first intervention. We started

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off building the hospital over a period of time. You know, we only

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took in things like 10s blankets and medicines as we evolved. We

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then put in primary health care, medical teams. Then we came into

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trauma teams, post trauma rehab, post trauma counselors. Then we

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added search and rescue. We took in sniffer dogs. We started

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putting up housing projects, providing water and all the

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medicines and potato we started building hospitals in the war

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zone. Right now, in Syria, we have two hospitals running inside the

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war zone that people have tried bombing it many times, you know,

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and we've survived. And we're looking at now putting a dead

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hospital in the war zone and putting a passive orphanage for

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1000 children to teach them, to support them and also look after

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many refugees, which we are looking after right now inside

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Syria,

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in this holy place, Muslim holy place, there Were people of all

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cultures, all religions, all countries, Jews, Christians,

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Hindus, those who said you don't believe in any type of deity. You

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know people from America, Russia, India, Australia, Mexico, Brazil,

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Africa. And I was surprised to see the harmony between different

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cultures in my holy place. He looked at me, and I was stunned to

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see this kind of unity and calmness between people. He asked

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me, What? And this was in August, 19 one. He asked me, What do you

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see? I said, I see people of all countries, all religions. You come

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here. Said, My son, mankind is one single nation.

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The God of all mankind is one. We just call him by different names,

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any teacher, any preacher, any rabbi, any Shrek, any Imam, any

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pastor who promotes violence, extremism, terrorism, the king of

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people, confrontation and discord is not aware of God. Don't found

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him. Any person of preachers, love, kindness and compassion is a

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man of God following I was thrilled and amazed at that kind

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of philosophy. I fell in love with it.

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You will help all people of all races, of all colors, of all

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classes, of all religions, of all

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cultures, of any geographic location and of any political

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affiliation, but you will have them unconditionally. You will not

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expect anything in return, not even a thank you. Serve the people

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what love but kindness, but compassion and mercy and remember

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the dignity of men is foremost. So if someone is down in the ground,

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don't push them down, hold them and lift them up, to wipe the tear

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from a crying child, to curse the head of an orphan, to speak words

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of good counsel to a widow. These are all meritorious acts, to

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provide food for the hungry, water for the thirsty, and clothe the

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naked. These are all the kind of things that you will do, and

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remember that whatever you do be the best at what you do, not for

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ego, but because you're dealing with human emotion, human feeling,

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human suffering and human life.

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I acknowledge, I look at myself and I realized the kind of things

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that I have done is not evenly possible. There has to be a bigger

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hand helping you. There's your support staff. There has to be a

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team. There has to be people around you, reassuring. What

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hasn't achieved is not humanly possible. The amount of time that

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you've done it and the kind of things that you've done, and he

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always said to me, he said, My son, he was having 1/3 time for

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yourself, 1/3 for your work, and 1/3 for your family. And every

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time I looked at him and I laughed, I said, Teacher, that's

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impossible. Four thirds are taken up by the work because it's so

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busy and so much things to deal with. But yes, I'm pretty

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satisfied. And what you asked me to do, and I saw a fruitful and

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mandate after now you

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a teacher passed away in 1999

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but before he passed on, he told me, my son, in everything that you

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do, he will know the right people will come to you, and they will

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come from all over the world to you. You don't have to look for

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money. Money will find you. All those words came true by

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inspiration. People come, and I realized that this person is the

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right person. We don't have the dollar system of advertising. And

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say, please, you got a job? Can you please come? People will walk

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into my office, and most of my staff have come that way. Somebody

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came to me and said, Look,

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they came for Sadat to the office for some counseling or something,

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to the office, and someday the lady will speak and see what did

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the job. I was working somewhere. I lost a job. Can you consider me?

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We were growing very slowly? No. And also very strict about the

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amount of staff they take. And I look at the person mark and say,

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What? Give the person a chance. And the person that started to

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date from 1992 to now. So only two staff that have left for some

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other reason. They moved town and moved somewhere else. Nobody has

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left. You to figure everybody has been there. And they work with the

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heart and soul. And I tell him very clearly when you come here,

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you don't want for money. You work with your heart and your soul. If

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you can't work with your heart in your soul. You can get a much

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bigger salary somewhere else, because we are an NGO. You can get

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much better times, no after hours, no weekends, you will be much

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happier. And if you come for money, and whoever comes there now

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in December, when you close, they say, why have you closed? We're

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not still happy at home. We want to work

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in the 24 year period in South African brands. I mean, our money

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is not strong, but in South African brands, we virtually

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delivered 2 billion rand in eight to 42 countries, South Africa

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included. And remember, we haven't gone up to Asmaa. We haven't made

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proposals. We haven't approached government. We haven't approached

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corporates. We announced, yes, what we do. And remember this

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largely, 99% of South African audience, of which 50 million

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people know their means. In this country, it's very limited amount

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of people who really do have means. And those limited amount of

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people have sort of carried us over these 24 years. And all my

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heads off to all of them.

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I'd like to see African NGOs become self reliant, self

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sufficient. I'd like to see progress in water. Coming to the

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African continent means water. It needs agriculture, it needs

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education, it needs entrepreneurship, it needs

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fighting disease, and it needs more.

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Of free thinking, to move away from corruption, to move away from

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conflict drivers conflict, to walk away from Indonesian conflict

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between different tribes, to be better understanding, better

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relationship between tribes. And with that kind of understanding,

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we have probably the biggest amount of resources in the world,

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in this continent that we can use for the benefit of upgrading the

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continent. We are not short of resources. We are short in terms

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of our thinking. And if you change the mindset the African NGOs, who

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can be advisors to government, advisors to industry, can bring

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about a massive change in the thinking, the application and the

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development of the continent. The skills are there. I mean, Africa's

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biggest export, the medical people, nurses, doctors,

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accountants, engineers, teachers, and if everything was such a

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stupid continent, why would the rest of the world grab them? We

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have them, but there is no opportunity for people to stay in

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continent and enhance their own countries. I would like to see all

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the expected to come back and, you know, and governments to be more

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open and better democracy and better involvement for dealing and

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we can change. It's not impossible. We can change the

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lives of 1 billion people on this project. We almost there,

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in this world that is so polarized with so much of conflict between

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different cultures and religions, for everybody to stand together

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say you are my brother and holding each other's hands and going out.

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And we've achieved that. You know, when the teams leave South Africa,

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when we respond to a disaster, when we get to other countries,

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people of all religions get confused. They cannot understand

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how Christians use Muslims, Hindus, black, white, Indian can

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stand together as one song that and everybody is there for each

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and other. When we work in a war zone or an earthquake or anywhere

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else, understand like one brotherhood but absolute love and

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encourage everyone respect each other. We pray to the same God. We

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are the same mission. We are there to protect each other. We are

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there to work with each other, and we are there, above all, to serve

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the needs of those people who need us most, being the refugees or the

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recipients or the victims of a disaster. And you find people will

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comment. They said, How long do these 60 or 80 people know each

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other? We'll say they met. Many of them met each other for the first

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time today. The comment would be, we would say they know each other

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for 10 years. That's the kind of harmony we build for each other.

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So that is my greatest achievement. And many people say,

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if anybody can bring people together, you guys can.

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They must have integrity. They must have honesty. They must be

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transparent. They mustn't say something and do something else.

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And you have to lead by example. And again, I use my own case. When

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we go to a disaster zone, people ask my team members,

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nice of you. I'm sure the manager is very busy at home in this

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country. They say, No, he is a manager, and they'll see me

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picking up a sack of minutes or less. They say, he can't be the

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manager. Managers don't come to disaster zones. They sit in the

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office and they send other people. So they say, No, they can't do it.

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They are lying. This is not a manager. And if you want anything

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done, you'll do it first. That's how the organization grew. I put

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the effects paper in the machine. I put the paper on the wall. I did

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the delivery. So every aspect of the organization you cannot be

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every project is designed in ID, every the mechanics about the IT

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guy, but I know how the people function. I'll read about it and

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understand something to explain to me. Yes, I can't go. I've left

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medicine in 94 but everything to do with medicine, I will learn.

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All the new stuff, the new technology. I get people to brief

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me, my medical teams advise me, and I will learn. But in

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everything, I got to set the example first. When it goes to a

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war zone, I take the highest risk. I go first alone to see what the

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risks are, what networks we can build, how I can bring my teams in

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and I come back, it doesn't send something else to take the risk,

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and the first one in and the last one out. So you have to get

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integrity. You have to be honest. You can be transparent. And people

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have to see that there's sincerity. And you know, in the

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way you operate, they must see the compassion in you. They must see

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how you respect each other, the dignity, approval of people,

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everything that we say they have to see that.

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It means Africa is highly recognized. To me, this is the

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opportunity to market, to showcase the continent, because we always

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forgotten people, the Africans, as I mentioned earlier, can't do

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anything. And there are people, you know, philanthropists, all of

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the world, who really want to do for Africa, but they're scared to

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come because they feel they cannot be trusted. Will it be corruption?

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Will the money disappear? Will the goods be delivered? Is there

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skills? Are the skills is the efficiency? Can the job get done

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like the people from the Lord? Is it possible and being recognized

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by a big company like Emily and partners, which is globally known,

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which is linked to so many people, it's like being audited by a big

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company in Europe, you know, and say, Look, we agree that these

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people's books are clear, you know, we recommend supporting them

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or giving them money. It's that kind of stamp. And what the media

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coverage, what the.

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Heading of the award by well known people. It just puts so much of

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faith in other parts of the world, people to support Africa. Not this

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the gift of the givers and myself, but to support Africa. So to me,

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this is and that's the first thing I spoke about. The moment they

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said, you know, you want the global award. I said at last,

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something for Africa, because this continent needs all the support,

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and we have very honest people in this in this continent. We just

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need to find it. And you know, people who can deliver the job I'm

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booked in many parts of the of the continent, in 22 countries, you

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know, and we've done things, and we found people of integrity, and

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that's why, how our projects get done. So yes, it's time asking the

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world, please open your eyes and visit Africa and see we can do

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things for you.

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That we need to respect religions and colors across the world. We

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need to respect that people had their own way of worshiping, their

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own way of praying, their own way of dressing, their own way of

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eating. But that doesn't change the intrinsic personality of a

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human being eating in a different way, dressing a different way,

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speaking a different way, doesn't change your personality and your

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human emotion, because we all bring the same color. We all have

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the same pain. Whichever religion or color or class or many

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nationality belong to. If you lose a four year old child, you feel

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the same pain to some in the north or something in the South. If you

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have no food Dhani, you feel in law the same that you feel in the

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south. So we need to understand and open our minds and not put

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people in boxes. We look at the human being as a human being, and

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forget all these different things that we have always black is

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white. Is European, he's American, he's Jew, he's Christian, he's

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Indian, he's Muslim. Now you know, we are different people. People

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within our religions and our cultures do things which harm the

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whole nation and harm an entire faith group, for that matter, an

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entire culture or an entire government. Don't look at the

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actions of one person or a group of people and say, everybody is

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like that. Look at the overall actions of the whole group, or

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study the teachings and the philosophy philosophies and say,

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Look, I just want people bad. When the banking when the economy

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collapsed and work and banking groups went down, do we say the

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whole financial system is corrupt? When doctors Rob medical aids, do

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we say it's very bad to be doctors, they're all corrupt. When

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lawyers take people for a ride in terms of fraud in the type of

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practice. Do they do to be said, all lawyers worldwide are corrupt.

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You don't say that. We said the one law is corrupt. So we

00:17:27 --> 00:17:30

identify, when it comes to the business world, a bad accountant,

00:17:30 --> 00:17:34

a bad bank, a bad company, you know, bad practice of something.

00:17:34 --> 00:17:37

We don't say everybody in the economy is bad. So why can't we

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apply the same law for people within religion or a group or a

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culture or society. If you look deep enough, you'll find us,

00:17:44 --> 00:17:48

people who care, who have finished to bring people together. And I've

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had that experience from all countries, there are more people

00:17:53 --> 00:17:56

want to do good and support each other rather than take people

00:17:56 --> 00:18:01

apart. So have an open mind and do things but remove stereotypes,

00:18:01 --> 00:18:05

remove prejudice, remove polarized Thinking, and relook and re

00:18:05 --> 00:18:07

examine and be mindful you.

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