Imtiaz Sooliman – message to TSIBA graduates

			Good morning Students of Seba
business school, to you and your
		

			family the greatest of
congratulations. This is indeed a
		

			great day in your educational
life, a great day in the life of
		

			your parents and grandparents who
sacrifice for you to achieve what
		

			you've achieved today
		

			in your further progress and in
your achievements and in your
		

			passing forward, please don't
forget where you come from, the
		

			difficulty the pension father and
mother had to support you, to put
		

			you to school, to put you to
varsity. And when you achieve your
		

			successes, always go back to where
you started. I'll give you the
		

			story of a child in pedi in the
Eastern Cape,
		

			a mother comes and collects a food
parcel. She takes a food parcel
		

			and she says, Thank you very much.
It's during covid 19. She says,
		

			Speak to my children, they will
tell you the taste of every plant
		

			in this area. My children have
been eating plants, dear friends
		

			and students. We need to reverse
that in our country. We need to go
		

			back and give back to our children
and to our families. We see the
		

			children coming in the dumps
waiting for the dump truck, and
		

			when the dump truck offloads the
food and the leftover expired
		

			items, small children run to eat
their food from a peanut butter
		

			bottle, from a jam tin. This is
the difficulty which we as
		

			students, as society, have to
reverse. I want to go back to
		

			where my life started in gift of
the givers. I met a spiritual
		

			teacher on the sixth of August,
1992 on a Thursday night
		

			at 10pm
		

			it tells me it fluent Turkish, and
I don't speak a word of Turkish,
		

			but I understood every single word
that is said this is spiritual. He
		

			says to me, my son, I am not
asking you, I am instructing you
		

			to form an organization. The name
in Arabic will be wagful waqifen,
		

			translated it means gift of the
givers. You will serve all people
		

			of all races, all religions, all
colors, all classes, all cultures,
		

			of any geographical location and
of any political affiliation, but
		

			you will serve them
unconditionally. You will expect
		

			nothing in return, not even a
thank you. This is an instruction
		

			for the rest of your life. Serve
people with love, kindness,
		

			compassion and mercy, and remember
the dignity of man is foremost. So
		

			if someone is down in the ground,
don't push them down further.
		

			Let's use our skill, our learning,
to elevate people to wipe the tear
		

			of a grieving child, to cut us the
head of an orphan, to say words of
		

			good counsel to a widow. These
things are free. They don't cost
		

			anything. Feed the naked,
		

			feed the hungry, clothe the naked,
and provide water to the thirsty.
		

			And in everything that you do be
the best at what you do, because
		

			you're dealing with human life,
human emotion and human dignity.
		

			The teacher went on to say, my
son, that whatever you do is done
		

			through you and not by you. Dear
students, God has given you a
		

			gift. He's given you a blessing.
He's giving you a skill. It's not
		

			of your own accord. Don't let
arrogance and ego ever get into
		

			your soul.
		

			Be grateful for what you have. Be
grateful for your parents, your
		

			grandparents, your teachers and of
shallow students. And together,
		

			hold hands.
		

			And serve this country, serve our
society, serve our nation, because
		

			everyone needs us all the best in
your futures, and may God bless
		

			you all you.