“Mothers and their children are in a category all their own. There’s no bond so strong in the entire world. No love so instantaneous and forgiving.” —Gail Tsukiyama
Happy Mothers Day to my mommy who gave me life and showed me how to live.
4 Lessons from My Mother
1. People only throw rocks at the tree bearing fruit
2. Don’t eat the fruit of laziness
3. Those born out of the fire do not wilt in the sun
4. There are a lot of people suffering we must be decent in the way we live
“It does not matter how small the contribution, make it anyway, it makes a difference. Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. Then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who come alive.” – Catherine Constantinides
Recently the Nelson Mandela Foundation invited My Superhero Catherine Constantinides to join them on an #Each1Feed1 food distribution in Orange Farm and I watched with pride and awe as my Superhero Catherine Constantinides continued to live her words “Everybody can do something.”
To find out more about #Each1Feed1 Campaign please visit https://www.nelsonmandela.org/each1-feed1
The look on mama’s face is everything [image credit: Nelson Mandela Foundation]The look on mama’s face is everything [image credit: Nelson Mandela Foundation]
Yaseen Theba is the Director of Vision Group – Vision Tactical and Vision Branding – Co-Founder of Operation SA and Chairman of the Muslim Association of South Africa.
The Muslim Association of South Africa, led by Yaseen Theba, is currently feeding people in need of food due to the COVID19 Lockdown.
Yaseen is the kind of human we all should be and the kind of person I aspire to be because he does the right thing simply because it’s right thing to do.
Muslim Association of South Africa’s Website: http://muslim.org.za/
Muslim Association of South Africa’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/MuslimAssocSA
Donate to help the Muslim Association of South Africa feed South Africa
Muslim Association of South Africa LILLAH ACCOUNT
First National Bank (FNB)
Account Number: 62779526725
Branch Code is: 253305
Swift Code: FIRNZAJJXXX
Ref: (Donor Name)
The above post was shared as part of my new weekly Difference Makers series featuring individuals, businesses or NPOs making a difference
“Today is the first day of AFRICA Month. And so as the month unfolds I will use my platforms to continue sharing not only my journey with My Saharawi People but the truths surrounding a conflict of occupation and colonization that spans 45 years. An illegal invasion of their country by Morocco. We continue to tell a truth because justice must and will prevail!” – Catherine Constantinides
The month of May is Africa Month and while I’m proud to be African and we have much to celebrate I would like to call attention once again to the illegal occupation of the Western Sahara by Morocco (can you imagine fleeing from war to what you thought would be a temporary refugee camp only to still be there 45 YEARS LATER?) the United Nations recognizes the Western Sahara as a country separate from Morocco but the referendum the UN promised in 1991 is yet to take place and why because Morocco has powerful allies at the UN.
Freedom is what we do with what has happened to us – that’s what I’ve realized
Today is Freedom Day in South Africa – a day marking 26 years since the dawn of South Africa’s democracy – and while it is ironic that we are spending Freedom Day under lockdown due to COVID19 I’m grateful that when this is over we will have a democracy to go back to.
Executive Vice Chair, President & Chief Executive Officer, Smile Train
Susannah Schaefer is Executive Vice Chair, President & Chief Executive Officer of Smile Train, an international organization focused on empowering local medical professionals to provide free cleft lip and/or palate surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally.
Susannah joined Smile Train in February 2013, after serving as a member of the organization’s Board for over ten years. In her role as CEO, she leads Smile Train’s vision to expand access to healthcare and increase local capacity in countries in which Smile Train helps children. During her time as CEO, Susannah led an organizational rebrand, seeded funding for hundreds of thousands of new smiles, expanded cleft surgical training and education programs throughout the world and helped to establish organizational partnerships in Haiti and Rwanda. In addition, Susannah led the team in developing Smile Train’s ground-breaking Virtual Surgery Simulator, further accelerating cleft surgical training and enhancing the organization’s “teach a man to fish” model.
Susannah came to Smile Train after almost twenty years in operational roles, bringing a vast network and past experiences to the team. Previously, Susannah served as Vice President, Director of International Marketing at CA Technologies, where she led implementation of the company’s international marketing strategies. Earlier in her career, Susannah was the Director of Marketing, Asia for CA Technologies, where she built the organization’s presence throughout the region and hosted the first regional CA World conference in China.
Susannah is a Trustee of The Smile Train UK and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the State University of New York College at Oswego.
Website: https://www.smiletrain.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Smiletrain
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SmileTrain/
The above post was shared as part of my new weekly Difference Makers series featuring individuals, businesses or NPOs making a difference
“My son, you will form an organisation. The name will be Waqful Waqifin, and that name is translated into ‘Gift of the Givers’. You will serve all people of all races, of all religions, of all colours, of all classes, of all political affiliations and of any geographical location. You will serve them unconditionally.”
– Sufi Sheikh Muhammed Saffer Effendi al Jerrahi
… After receiving this message from his spiritual leader in Istanbul, Turkey, at the age of just 30, Gift of the Givers founder, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, immediately heeded the calling… and continues to do so to this day.
Following that life-changing day in 1992, Dr Sooliman returned to South Africa, left a flourishing career as a medical doctor and established the Gift of the Givers Foundation.
In the intervening years, he has travelled to some of the most desolate, war-torn and disaster-struck areas of the world, heading relief missions. Through his work with Gift of the Givers, he and his teams have responded to the needs of countless people affected by a wide range of natural and man-made disasters, such as floods, famine, tsunamis, earthquakes and wars.
He has facilitated the establishment of hospitals, run clinics, created agricultural schemes, dug wells, built houses, developed and manufactured an energy food, renovated fishing boats, offered scholarships and provided food and shelter to millions.
The transition from doctor to humanitarian was both seamless and simple.
He is driven by the same basic principles that led to his becoming a medical doctor: respect, care, professionalism and dedication. But there is something else that fuels Dr Sooliman’s passion for humanitarianism – the solid belief in the common humanity that unites us. His fervour for, and belief in, mankind is what really motivates and energises him, and the reason is his faith.
His sense of community is felt throughout his endeavours with Gift of the Givers.
When disaster strikes or pleas for assistance are sounded – whether in South Africa or abroad – he and Gift of the Givers are ready with an immediate response, swiftly rallying the organisation’s network of doctors, nurses, relief workers and other professionals, and despatching humanitarian and medical supplies to disaster areas.
Overview
The Gift of the Givers Foundation is the largest disaster response, non-governmental organisation of African origin on the African continent.
It works to unite people, with a common vision, to make a real and telling difference by serving mankind for the ‘Greater Good’ .
Assistance is provided unconditionally; assisting the needy, irrespective of human or animal, race, religion, colour, class, political affiliation of geographic location.
Since its inception in 1992, the organisation has been responsible for the delivery of life-saving goods and on-the-ground support for innumerable people, collectively valued at some R2.8 billion, in more than 43 countries across the globe, including South Africa.
Gift of the Givers restores the hope and dignity of the most vulnerable in their time of need, rebuilding prosperous communities and empowering leaders of tomorrow.
[Note: All the above text is from The Gift of the Givers website]
Website: https://giftofthegivers.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GiftoftheGivers/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GiftoftheGivers
The above post was shared as part of my new weekly Difference Makers series featuring individuals, businesses or NPOs making a difference
April 6, 2020
Vision Tactical –
Private Security company Vision Tactical has lended it’s helping hand by supporting local NGO’s deliver much needed essential items during the 21 day COVID-19 lockdown.
Intervention and Specialized Support Units are making sure that essential items which need to be distributed to hundreds of people on a daily basis reaches its point of destination safely.
Team members also mobilized to manage the coordination of the distribution while ensuring that all protocols and necessary safety procedures are followed.
Director of Vision Tactical, Yaseen Theba says that it’s positive to see how many NGO’s and volunteers have come forward and rose to the challenge of assisting the needy during a very challenging time.
“The members from the Muslim Association of South Africa found out about the dire need for essential food items required at the Bakazela Settlement, they then immediately purchased the items, and came out to distribute.”
Theba says that every helping hand counts at this point in time.
“During this challenging period, being proactive and positive is the only way to move forward stronger and together.”
Those wanting to contribute:
Muslim Association of South Africa LILLAH ACCOUNT
First National Bank (FNB)
Account Number: 62779526725
Branch Code is: 253305
Swift Code: FIRNZAJJXXX
Ref: (Donor Name)
Today is the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action and in honour of that I would like to introduce you to the EXTRAORDINARY Aziz Haidar.
Aziz Haidar was a young man when he became a victim of landmines, which are scattered across Western Sahara by illegal occupying power Morocco. He lost both his legs & right arm. He founded Association for Victims of Landmines in the Saharawi Refugee Camps to help other landmine survivors and their families. The importance of Aziz’s work is impossible to overstate as there are still 5-10 MILLION ACTIVE LANDMINES scattered across the Sahara. Today and every day I salute Aziz Haidar for all that he is and all that he does every day.
[Mensaje a Aziz: Aziz, eres un héroe, gracias].
Email: asoc.asavim@gmail.com
The above post was shared as part of my new weekly Difference Makers series featuring individuals, businesses or NPOs making a difference
Smile Train is an international children’s charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate.
Many children with untreated clefts around the world live in isolation, but more importantly, have difficulty eating, breathing, hearing, and speaking. Cleft treatment is safe, and the impact on the child is immediate.
Seeing the flaws in mission-based models, Smile Train was the first cleft-focused organization with a model of true sustainability – providing training, funding, and resources to empower local medical professionals in 90+ countries to provide 100%-free cleft repair surgery and comprehensive cleft care in their own communities.
And through our sustainable “teach a man to fish” model, Smile Train is not only raising the standard of cleft care and safety – we’re setting it. The support we provide has elevated the standards of care for cleft patients at our partner hospitals around the world, ultimately elevating the standards of care for all patients.
As a result of our efficiency, and with the help of our donors and partners, Smile Train has supported safe and quality cleft care for 1.5+ million children and will continue to do so until every child in need with a cleft has access to the care they deserve.
Website: https://www.smiletrain.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Smiletrain
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SmileTrain/
The above post was shared as part of my new weekly Difference Makers series featuring individuals, businesses or NPOs making a difference