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Gift of the Givers has often been the first to respond to crises around the world, and has a number of achievements in its 15-year existence.
Gift of the Givers celebrated its 15th anniversary on August 6, 2007. The organisation received its name from a spiritual teacher in Istanbul, Turkey, on a Thursday night, on August 6, 1992. He emphasised that the motto should be to benefit ALL of mankind unconditionally, irrespective of race, religion, colour, class, geographical area or political affiliation. Gift of the Givers is the largest disaster response organisation of African origin on the African continent delivering R220 million in aid to 23 countries, South Africa included.
Born into an established family 0f merchants in Potchefstroom on March 7, 1962, Sooliman went on to qualify as a doctor at the University of Natal Medical School in 1984. He opened a practice in Pietermaritzburg in 1986. Four years later, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, Sooliman found himself at the forefront of his first relief effort.
“Kuwait was funding a number of projects in Mozambique. He found a land in crisis. Medical facilities were desperately inadequate, malaria was taking its toll and people were starving.
On his return to South Africa, he bought a fax machine and installed it in his home. “I began tracing the various mosques. I picked names out of phone books, called people up and asked them who was in charge of the mosques, in their town. Then I would fax them a report of what I had seen, what needed to be done and how we were going to do it. Within five days, I had raised R1-million.”
In 1991 Sooliman and his wife, Zohra, travelled to Turkey. It was to be a profound experience. “Istanbul was a place where I saw people from all cultures and religions. With the apartheid mentality, our minds were very closed, but there I saw different people being so positive to one another. It opened my mind.” A meeting with a Sufi spiritual teacher in Istanbul led to the formation of Gift of the Givers.
Zohra Sooliman is the founder of the Gift of the Givers Careline which is the organization’s counselling centre.
Innovating, designing and developing the world’s first and only containerised mobile hospital for Bosnia, designing the world’s first containerised primary health care clinic for rural areas, designing the world’s first groundnut-soya high energy protein supplement (which has just been approved and introduced into the national tender of South Africa as the only product of its kind in the country), being the only NGO in the history of South Africa to receive R60 million from the government to roll out a food parcel programme in 2003 (which coincidentally was designed by us for government) and the receipt of 32 national and international awards are some of our milestones. Disaster response was our first project. We now have 20 categories of projects. These include:1. Disaster Response and Rehabilitation. 2. Clinics. 3. Nutrition Projects. 4. Winter Warming.5. Counselling Services. 6. Life Skills. 7. Skills Development. 8. Job Creation. 9. Education Projects. 10. Bursaries. 11. Water Projects. 12. Wheel Chair Distribution. 13. Open Source Labs. 14. Bicycle Ambulances. 15. Mosquito Nets. 16. Sports Development. 17. Cultural Projects. 18. Drug Rehab. 19. Agricultural Projects. 20. Research and Development. Gift of the Givers was one of the first five agencies in the world to respond to the Pakistani earthquake:
“The sheer extent of the devastation with almost 90 percent destruction of infrastructure, homes, schools, hospitals, and government institutions in several villages and cities in the whole of the northwest frontier province and Kashmir region is mind boggling. The death toll, the number and magnitude of the aftershocks, over 100,000 dead, an equal number injured, the gruesome nature of the injuries, the number of amputations performed especially on little children, the number of orphans and widows, 4 million homeless, people hungry and cold, no gas or electricity, freezing weather, landslides, tetanus outbreak, even a portion of the mountain breaking off and falling down, inaccessibility by road or helicopter and helicopters crashing. The tragedy is unfathomable, the human misery inexplicable, the pain and the emotions indescribable. Children have lost the ability to smile, their faces expressionless. But amidst all this horror at least humanity is responding in the best way it can,” reports Gift of the Givers.
Gift of the Givers has earned the respect and admiration of not only the Muslim community in South Africa, but also that of non-Muslims and the South African government. In a recent development Gift of the Givers, in partnership with NEPAD (New Partnership for African Development), has proposed to develop a rapid response program to respond immediately to crises in Africa.
In the logo of the Gift of the Givers, the large “G” represents God. He is the Originator, Protector and Sustainer of ALL Creation. He never sleeps. It is He Who humbles the mighty, and Who exalts the humble. He is without place, yet no place is devoid of Him. He is the Greatest Giver, Giving the Gift of life, sustenance, health, knowledge, intellect, wisdom and guidance. He is Absolute Mercy, Most Compassionate to ALL humanity, represented by the little “g”. The symbol represents man in kneeling position with head bowed down and hands outstretched. Man is in need materially and spiritually. But God Almighty is closer to him than his own soul; it is man who is far from Him. He grants the supplication of every supplicant. He is Generous. He does not withhold His Gifts from the erring. He brings to birth, yet is not born. He gives to eat, yet does not eat. He has no need of anything, everything needs Him, yet when man takes one step towards Him, the Supreme Glory takes ten steps towards man; when man comes walking, He comes running and when man comes running, He comes flying. This is a Gracious God to Whom belong the Most Beautiful Attributes.
Gift of the Givers Foundation are facilitators of Almighty God’s Aid (in a metaphorical sense) , distributing it from Him to all of mankind. This is made possible only by His Grace and Permission. God’s Aid is received by the Foundation through His representatives, namely, sublime human beings who are imbued with and reflect the Divine Attributes of Mercy, Kindness, Compassion, Care and Generosity in their behaviour and personality. These are the Donors, the Givers, the Life Blood of the organisation Giving the Gift of time, gentle words, material assistance, financial contributions and intellectual abilities. Their Generosity permits Gift of the Givers Foundation to serve mankind selflessly ensuring that the honour, dignity and respect of all recipients of assistance are strictly guarded without exception.
The Logo symbolises the “Hand” of Almighty God over the hand of man signifying Positivity and Hope. The Gift of the Givers Foundation and its Donors strive to be that symbol of Hope, God Willing.
Tel: +27 (0) 33 345 0163 / +27 (0) 33 345 0175
Fax: +27 (0) 33 394 3780
Physical Address: 290 Prince Alfred Street, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Postal Address: P.O. Box 8213, Cumberwood, 3235 KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Email:info@giftofthegivers.org Website: www.giftofthegivers.org
(The writer is chairman, Gift of the Givers organisation)
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