Philanthropy Heroes Honoured at Inyathelo Awards | NGO Pulse

Philanthropy Heroes Honoured at Inyathelo Awards | NGO Pulse:

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Doing Good, Feeling Good

Anybody who knows me well, will know how I feel about going to business dinners or functions where I am expected to make small talk - see my blog on "So do you work?". But there is one annual function that I really enjoy - that is the Inyathelo dinner. 

Inyathelo is also known as the South African Institute for Advancement and their mission is "to build an enduring culture of 'giving' that results in a strong and stable society and democracy in SA". They do this by growing local philanthropy and supporting non-profit organisations. Every year they have a dinner to celebrate the people who have made a difference to the communities that they live or work in. 

Last week there were no fewer than 11 awardees. Gentlecare which provides a hospice for sick and homeless people, the Kay Mason Foundation which provides bursaries for exceptional children from disadvantaged backgrounds to high school, and 18Twenty8 which empowers young women through personal development, were just some of those honoured at the dinner last night. 

What I am always impressed by is how little it takes to change someone's life and how giving someone a hand up can make such an enormous difference. So many of us don't do anything because we think that the problems are so overwhelming that it is useless to even try, but if we all give what we can, whether it is money or time, we can help to change society. 

One of the young recipients of the Kay Mason bursary, who grew up "in a hell-hole, overwhelmed by drugs, alcohol, poverty, teenage parents and gangster-ism", notes in his testimony that he may look just like all the other students at his school but when compared with children from his neighbourhood, he is one of the most privileged. He has been given the opportunity to break the cycle through education at a good government school outside of this hellhole. And, suddenly a host of opportunities has opened up to him.

It was also very encouraging to hear about the trend that I hope will catch on here. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have decided that they would give away their money while they were still alive. They certainly have enough to live on, and why not do it now when they can see what effect their philanthropy is having? That way you get to enjoy it twice!

Back to the dinner - it is a real feel-good occasion. To hear what people are doing, some people with very little, and the stories of what they have achieved is truly inspiring. It's good practice to sit back, every now and then, and celebrate what we are doing right.

Building Gardens of Hope

I have just been reading an edited copy of the 8th Nelson Mandela lecture given by Ariel Dorfman in Johannesburg yesterday. Unfortunately I missed it on the radio - I managed to hear his last few sentences before his voice broke and the crowd roared. He spoke about the gardens of hope that people like Nelson Mandela and others living in conflict, created. Nelson Mandela's garden that he created while in prison, brought him much hope, joy and dignity. He urged us to remember that gardens grow like justice  and reconciliation should, and that we need to sing to the earth to forgive us and continue to give us hope.

I have been thinking that the people around us who do good, who help others, who share what they have, who do what they can to in some small way make the world a better place, are all growing gardens. Planting seeds, nurturing and willing them to yield beautiful products.

From the  NGO's down to the little Gogo who takes children into her care so that their parents can earn a living, the projects that aim to get children off the street, the people who make soup to feed the homeless or the musician who gives his time to build a jazz band with borrowed instruments in one of the poverty-stricken townships, we are all building and growing. We need to know what people are doing. We need to peek over the walls and admire and copy what is being done. My "favourite" function that I attend every year, is the Inyathelo Awards for philanthropy, that identifies and celebrates the people who are building the spirit of ubuntu in our communities.

We have a friend, Bobby Sager, who travels the world with his family, from Rwanda to Bhutan, Afghanistan to South Africa, India to Palestine, doing good. We are fortunate to see them regularly and hear of their adventures. In between visits, he keeps us updated with mostly black and white pictures that he has taken of the places they have visited. Many of the pictures are of children and my favourite picture is of 2 young girls standing with their arms around each other, having a good laugh.

The picture was taken in Afghanistan in the middle of conflict and I have framed it and put it on my desk. It reminds me that children, no matter that the world may be falling down around them, will always manage to find joy. This is why I am so passionate about being involved with the World Children's Prize. The fact that the organisation is powered by children who at the same time, are learning about democracy and human rights, gives me immense hope for a better future society.

Everyday we are bombarded with negative images and stories, we absorb them and they become part of the very fibre of our being. We start to believe everything that we read and hear. Whenever we have been out of the country for a while, I find that the news feels like a physical onslaught on our return. It is as if I build up some kind of immunity to all the negativity when I am away. It hits you in the face when you come back.

We need to build a culture of hope. We need to start changing the energy around us. We need to start building hope and excitement about the future. We each need to find a garden to work in - one person can make a difference. As Bobby says, "Hope isn't just nice; it's a game-changer."