6 minute read
Called to serve humanity
Called to serve humanity
One of the greatest writers of all time, Leo Tolstoy once said: “The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.”
This has been the case with the Founder of the Gift of the Givers, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, who gave up his career as a medical doctor to start a non-profit organisation which has, over the years, brought a ray of hope to millions of people across the world irrespective of race, religion, culture, class and geography.
Hailing from the “city of expertise”, Potchefstroom, in the North West, Dr Sooliman says forming the organisation wasn’t his idea. He shares that it all started in August 1991 when he first met his spiritual teacher in Istanbul, Turkey at a place of spirituality and he liked what he saw there - the harmony between races, religions, nationalities, colours, cultures and classes at a Muslim place - a place of spirituality.
The following year, Dr Sooliman was in the same place again. At 10 pm on that Thursday night, after a prayer session, his spiritual teacher looked into his eyes and said; “My son, I’m not asking you, I’m instructing you to form an organisation, the name of the organisation will be ‘Waqful Waqifin’, 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, you will expect nothing in return, not even a thank you, this is an instruction for you, for the rest of your life. Serve people with love, kindness, compassion and mercy and remember the dignity of man is foremost.
“Clothe the naked, feed the hungry and forward water to the thirsty and in everything that you do, be the best, not because of ego but because you’re dealing with human life, human emotion and human suffering. My son, remember that whatever you do, is done through you and not by you.”
Dr Sooliman says it was on that night that the Gift of the Givers was formed and ever since, he’s followed that path for the last 30 years.
Touching on the impact that the organisation has had across the globe over the years, Dr Sooliman says he doesn’t attribute that to himself and he knows that things are done through him and not by him.
“Everything feels so spiritual, on many occasions, whenever I met the teacher, he told me that the organisation would grow. I never understood at that point, but today, 20 years later, I’ve seen the growth - it’s exponential and we’ve reached millions of people every year in difficult situations. I’m extremely pleased to see this growth, it means we’re making a difference in the lives of people in this country, on the continent and across the world,” he said.
Dr Sooliman says he doesn’t describe himself as a philanthropist as the money doesn’t directly come from him but more of a humanitarian as he gives his entire self, his being, heart and soul to the cause, not purely because of instruction but as means of gratitude to God he and his family are not on the other side.
“We’ve assisted 45 countries, including South Africa and it’s painful on the other side - it’s hardship, suffering, difficulty, sadness, grief and tragedy. And the fact that we’re not on the other side is a huge sense of gratitude and that gratitude has to be manifested in service to people on the other side,” he said.
The great work that the organisation has done over the years continues to be recognised by millions of people with many, finding the organisation and him, as the beacon of hope that could save South Africa from its socioeconomic challenges and calling him to run for president. Dr Sooliman says it’s sad that people want him to be president. “It means they’ve lost total faith in the ruling party, government. It’s an indictment on the government and the ruling party that they’ve failed the people and they want someone from outside to run the country.
“I can’t be president, the spiritual teacher had the foresight and he told me that you’ll never be in government, politics but you’ll always work with government and for 30 years, we’ve been working with government,” he says.
He adds that apart from the spiritual side, there’s too much obstruction in the government and working from the outside, they manage to bypass all those hurdles.
Touching on the challenges that they encounter in this line of work, Dr Sooliman says the immense needs in every province of this country in various fields and the biggest challenge is how they get to everyone that needs help, in the country, continent and beyond. “The reality is, we can’t help everything, so we learn to be realistic and we do the best we can. Fortunately, in most cases, we’re called by the government and given an open way to do what’s necessary. Yes, we stand up and criticise the government but at the same time, we don’t leave it at criticism, we encourage what’s good within them, hold their hand and try to do things the right way,” he said.
On the hopes that he has for South Africa, and the world at large, he says he sees great hope for South Africa as it is a country of people with a spirit of resilience, who want to build, fix, invest and help. “We need decisive leadership, a government that can set an example, clear corruption and create opportunities. We need discipline in every structure of the government, once the community sees that, they will follow leadership and discipline. All aspects in every sector of society, we need four critical elements; spirituality, morality, values and ethics.
“We need to upskill people, we need to take people who are skilled to help build the country, and skilled people need to create opportunities for the unskilled to get skilled and create jobs. We need our lawyers, doctors, accountants, engineers and more to come back and contribute in a meaningful way without being obstructed. There’s enough goodwill from corporates, individuals, and professionals who want to make a difference,” he said.
