Lifestyle

The most inspiring book of the year

A gift well worth giving.

If you’re still looking for gifts, here we go. A book worth reading, an organisation worth supporting.  And all royalities from this book go to Gift of the Givers … so double the reason to add it to the present list.

The first edition of Imtiaz Sooliman and the Gift of the Givers – A Mercey to All was reprinted five times; this second and expanded edition has new chapters to bring the story up-to-date. It’s an extraordinary South African story … 30 years of selfless service to people in need in South Africa and the world.

The story goes like this …  Imtiaz Sooliman, a medical doctor practising in Pietermaritzburg, visited a Shaikh in Istanbul in 1992. The Sufi teacher gave him a message that would dramatically change the lives of countless people.

‘To my absolute astonishment he told me I would help people for the rest of my life. He then instructed me to form a humanitarian organisation called the “Gift of the Givers”, and repeated the phrase “the best among people are those who benefit mankind”.’

Fast forward 30 years, and Gift of the Givers, Africa’s largest humanitarian and disaster agency, has a reputation for speedy responses to floods, war, famine, fires, tsunamis, kidnapping and earthquakes. Well known for their interventions in South African and international disasters, teams of volunteers have undertaken missions to places such as Bosnia, Palestine, Japan, Haiti, Indonesia, Malawi and Mozambique. In the last few years they have turned their attention to the poorest South Africans – they have put up hospitals, run clinics, dug wells, drilled boreholes, built houses, offered scholarships and provided shelter, food and psychological succour to millions.

Originally published in 2014, the book has been brought up to date to continue the extraordinary tale of an organisation that has become a South African legend – the first to intervene in so many devastating situations and bring hope to those who have lost everything. Gift of the Givers’ reputation for direct, honest and non-partisan solution-finding has become a beacon of hope in South Africa.

The book’s author is Shafiq Morton, is an award-winning photo-journalist and radio presenter, and has been voted amongst the 500 most influential Muslims in the world.

#GiftOfTheGivers #MakeADifference #ForTheGreaterGood

For more great reads, visit exclusivebooks.co.za

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Gareth Drawbridge

Digital content producer

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