For the first time in almost 50 years, Dr Khalilah Camacho-Ali, the former wife of the boxing legend Muhammad Ali, has visited Africa, and this time she experienced the best the Lowveld has to offer.

Camacho-Ali is currently in South Africa to promote the movie Against All Odds, starring Drikus du Plessis and Robert De Niro, that is being made about local boxing great Gerrie Coetzee. Du Plessis will be depicting the role of Coetzee. Before getting down to business, however, she spent a few days in the Kruger National Park, an experience she said was truly unforgettable.

The humanitarian, civil rights activist and businesswoman spoke candidly to Lowvelder in an exclusive interview about her former husband and the importance of the film that is being made about Coetzee.

“It’s my first time visiting South Africa and it is a wonderful country. We’ve been having wonderful dinners and delicious food – wow! We have seen the beautiful landscapes and all the animals in the Kruger National Park. We saw the Big 5, as well as some giraffes and elephants up close and personal. I also saw some of the most exotic birds and flowers.”

Camacho-Ali and her travelling partners enjoyed a truly South African braai next to a river adjacent to the park.

“The most amazing chefs from the Nkomazi Kruger Lodge prepared the most amazing food and our host, Jaco van den Berg, was truly wonderful.”

She spoke passionately about the film that is currently being made with Koos Roets as the director and Kenddrie Utuk as the executive producer. She stressed the importance of remembering the heroes of bygone decades and documenting their stories for generations to come.

“We have to document and take these people of strength, so our younger people can be inspired for the future of this country and the world.

“If we do not teach our young people the heroism and history of great men and great women, they will be totally lost and won’t have a good future. It is important that we document these heroes that we have.”

She said the world is constantly being flooded with negative information and images, and that it needed to change.

“Ninety-nine per cent of people do good things in this world. This is not a bad world, this is a good world. It has survived because of good people with compassion and love for one another. These young people need that.”

Camacho-Ali spoke highly about South Africa and its rich history, including all of the historic figures the country has seen over the years.

“If I go to California and tell people about Gerrie, a white man from South Africa, they wouldn’t be able to tell you who he is. They don’t have any knowledge of this guy. Some of them don’t even know about Mandela because they aren’t given the history. We need our heroes to be so outstanding and they should be known as well as Mickey Mouse. We have things more powerful than Mickey Mouse, but yet Mickey Mouse is everywhere. We have to change that. We should let our children to be excited to be alive and healthy and educated and want to do what we are doing today.

“The world is full of super-heroes. We’ve got Captain America and Iron Man in real people. We’ve got Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Gerrie Coetzee, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela – we have great superheroes and they come in all colours. That’s why I’m here, to recognise and see those people. We have heroes from all different cultures and lands. South Africa is big on heroes. We want to get that to our children.”

In the meantime, discussions are being held for a possible boxing match between the grandsons of the two boxing heroes, Ali and Coetzee. Ali retired before the possibility of a match-up with Coetzee. According to Camacho-Ali, they are looking at the possibility of hosting a boxing match in three years’ time between Nico Ali Walsh and Dylan Coetzee, both 21 years old.

“That would be a great fight. Two great children of two great men fighting – it would be the match of the century. Are you kidding me?”

Camacho-Ali is a multitalented woman and apart from her humanitarian work she spends her time on an array of hobbies and pastimes. Some of these include being an airplane pilot, photographer, journalist, rifle marksman, game hunter, sport fisherman, horseback rider, race car driver and mechanic. She is also an expert in karate and has a ninth degree black belt, having been trained by Bruce Lee. On top of that, she is fluent in seven languages.

“It’s ironic that I do so much stuff because I haven’t realised that I actually do so much stuff,” she said laughing.

“I just picked up hobbies and kept myself busy as a child. I was always interested in things, and I didn’t have time to sit and play. I wanted to know how to fly, I wanted to know karate.

“When I was a little girl, I was always seeking knowledge. I wanted to have homework on the weekend. I was in a Muslim school, and I was bullied for wanting homework for the weekend. I was locked in the bathroom because they didn’t want homework. I had to do something to stop this craziness and defend myself. Kids can be cruel.  Children have a lot of energy, and you want to guide this energy onto the right path.”

Being a civil rights activist and humanitarian, she commented on poverty in South Africa. “Coming here, to this part of the country, I saw the poor people, and the leadership that is keeping them poor and they’re struggling for a little bit of this and that. Then you have an establishment, like this lodge (Nkomazi Kruger Lodge), that is giving them jobs. These people are here with jobs, and they are happy. They have establishments that give them opportunity.”

A book will soon be released about Camacho-Ali, and according to her it will contain what she has wanted to tell young women for years. “The book will share my side of the story. My side of the story has not been told. Just Muhammad Ali was important, but he couldn’t have done it without a team behind him. No one can do anything alone. I want to tell young women they are someone and they are important.”

Her humanitarian work around the world is of utmost importance to her. She has been to poverty-stricken and war-torn countries and she aims to continue raising funds for a good cause.

“I went all over Pakistan and Afghanistan with Muhammad Kahn from Star Power to raise money for orphanages and homes. These little children are children of war. They are left without mothers, fathers, education and clothing. It’s sad. I just came back from Afghanistan before the Taliban took over the country. Politicians want to set people back 500 years with war. This is not human, and this is not right. We need to keep this kind of terrorism out of our communities. So, I will continue to fight and raise money for our communities.”