STARBUCKS FOUNDER HOWARD SCHULTZ DISCOVERS UBUNTU AND TELLS AMERICA
In a Commencement Speech for Arizona State University (ASU) Howard Schultz talks of opening the first two stores in SA and his discovery of UBUNTU.
It is inspiring, compelling and heart-warming, and worth the read!
“I would like to begin my time with you today by sharing a personal story.
Last year, Starbucks Coffee Company opened our first store in South Africa in Johannesburg. I had never been to South Africa before, did not know what to expect. Certainly could not be prepared for the level of poverty and what I saw in the townships throughout the city. We opened two stores and lines were out the door in anticipation of Starbucks coming to the market but before we opened the stores, I gathered the 50 young people who would embrace the green apron and represent the company. I sat with them for a few hours and wanted to hear each one of their personal stories.
As they were sharing their stories with me, despite their poverty, their plight in life, there was so much joy and gratitude in their hearts. But what I learned was two things. One, all 50 of these young people had never had a job before. They were all unemployed for their entire life and you should see the self-esteem and the sense of security as they were getting ready for their first job. But the second lesson was as they were going around the room and talking to me about their story, I kept hearing an African word I had never heard before. A word that Nelson Mandela used all the time. The word is “Ubuntu” and finally, I got up the courage and I asked what does this word mean that you keep using. They couldn’t wait to share it with me.
In unison, they said, Howard, ubuntu means I am because of you. I am because of you.
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Thuma Mina 1
This monthly feature is our response to the President’s invitation: “Thuma Mina – Send Me”. It is a toolkit of ideas to help our readers respond to that call.
Connecting NGO’s
We have a dear friend and colleague by the name of Cindy McNally. Cindy lives in Durban. She is a wife, a busy mom to two little girls and a Chartered Accountant. She loves South Africa, social media and wine – not necessarily in that order.
Two years ago, Cindy decided to marry her passion for these three things with her desire to make a difference. One night whilst drinking a glass of wine and playing around on social media, she began to do some research. Were there groups on social media that connected the tens-of-thousands of NGO’s in our country, enabling them to collaborate? She discovered to her amazement that there wasn’t; that NGO’s in our country are largely very lonely, lone rangers.
SA NPO Network
So, without further ado, she started a Facebook group called SA NPO Network and quickly NGO’s all over the country began to connect.
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Cape Epic beneficiaries partner on conservation project
Cape Town, 13 March 2018: Human-wildlife conflict is the main challenge facing Cape leopard survival. Farmers fear leopards because of the risk to their livestock and personal safety. To raise awareness of leopard conservation, two charity beneficiaries of the ABSA Cape Epic will partner over the next few weeks to help dispel this myth. Children from the Anna Foundation will be hosted by the Cape Leopard Trust to explore wild areas on foot and on bikes to seek spoor, tracks or signs of other wildlife.
According to CEO of the Cape Leopard Trust, Helen Turnbull: “These leopards are extremely elusive and live in rugged, inaccessible terrain, so it’s difficult to be absolutely accurate about the number of wild leopards that still roam free across Absa Cape Epic territory. The organisation uses field cameras to investigate leopard presence, and a camera survey currently underway in the Cederberg indicates in preliminary findings that 47 individuals have been identified in that particular area,” she said.
Turnbull expanded how the organization is committed to using environmental education to inform communities about the role the leopard plays in maintaining eco-system health as apex predator. “Our educators use the natural environment to share knowledge around issues that affect leopard survival.” she added.
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THIS WEEK'S FAST FACT
Disease
Health burden: According to the World Health Organisation, an estimated 422 million adults were living with diabetes in 2014, compared to 108 million in 1980. The global prevalence of diabetes among adults aged 18 and above was 8.5% in 2014, compared to 4.7% in 1980. In 2015, an estimated 1.6 million deaths were directly caused by diabetes. WHO projects that diabetes will be the seventh leading cause of death in 2030
(Source: www.Eighty20.co.za)
