Imtiaz Sooliman, a medical doctor practising in Pietermaritzburg, South
Africa, 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." Almost 30 years later 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. They have put up hospitals, run clinics, dug
wells, drilled boreholes, built houses, offered scholarships, and
provided shelter, food, and psychological succour to millions.